The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, on Monday, said Nigeria has recorded a steady decline in the COVID-19 death rate in the last five months.
Mustapha, who disclosed this during the PTF daily briefing in Abuja, however, called for caution on the matter.
The country, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has 1,002 COVID-19 deaths as at Sunday night.
Mustapha said: “The PTF has however continued to study the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) and we note that it has been on a steady decline over the last few months.
“Let’s share the figure with Nigerians. On April 30, we have 3 percent, May 31 – 2.8 percent, June 30 – 2.3 percent, July 31 – 2.0 percent, and August 22 – 1.92 percent.
“However, we are convinced that our sample collection is still low. We, therefore, encourage states to ramp up their testing and to declare correct results because early detection will ultimately translate to treatment and ultimately level the curve.
“With our statistics standing at 52,227 cases and 1,002 fatalities and 38,945 recoveries, Nigeria, however, maintains the 4th highest cumulative cases in Africa.
“Sadly, global cases have increased by another one million from 22.5 million on August 19 to the current 23.5 million in about four days.”
On the planned reopening of international flights, the PTF chairman added: “We shall intensify the validation process for the Polymerase Chain Reaction tests to minimise risks.”
