The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 576 new cases of COVID-19 in the country, with national toll now put at 37,801.
The NCDC made this known via its verified Twitter handle on Tuesday night.
Four new deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours pushing the total death tally to 805.
According to NCDC, 15,677 patients has recovered after treatment while over 200,000 people have been tested for the virus so far.
The 576 new cases are reported from 22 states – Lagos-88 Kwara-87 FCT-82 Plateau-62 Ondo-39 Enugu-28 Oyo-26 Taraba-24 Kaduna-20 Ebonyi-20 Edo-17 Cross River-16 Kano-14 Rivers-11 Ogun-10 Delta-9 Nasarawa-8 Osun-8 Katsina-3 Imo-2 Kebbi-1 Borno-1.
There are 22,124 active case in Nigeria, where all the 36 states of the country have recorded at least a single infection.
Meanwhile, government officials on Tuesday announced that Nigeria may reopen its airports for international flights in, or before, October after being forced to shut as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, the Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Nuhu, issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) that the airspace would no longer reopen for international flights on August 19 but ‘maybe’ in October.
However, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on his verified Twitter account, said the government is yet to name the date for the reopening of international air flights “but this may come earlier than October.”
The minister said international flights would restart in the country despite the ban placed on Nigeria by Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
He added that the date for the resumption would be announced after consultation with necessary stakeholders including the ministries of health and foreign affairs and the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19.
“International Flight resumption date is not October. NAMA just issued a routine 90-day Notices to Airmen. In liaison with Health, Foreign Affairs, and PTF COVID-19, we will announce the agreed date, regardless of the ban by Europe, UAE, etc. may be earlier than October,” he tweeted.
It would be recalled that the Nigerian government has been under pressure to lift the ban on international flights after 30 per cent traffic was reportedly recorded a week after resumption of domestic flights.
