Six new cases of COVID-19 infection has been announced by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.
The six new confirmed cases are discovered in Osun State, thus bringing the state’s tally of confirmed cases to 20, making the State of the Living Spring the third highest in the country.
The new cases are believed to come from a cluster of travellers who came into the country from Ivory Coast, through Benin Republic, on Saturday, March 28.
The group of 127 travellers were immediately isolated in Ejigbo, preventing them from having any contact with the public on arrival.
Series of tests conducted on the group revealed that three were first found to be positive; another 9 were announced to be positive on Wednesday, April 1.
The government had repeatedly announced that despite closing its land borders, it cannot deny Nigerians coming from abroad entry into the country, though the Federal Government has made several appeals to them to stay where they are until the COVID-19 crisis is over.
Meanwhile, the Osun State government has already ordered a shutdown of all social and economic activities for a period of two weeks starting from March 31.
This was just as the state governor, Gbiyega Oyetola, on Thursday, April 2, signed the Diseases (Emergency Prevention) Regulations 2020 Bill passed by the state House of Assembly into law.
The law primarily prohibits anyone from violating the sit-at-home order, and prescribes a six-month imprisonment or an option of fine upon conviction for the offender.
Transmission or dissemination of false information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is also an offence under the law, which attracts the same punishment.
An official statement also reads, “Similarly, the promotion of unverified, untested, or unapproved cures, vaccines or other similar items that purport to cure, alleviate or reduce instances of persons infected with Covid-19, also constitutes an offence and offenders upon conviction will be liable to six-month imprisonment or an option of fine.”
Nigeria has now officially has 190 confirmed COVID-19 cases, as of the time of this report.
Lagos leads the pack with 98 cases; followed by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT,, Abuja with 38.
Other states with COVID-19 cases are: Oyo, eight; Akwa Ibom, five; Ogun, Edo and Kaduna, four apiece; Bauchi, three; Enugu andEkiti, two apiece; Rivers and Benue, one case each.
Of the total 190 COVID-19 cases,20 have made full recoveries and discharged to return to normal lives, while two people have so far died of complications from the pandemic.
A total of 20 people have made full recoveries and discharged to resume their regular lives.
