Nigeria on Saturday recorded 49 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the country’s total infections to 542, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
In a tweet via its official handle, the NCDC said 23 cases were identified in Lagos, 12 in the FCT, 10 in Kano, two in Ogun and one each in Oyo and Ekiti.
Forty-nine new cases of #COVID19 have been reported;
23 in Lagos
12 in FCT
10 in Kano
2 in Ogun
1 in Oyo
1 in Ekiti
As at 10:40 pm 18th April there are 542 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria.
Discharged: 166
Deaths: 19#TakeResponsibility pic.twitter.com/W63s32Iuj7
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) April 18, 2020
The agency also recorded an increase in the number of deaths to 19, while 166 patients have been discharged.
Nigeria’s number of infections are expected to continue to rise, as the NCDC has said it is ramping up testing across the country.
COVID-19 deaths in Africa have already passed 1,000 and the country announced the death of Abba Kyari, top aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday.
In Europe, the death toll surged past 100,000 on Saturday.