Nigeria confirms 2 new COVID-19 deaths, 179 infections

ANKARA (AA) - Nigeria’s health authorities on Wednesday confirmed two new COVID-19-related deaths and 179 new infections over the past day.

“Till date, 161,074 cases have been confirmed, 146,072 cases have been discharged and 2,018 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory,” the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said in its latest update.

Earlier this month, Abuja received 4 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the use of which has been suspended by several European countries after a small number of people reported blood clots after receiving the jab.

"The COVID19 pandemic is real. We are still facing that challenge and therefore I urge all Nigerians especially those within the range specified by the health authorities and those at the frontline that we make ourselves available," Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan tweeted Tuesday.

He, however, said that the country should not depend on only AstraZeneca and use different types of COVID-19 vaccines.

“I want to congratulate the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 for working so hard to ensure that the vaccine is available for Nigerians, but I urge them to get more of the vaccine and variety of it in addition to AstraZeneca,” he posted.