Nigeria's COVID-19 caseload tops 63,000

ANKARA (AA) – Over 70 new COVID-19 cases have taken Nigeria’s tally past 63,000, authorities said on Tuesday.

A total of 72 more infections were registered across the country over the past 24 hours, raising the overall count to 63,036, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control’s (NCDC) daily update.

One more COVID-19 fatality moved the death toll to 1,147, while 59,328 patients have recovered and been discharged from medical facilities so far, it said.

With over 21,300 infections, commercial capital Lagos remains Nigeria’s worst-hit city.

It is followed by the Federal Capital Territory, which includes the capital Abuja, with more than 6,100 cases, and the southwestern Plateau State, where more than 3,600 cases have been confirmed to date.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is among the five hardest-hit countries on the continent, along with South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Ethiopia.

Since last December, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 1.2 million lives around the world, according to data compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

More than 46.8 million infections have been recorded across the globe, with recoveries now over 31.35 million, the latest figures show.