As Nigeria, the most populous black country in the word with well over 200million people plan to relax the lockdown ordered by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government today after over a month, the country has recorded 170 new cases of the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19). The new number, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), brings the number of confirmed cases of the virus to 2558.
The NCDC on Sunday said Lagos State, which has remained the epicentre for COVID-19 in Nigeria had 39 new cases, Kano that has emerged as running mate to Lagos has 29, Ogun 24, Bauchi 18, Kaduna 15, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and Sokoto 12 each, Katsina eight, Borno seven, Nasarawa three, Adamawa two, while Oyo had one. The NCDC however explained that there of the 2558 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria, 400 persons have been discharged while the death toll now stands at 87.
It is based on this reality that a lot of Nigerians especially in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja are wondering the rationale behind the Federal Government decision to open the economy at this time. Before the country locked down in March, the country had barely 30 cases with just one death.