Lagos Tests Over One Million For COVID-19, Records 702 Deaths

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has said the state conducted 1.162 million valid COVID-19 sample tests since the pandemic spread to Nigeria in 2020.

The commissioner said this Monday while giving the state’s COVID-19 update for March 20 to March 30.

Abayomi said that 17,487 tests were conducted within the reported dates, noting that the case positivity rate of infection was 1.9 per cent as of March 30.

According to him, the state recorded 109 new COVID-19 infections within the reported days, increasing the number of confirmed cases in the state to 99,387.

He said that 5,386 COVID-19 patients who were successfully treated and recovered had been discharged from the state’s public and private care centres.

Abayomi also said that 93,133 patients who were successfully treated through the state’s home-based care had recovered in the communities.

According to him, there are 165 active COVID-19 cases in communities, while one case is in isolation at the state’s care centre.

The commissioner said that the state had recorded 702 COVID-19 related deaths during the pandemic.

The Federal Ministry of Health confirmed the first COVID-19 case in Lagos State, on the 27th of February 2020.

The Italian who brought the virus from Milan in Italy came back to Nigeria on February 25

He was confirmed by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Among prominent Nigerians who died of COVID-19 related complications in Lagos State were: former Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; former Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi; former National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin; Senator Buruji Kashamu among others.

The Federal Government declared lockdown in the state in April before it was phased out.