Nigeria on Wednesday recorded 89 cases of COVID-19 infections. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Thursday.

Osinbajo seeks fairness in global distribution of COVID vaccine

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says the principle of fairness should be adhered to by leaders in addressing the global distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Speaking on Wednesday at a virtual forum organised by Liberty University, a US-based Christian institution, Osinbajo said people of faith must contribute their quota towards achieving a world that does not impose unfair burdens on developing countries.

The vice-president warned that current trends in global distribution may lead to vaccine nationalism, which may have an unfavourable impact on the fight against the coronavirus.

Ex-leaders, Nobel winners ask US to back COVID vaccine waiver

Over 60 former heads of state and 100 Nobel prize winners have asked US President Joe Biden to back a waiver of intellectual property rules for COVID-19 vaccines.

Rich countries have faced increased pressure from advocates and World Health Organisation (WHO) to share technology and rights with vaccines manufacturers in poorer and middle-income countries.

According to a joint letter sent to Biden, a waiver would boost vaccine manufacturing and speed up the response to the pandemic in poorer countries.

The letter asked Biden to back a proposal by South Africa and India at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to temporarily waive intellectual property rules related to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, adding that based on the current pace of vaccine production, most poor nations will have to wait until at least 2024 to achieve mass COVID-19 immunisation.

The letter was coordinated by the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a coalition of over 50 development organisations.

Nigeria records 89 COVID-19 infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country recorded 89 COVID-19 cases across nine states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Wednesday.

The agency also said Nigeria recorded 45 recoveries in 24 hours, bringing the total number of persons discharged to 154,270.

Although still relatively low, Wednesday’s figure is the highest daily count of fresh infections this week as 57 fresh infections were reported on Sunday, 44 on Monday, and 74 on Tuesday.

Lagos, the hardest-hit state, recorded the highest number of new positive samples of 19 cases.

This is followed by the FCT with 15 cases, while Adamawa and Akwa Ibom recorded 12 and 10 positive samples respectively.

Other states that recorded new cases are Cross River (9), Rivers (6), Ogun (6), Kano (5), Kaduna (4), and Osun (3).

However, the NCDC said Wednesday’s data from Adamawa is a total of all coronavirus cases reported from March 23, 2021.

Nigeria recorded zero death for the third time since the start of the week, which keeps the COVID-19 fatality toll at 2,061.

A total of 164,000 cases have now been confirmed across the 36 states and the FCT.

Over 1,000 test positive for COVID-19 at India religious festival

More than 1,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 at a religious festival in India.

Hundreds of people were said to have gathered at a site as huge crowds of mostly maskless Hindu devotees descended on the River Ganges.

The virus was said to have been detected in more than 1,000 people in just 48 hours in the city of Haridwar, which lies along the holy river where the Kumbh Mela is being observed.

In recent weeks, India has witnessed a surge in COVID-19 infections, with experts blaming the spike on massive religious events, packed political rallies and crowded public places.

Edo: We have successfully contained COVID-19

The Edo government says it has successfully contained COVID-19 in the state as it has just one active case in isolation.

Andrew Obi, the incident manager of the Edo COVID-19 task force, disclosed this during a meeting chaired by Godwin Obaseki, governor of the state.

He said the state has continued to record a decline in the number of positive COVID-19 cases and fatalities, adding that there has also been an impressive recovery rate, which indicates that the outbreak has been contained in the state.