By Ediri Oyibo
The Federal Ministry of Health has distinguished between the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and malaria, saying they are two different diseases.
According to the Ministry, although COVID19 and malaria share similar symptoms like fever, headache and fatigue, they must not be mistaken for the same disease.
“COVID19 and malaria are two different diseases that share similar symptoms like fever, headache and fatigue. It takes 2-14 days for COVID19 symptoms to appear, while that of malaria appears within 10-15 days.
“COVID-19 is not malaria. Though COVID-19 presents with symptoms similar to malaria, for example, fever, both diseases are caused by different organisms and differ in mode of transmission,” the Ministry emphasized.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday reported 1,598 new cases of COVID-19 with seven deaths.
The NCDC, on its official Twitter handle, said the total infections in the country is now 108,943 with 22,156 active cases and 1,420 fatalities.
The country has so far tested 1,147, 523 people since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 on Feb. 27, 2020.
The Nigeria’s public health institute said that the new infections were reported from 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It stated that Lagos state topped the list with 461 infections, FCT 206, Plateau 197, Rivers 167, Kaduna state-116, Anambra-53, Ogun-49, Ebonyi-47, Edo-42, Sokoto state-32 and Imo-31 cases.
Katsina state-31, Oyo state-30, Akwa Ibom-27, Delta-16, Kano state-16, Abia-15, Niger-15, Ondo-11, Bayelsa-10, Borno-9, Kebbi-8, Ekiti-7 and Jigawa-1 cases.
The agency further disclosed that 832 patients recovered and had been discharged from various isolation centres across the country.
It added that this indicated 85,367 recoveries from the total 108,943 infections.
According to it, discharges for Saturday includes 430 community recoveries in Lagos State managed in line with guidelines.
Recall that there is a drop in infections compared with Friday’s 1,867 cases, which is the highest so far in a single day.
Lagos state also recorded substantial drop in cases with 461 new infections far lesser than 713 cases reported on Friday.
The FCT’s 206 new cases represents a slight increase compared to the 199 cases on Friday.
Plateau state recorded a drop in infections with 197 cases against its Friday’s 273.
Culled from: The News Guru
