For the first time since February, 2020, when the index case of coronavirus was recorded in an Italian traveller in the country’s commercial hub city, Lagos, Nigeria on Sunday reported no single case of the pandemic.
However, Nigeria’s ban on the microblogging site, Twitter, is taking its toll on the reportage of the updates on the disease, as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, which is responsible for the update, has consistently delayed the process since the government suspended the operation of the site in the country.
The latest update by the NCDC was only posted on its website on Monday afternoon, more than 12 hours after its usual time when its Twitter handle was active.
Zero case
The new development of recording no single case across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory has been described as a huge success for the country by health experts.
They said it is a milestone in Nigeria’s battle against the deadly disease.
The number of new cases dropped from 51 on Saturday to zero on Sunday, NCDC said in an update on its site on Monday afternoon.
Nigeria has seen a sharp drop in infections and deaths since March, adding to signs that it has managed to stamp out the latest wave of the disease.
No new death from COVID-19 has also been reported in more than two weeks.
But health experts have cautioned against letting the guards down on safety, warning that poor testing in many states could be masking the reality about the pandemic in some states.