ABUJA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior Nigerian official has expressed fears over a likely resurgence of COVID-19 cases following the recent mass protests calling for police reform in the country.
For over two weeks, the country has witnessed a huge gathering of protesters across its states without an approved COVID-19 protocol in place, Boss Mustapha, secretary to the Federal Government, said at a press conference Monday.
Mustapha, also chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said the protests by youths had "unfortunately metamorphosed into an unprecedented safety and security situation and COVID-19 developments in the country."
He said that while the security situation had affected the economy and social life, the mass gatherings during the protests and break-ins at warehouses, homes, and looting of stores by irate youths had put the country at "great risk of a resurgence of the virus."
According to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), the country confirmed 119 new COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing its total to 62,111 cases, with 1,132 deaths and 57,571 recoveries since the outset of the pandemic here in late February.
The NCDC's epidemic curve shows Nigeria has seen a downward trend in daily infections since the end of August with most days reporting less than 200 cases, compared to a record high of 790 cases recorded in early July. Enditem
