LAGOS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's health authorities on Sunday night confirmed 86 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily increase since the west African country reported its first case on Feb. 27, bringing the total to 627.
Figures from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) show the epidemic has spread faster in the country recently, with daily cases staying at or exceeding 30 for the last six days in a row.
So far, Nigeria has recorded 21 deaths, and 170 persons have been discharged from hospitalization after recovery.
The local daily the Nation on Sunday quoted the NCDC as saying that Nigeria currently has the capacity to carry out 1,500 COVID-19 tests daily in 13 molecular diagnostic labs, still lagging behind Ghana, South Africa and Uganda. The NCDC promised to expand the existing laboratory network.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic in Nigeria, the government has stopped international and domestic passenger flights, closed all educational institutions and extended a lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states, among other measures to curb the spread of the virus. Enditem
