The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported 246 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday.
In a Twitter update via its verified handle, the government agency said there are now 67,220 confirmed cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus in Nigeria.
A total number of 62,686 people it said, have so far been discharged from hospital, while the number of deaths so far is 1,171.
As of Friday evening, there were more than 61.5 million cases of COVID-19 recorded worldwide, with more than 39.2 million of those considered recovered or resolved, according to a coronavirus tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 1.4 million.
According to a CBC update, in Africa, mass vaccination against COVID-19 is unlikely to start until midway through next year and keeping vaccines cold could be a big challenge, the continent’s disease control group said on Thursday.
In the Americas, Los Angeles County announced a new stay-at-home order Friday as coronavirus cases surge out of control in the United States’ most populous county.
The three-week order takes effect Monday. It came as the county confirmed 24 more deaths and 4,544 new cases of COVID-19. The five-day average of new cases was 4,751. Nearly 2,000 people in the county are hospitalised.
The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in hospitals across the United States reached 90,000 on Friday after nearly doubling in the last month, just as holiday gatherings are expected to propel the next wave of infections.
In Europe, Ireland will allow shops, restaurants, gyms and pubs serving food to reopen next week, and permit travel between counties from Dec. 18, to facilitate a “different but special” Christmas, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Friday.
Germany hit another grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic, reporting a total of more than one million confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The country’s disease control centre said Friday that Germany’s 16 states reported 22,806 cases overnight for a national total of 1,006,394 since the start of the pandemic.
In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea’s daily coronavirus tally is above 500 for a second straight day and the country’s prime minister is urging the public to stay at home this weekend to contain a viral resurgence.
In the Middle East, Iran on Friday announced that all government offices will effectively close and operate with only essential staff, further tightening coronavirus measures as the country struggles to contain its most widespread wave of infection yet.