BREAKING: Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases skyrocket to 407 as Lagos creates 20 new centres

On Wednesday evening, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control confirmed 34 fresh coronavirus cases, around 11:20 PM, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 407, TopNaija.ng reports.

Thirty-four new cases of #COVID19 have been reported as follows:

18 Lagos
12 in Kano
2 in Katsina
1 in Delta
1 in Niger

As at 11:20 pm 15th April there are 407 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. 128 have been discharged with 12 deaths#TakeResponsibility pic.twitter.com/oxM9pVb9QQ

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) April 15, 2020

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Wednesday also said 20 centres would be created in Lagos State for collection of samples from people suspected to have contracted COVID-19.

The NCDC Director General, Chikwe Ihekweazu, who disclosed this at a press conference of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said the samples would be taken to the molecular laboratories in Lagos for testing.

Ihekweazu also said door-to-door collection of samples would soon begin in Abuja. He added that Nigeria had increased her testing capacity to 3,000

At the press conference,  the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, disclosed that the ministry had expanded its case definition for COVID-19.

The NCDC had, on Tuesday, said the problem the country was facing was not the inadequacy of molecular laboratories, but how adequate samples would get to the labs for testing.

At the PTF press conference on Wednesday, Ihekweazu said part of the measures to contain the spread of the virus was adoption of a change in strategy after more testing laboratories had been established.