Rivers considers lockdown as covid-19 cases rise

Rivers State government is reportedly considering another lockdown as covid-19 cases continue to rise in the state.

The state reported 163 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, even as 14 more persons were confirmed dead across the country.

Rivers’ had the second highest tally on Wednesday, just behind Lagos state, the country’s epicentre of the global pandemic.

A source in the Bricks House, the State’s government house told theportcitynews that another lockdown is seriously being considered.

The source said that due to economic concerns, the lockdown may be partial and not the total lockdown that was issued the last time.

Paulinus Nsirim, the State’s commissioner for information declined to comment on the development.

Meanwhile, in an early-morning tweet on Thursday, the Nigeria Centre of Disease Control said 22 states across the country reported a total of new 1,386 cases on Wednesday.

To date, Nigeria has recorded 114,691 cases of the virus, with 92,336 cases discharged and 1478 deaths.

The breakdown of the virus distribution by States showed that Lagos recorded 476 new cases ahead of Rivers’ 163.

Other regions with new cases include the FCT (116), Kaduna (114), Oyo (68), Plateau (62), Ogun (56), Imo (55), Osun (55), Edo (51), Anambra (50), Kwara (44), Kano (17), Ebonyi (14), Cross River (10), Delta (10), Jigawa (8), Bayelsa (6), Ekiti (6), Borno (2), Taraba (2), and Zamfara (1).

Meanwhile, the NCDC noted that its Wednesday discharges “includes 626 community recoveries in Lagos State managed in line with guidelines.”