The number of new positive samples dropped on Monday with 290 new cases recorded in 15 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed the new cases in its update on Monday night.
The new case count represented a decrease of 66 percent compared to the previous day when 437 new infections were recorded; Monday’s figure is also the lowest in six days.
According to the breakdown given, Lagos and Plateau recorded more than 65 percent of the total number of new cases, with 82 infections for each of the two states.
However, within the past 24 hours, the number of discharged patients increased slightly with 160 recoveries, compared to 142 on Sunday.
Five people were confirmed to have died of COVID-19 complications on Monday, bringing the country’s fatality toll to 950.
Also, Edo reached its 100th COVID-19 fatality on Monday with two new deaths — the state currently has the second highest number of deaths in the country.
Out of a total of 46,867 confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded in 36 states and the FCT, 33,346 people have recovered.
Meanwhile, the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 says it may be difficult to lock down local government areas (LGAs) with high cases as a result of “technical reasons”, since restricting movement in those areas may affect the entire states where they are located.
Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, Sani Aliyu, the PTF coordinator, said with nine more LGAs identified as high-burden locations in the country, a total of 20 areas have recorded high cases of the coronavirus.
He, however, urged Nigerians to endeavour to adhere to the guidelines on preventing spread of the virus.
