Nigeria puts 6 states on Covid-19 red alert, curbs gatherings

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Nigeria has put six states on red alert after seeing a “worrisome” rise in Covid-19 infections, a government official has said, urging people to curb gatherings and hold prayers outside mosques during this week's Muslim festival of Eidul Azha.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, like most parts of the continent now, is facing a Covid-19 third wave after detecting the more transmissible Delta variant.

The head of the presidential steering committee on Covid-19, Boss Mustapha, has said Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory have been placed on red alert as part of preventive measures against the pandemic.

A red alert allows authorities in the states to restrict celebrations and gatherings to a minimum.

Read the full Reuters story here.

Dr Ngong Cyprian receives his first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine from Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, at National hospital in Abuja, Nigeria. — Reuters/File
Dr Ngong Cyprian receives his first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine from Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, at National hospital in Abuja, Nigeria. — Reuters/File

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