The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 490 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 17,148.

Thirty-one deaths were recorded from the virus on Tuesday bringing the total number of confirmed deaths from the virus to 455.

This is the highest daily death figure reported yet, since the beginning of the outbreak in Nigeria in February.

The health agency in a tweet Wednesday morning said the new cases were reported in 16 states.

These are Lagos, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), , Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Oyo, Kaduna, Imo, Enugu, Kwara, Gombe, Ondo, Bauchi, Ogun, Borno and Benue.

READ ALSO:

Steroid Dexamethasone Is First Drug Shown to Improve COVID-19 Survival

All the reporting states already had at least a case of the virus.

As of the time of reporting, 35 states and the FCT have recorded at least a case of the disease. Only one state, Cross River, is yet to report any case of the virus.

Lagos recorded the highest daily figure of the infection and remains the epicenter for the disease in the country.

According to NCDC, the 490 new cases are reported from 16 states: Lagos – 142, FCT – 60, Bayelsa – 54, Rivers – 39, Delta – 37, Oyo – 30, Kaduna – 26, Imo – 23, Enugu – 19, Kwara – 17, Gombe – 11, Ondo – 10, Bauchi – 8, Ogun – 7, Borno – 6 and Benue – 1.

NCDC tweeted; “Till date, 17, 148 cases have been confirmed, 5623 cases have been discharged and 455 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory."

Since the onset of the outbreak in Nigeria in February, NCDC said 96, 402 samples have so far been tested.

As of the time of reporting, there are 11, 067active cases of COVID-19 in the country, 5, 626 have recovered and have been discharged.

A breakdown of the 17, 148 confirmed cases shows that Lagos State has so far reported 7,461 cases, followed by FCT – 1,324, Kano – 1,158, Rivers – 631, Edo – 620, Oyo – 605, Ogun – 574, Kaduna – 472, Borno – 445, Gombe – 441, Bauchi – 430, Katsina – 414, Jigawa – 317, Delta – 317, Nasarawa – 177, Abia – 173, Kwara – 168, Plateau – 168, Ebonyi – 162, Imo – 159, Sokoto – 132, Bayelsa – 86, Ondo – 82, Zamfara – 76, Enugu – 76, Anambra – 66, Niger – 66, Kebbi – 66, Yobe – 55, Osun – 50, Akwa Ibom – 48, Adamawa – 42, Benue – 36, Ekiti – 30, Taraba – 18, Taraba – 18, and Kogi – 3.

While scientists across the world are still struggling to find an acceptable cure for COVID-19, NCDC has said it is aware of recent outcomes from a UK-Government funded clinical trial for COVID-19 which support the use of Dexamethasone as a possible treatment to reduce the risk of death among COVID-19 patients, who require oxygen or mechanical ventilation.

The agency said the Nigerian government has not validated or approved any treatment for COVID-19. In addition, the use of Dexamethasone for COVID-19 treatment has not been validated by WHO.

“We are aware of ongoing clinical trials conducted by scientists in the UK and will work with our sister agencies to evaluate this emerging data on the use of Dexamethasone.

“We will inform the general public on outcomes following scientific review and validation,” it said.