The Nigeria government on Wednesday announced 91 new COVID-19 infections in the country, bringing the new tally of infected people to 873.

The number of reported cases in Lagos, the epicenter of the outbreak in Nigeria, also surpassed 500 for the first time.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) disclosed in a tweet that the 91 new cases were reported in nine states.

Of the new cases, Adamawa recorded its first case of the virus since the beginning of the outbreak in the country.

With the latest update, the total tally of infected people in the country rose to 873 from 782 reported on Tuesday evening.

The nine states where the new cases were reported are Lagos, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oyo, Delta, Katsina,Ogun, Kwara , Edo and Adamawa.

Also, Lagos State reported its highest daily figure,74, since the index case was detected in the state. The highest figure the state had previously reported was 70, which was on Sunday.

A breakdown of the latest update shows that 74 of the new cases were reported in Lagos, five in Katsina, four in Ogun, two in Delta and Edo, and one each in Kwara, Oyo, Adamawa and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

NCDC said as of 11:25 p.m. on April 22, there were 873 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Nigeria. Of these, 197 infected people have recovered and have been discharged while the death toll rose to 28 from 25 reported on Tuesday.

As of the time of reporting, 649 cases are still active and undergoing treatment.

There has been a steady rise in the number of recoveries and deaths reported from the COVID-19 in the country.

A breakdown of all the cases shows that Lagos State has so far reported 504 cases, followed by FCT – 119, Kano – 73, Ogun – 24, Katsina – 21, Osun – 20, Oyo and Edo – 17 cases each, Kwara-10, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom and Borno – nine cases each, Bauchi has recorded eight cases, Delta – six, Gombe – five, Ekiti – four, Ondo and Rivers three apiece.

Jigawa, Enugu, Niger and Abia have two cases each while Benue, Anambra, Sokoto and Adamawa have a case apiece.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Nigeria have been on the rise since the confirmation of the index case in February.

As of the time of reporting, 24 states and the FCT have reported at least a case of the virus.

More cases are expected as the government intensifies contact tracing and testing across the nation.

On Tuesday, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said the increasing cases of confirmed COVID-19 in the country is as a result of the government scaling up its testing capacity as well as early signs of community transmission.

He said the outbreak in the country in now in the community transmission phase.

“We have passed that era when people used to think that COVID-19 was something for big men and big women who came from abroad.

“Door to door testing is now taking place in some communities in Lagos and the FCT.”

He said now that the virus has gotten to the grassroots, the primary healthcare centres have a role to play in early detection.

We advise the use of tissue or handkerchief when you are coughing. Remember to wash and sun-dry your reusable face masks or iron your cloth masks, he added.