Edo records 72 new cases of COVID-19 in 72 hours

• 143 health workers infected
Edo State has recorded 72 new cases of coronavirus in the last 72 hours, while 143 health workers have been infected with the virus in the second wave of the pandemic.

The Edo State COVID-19 Incident Manager, Dr. Andrew Obi, disclosed this in a virtual meeting of the COVID-19 Taskforce, chaired by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

He said the 72 new cases were reported from 640 samples collected within the period, adding that the state currently has 306 active cases, 34 recoveries and three deaths.

He said: “44 of the 72 new cases were reported at the Real-Time PCR Laboratory at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), while 28 were reported at Laboratory at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH).

“About 143 healthcare workers have been infected since the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19 in the state of which 110 are workers at ISTH, while 33 are staff of UBTH.”

He noted that since the outbreak of the second wave in the first week of December, the state has recorded 565 confirmed cases, 248 recoveries and 15 deaths.

Obi added that there has been a 73.3 per cent rise in death of elderly persons, constituting two thirds of the total deaths recorded from COVID-19 in the state.