The Africa Centre for Disease Control, on Thursday, said Nigeria had experienced a 249 per cent increase in new deaths as a result of COVID-19 just as a tally of epidemiological reports issued by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control revealed that no fewer than 25 persons died in five days.

The Director of the Africa CDC, Dr John Nkengasong, during a virtual briefing of journalists added that 547 million doses of vaccine had been procured by the 54-member states of the African Union, while 326 million had been administered.

He said, “There has been an overall eight per cent average increase in new deaths reported in Africa. The breakdown of the deaths by most populous countries are as follows; Nigeria, 249 per cent average increase; Kenya, 215 per cent average increase; South Africa, 34 per cent average increase; and Ethiopia, 12 per cent average increase.

“To date, 547 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been procured by 54 member states; 326 million doses have been administered, which corresponds to 59.7 per cent of the total supply available in Africa.

“The following five countries have administered the most vaccine doses in Africa: Morocco, 50.6 million; Egypt, 48.7 million; South Africa, 28.2 million; Nigeria, 15.6 million; and that is just 38.3 per cent of the total supplies received; and Mozambique, with 15.5 million.

“The total number of J & J deliveries to 34 AU member states totals about 32.5 million doses.”

Read Also Nigeria Records 828 New COVID-19 Infections

Meanwhile, data from the NCDC has revealed that no fewer than 25 deaths were reported between January 1 and January 5, 2022.

As of January 1, 2022, the country had reported 3,033 deaths, while the centre said the total number of deaths reported as at January 5, 2022 was 3,058, representing 25 new deaths.

The NCDC, in a fresh directory, however, advised public settings, including the transportation industry, religious settings, businesses and markets to ensure adherence to public health and safety measures.