A survey found that 23% of people in Lagos are infected with Covid-19.
Photographer: Adeyinka Yusuf / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Photographer: Adeyinka Yusuf / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
According to one survey, one in four people in Africa’s largest city may have had Covid-19.
A survey conducted by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research found that 23% of people in the West African commercial center of Lagos, with a population of 21 million people, are infected with the disease. The number is well above the official estimate of 152,616 infections across Nigeria.
“These contamination rates are higher than those reported through the National Surveillance System and show that the spread of infection in the states studied is greater than is apparent from surveillance activities,” the two agencies said in a joint statement Tuesday.
The findings were based on blood samples collected in September and October from at least 10,000 individuals in Lagos and three other Nigerian states. The samples were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies through locally validated laboratory tests, the agencies said.
– With the help of Antony Sguazzin