Coronavirus Nigeria news summary: cases and deaths - 20 April
Coronavirus live Nigeria: latest Covid-19 news - Monday 20 April
Nigeria coronavirus update at 22:30 WAT on Monday 20 April (23:30 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 2,463,357 cases have been detected worldwide, with 169,502 deaths and 644,262 people now recovered.
In Nigeria, there have been 627 cases, with 21 deaths and 170 people recovering from the virus.
For all the latest news on the Covid-19 situation in Nigeria, you can head to our live updates for Tuesday 21 April here.
Nigeria coronavirus figures for 19 April
The NCDC has published the full details of all reported Covid-19 cases in the country for 19 April.
Niyi Akinmolayan helps kids to understand lockdown
It is hard enough for adults to get their heads around the coronavirus, but for children it can be even more difficult to understand why they can't see their friends or play outside.
That is where Niyi Akinmolayan's cartoon monster comes in. The Nigerian filmmaker has created a 90-second animation to help youngsters understand why they have to stay at home after schools in Lagos were shut from March 23 and public gatherings were banned to stem the spread of the disease.
It tells the story of two siblings, Habeeb and Funke. Habeeb gets tired of staying at home and decides to sneak out to play soccer. His older sister Funke warns him not go out, but he insists, only to be confronted by a monster.
Akinmolayan, best known for directing "The Wedding Party 2", Nigeria's highest grossing movie, said he was inspired after several attempts to explain the lockdown to his 5-year-old son.
"But he still didn't get it until I kind of changed the narrative and said the coronavirus actually looks like a big monster and it is out there in the street and if you go it will catch you," he told Reuters.
The message seems to have sunk in with some children who have seen the video.
"My favourite part was when the boy opened the door and saw the coronavirus, the monster, outside, and he slammed the door and had to go inside, and now I know that this is not the right time to go anywhere or outside," said Ezichi Nwaogu, 9, watching with her sister at their Lagos home.
Akinmolayan made the animation through his production company, Anthill Studios, using a 10-strong crew all working separately from their homes. It is being distributed for free and can be downloaded in English, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, French and Swahili. It is showing on some terrestrial television stations.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu said the coronavirus index case in Ondo State has tested negative twice and declared fit for discharge....
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the government will increase welfare provision to help poor households suffering due to the coronavirus lockdown...
Big losses for the stock market as the economic fall-out from the coronavirus continues to intensify...
The Kano State Government has closed down Tiamin Rice Mill after complaints that the pollution aggravates the condition of Coronavirus patients in the state...
Alibaba owner makes donation
Jack Ma donates 500,000 test kits, 300 ventilators to Nigeria with other African nations also receiving ventilators, clothing sets, face shields, thermal guns & body temp. scanners.
NCDC plans to ramp up testing
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control outlines guidelines on how they anticipate increasing Covid-19 testing.
Who is White House immunologist Anthony Fauci?
Who is White House immunologist Anthony Fauci?
The Brooklyn born immunologist and physician is seen by many Americans as a trustworthy voice in the coronavirus crisis.
"It's better to hold games behind closed doors than not play at all"
UEFA chief on the return of football
The head of UEFA talked about the ongoing consequences of the Covid-19 virus on the game and offered his view on when matches could be staged.
Armed bandits kill 47 in northwest Nigeria's Katsina state
Gunmen, some with AK 47 guns, carried out the attacks in three local government authorities in the state in the early hours of Saturday between 12:30 a.m. (2330 GMT) and around 3 a.m., Katsina police said in its statement.
"There was reports of organised and simultaneous attacks in villages in Danmusa, Dutsenma and Safana by groups of armed bandits," the statement said of some of the attacks.
"Detachments of Police, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Airforce, Civil Defence and DSS (Department of State Services) have been drafted to the area," it added.
MSF says aid worker dies in Nigeria after contracting Covid-19
An aid worker employed by humanitarian agency Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) died in the northeast Nigerian state of Borno after contracting the new coronavirus, a spokesman for the organisation said on Sunday.
Borno is at the epicentre of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, spawned by a decade-long Islamist militant insurgency that has left 7 million people in need of aid.
The death of an aid worker in a part of Africa's most populous country where camps house many of the roughly two million people displaced by the insurgency will prompt fears of the highly infectious lung disease spreading quickly among malnourished people, many of whom suffer from other diseases.
An MSF spokesman confirmed the death of one of the aid agency's workers but did not provide further details. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) late on Sunday said it had recorded a cumulative total of 627 confirmed cases and 21 deaths - including one in Borno.
MSF worker dies
An aid worker employed by humanitarian agency Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) died in the northeast Nigerian state of Borno after contracting the new coronavirus, a spokesman for the organisation said on Sunday, via Reuters.
Borno is at the epicentre of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, spawned by a decade-long Islamist militant insurgency that has left 7 million people in need of aid.
The death of an aid worker in a part of Africa's most populous country where camps house many of the roughly two million people displaced by the insurgency will prompt fears of the highly infectious lung disease spreading quickly among malnourished people, many of whom suffer from other diseases.
No law in Lagos against release of Covid-19 corpses
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, said on Sunday that there was no existing law in the state that prohibits them from releasing the bodies of Covid-19 dead patients to their relatives even as he disclosed that no fewer than one million households have been reached in the search for active cases of Covid-19 in communities.
Giving updates on the containment efforts of the virus in the state during a pressing conference further disclosed that the state government will soon issue a policy on the use of facemasks, adding that already the state has commenced mass production of local face mask. Read the full story here.
Nigeria coronavirus update at 00:30 WAT on Monday 20 April (01:30 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 2,394,291 cases have been detected worldwide, with 164,938 deaths and 611,880 people now recovered.
In Nigeria, there have been 541 cases, with 19 deaths and 166 people recovering from the virus.
Covid-19 live blog: Nigeria
Hello and welcome to our live daily coverage of the news that surrounds the coronavirus pandemic with a special focus on Nigeria.
Throughout the day we will aim to keep you up to date with all the latest developments from Africa related to the Covid-19 crisis that has devastated many countries.