Descriptive epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 in Nigeria, 27 February-6 June, 2020

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Nigeria with a view of generating evidence to enhance planning and response strategies. A national surveillance dataset between 27 February and 6 June, 2020 was retrospectively analysed, with confirmatory testing for COVID-19 done by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The primary outcomes were cumulative incidence (CI) and case fatality (CF). A total of 40926 persons (67% of total 60839) had complete records of RT-PCR test across 35 States and the Federal Capital Territory, 12289 (30.0%) of whom were confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of those confirmed cases, 3467 (28.2%) had complete records of clinical outcome (alive or dead), 342 (9.9%) of which died. The overall CI and CF were 5.6 per 100000 population and 2.8%, respectively.