Describing the Epidemiology of COVID-19 in Nigeria: An Analysis of the First Year of the Pandemic

Abstract

We report the COVID-19 experience across Nigeria from March 2020 to March 2021. Demographics were obtained from Nigerian Centre for Disease Control. By 21 March 2021, 161,737 people were confirmed positive for SARS-COV-2. Overall, testing rates were 0.8% of the population, with positivity rates of 9.6%, complete recovery rates without longterm sequelae of 91.4%, and case fatality rates of 1.3%. Most Nigerian regions contributed to figures for cases and deaths in 2021. The picture may change as testing is scaled up to include community testing. Given so-called "pandemic fatigue" among the general population, various conspiracy theories being prevalent, and the recent introduction of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria, we assume that Nigeria is at a pivotal stage of the outbreak. Effort must be made by government to learn successful strategies in other countries to adapt to prevent a rise in case numbers and deaths.