The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 197 new cases of COVID-19, with five deaths recorded in the country.

The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Thursday.

The agency said that the total confirmed COVID-19 infections in the country had reached 55,829.

It noted that the 197 infections were reported from 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). 

The NCDC said that the number of deaths rose from 1,070 to 1,075, while the number of discharged cases also increased by 200.

According to it, Plateau leads with 83 new cases, followed by Lagos with 48, Kaduna with 17 and FCT with 16 cases.

Others are Ogun (11), Katsina (7), Imo (4), Edo (3), Nasarawa (3), Rivers (2), Bayelsa (1), Oyo (1) and Osun (1).

The health agency said that it had conducted about 433,206 tests since the first confirmed case was announced in February.

The agency said that till date, 55,829 cases have been confirmed, 43,810 cases discharged and 1,075 deaths recorded in 36 states and FCT.

Meanwhile, the health agency said that it had received complaints from passengers departing Nigeria, that airlines were rejecting COVID-19 negative results from some accredited private laboratories.

“This should not be the case. We are working with other Ministries and Agencies through the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to address the challenges faced by travellers using the Nigeria International Travel Portal.

“We have also provided a document to answer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for travellers.

“The document is available on the NCDC website (www.covid19.ncdc.gov.ng) and will provide further information for travellers,” NCDC said.