Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, said he had directed isolation and treatment centres in the country to prepare for reopening over the new development, The Cable reported.

The minister speaking at a COVID-19 briefing on Thursday, December 10, disclosed that Nigeria may be on the verge of a second wave judging by the increase in the number of confirmed cases in the last few days.

He said: “In the past 24 hours, 474 new confirmed cases and 2 deaths were recorded, with an indication that this week’s figure will beat last week’s.

As at today, we have crossed 70,000 mark with a total of 70,669 confirmed cases of which 65,242 have been treated and discharged.

Sadly the number of deaths has now reached 1184 as against 1,167 two weeks before."

Ehanire told Nigerians to prepare for a possible second wave. According to him, citizens must take preventive measures to prevent the explosive spread of the infection in the country.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai has raised the possibility of imposing another lockdown if the COVID-19 surge in the state continues.

El-Rufai made the statement on Wednesday, December 9, when he raised concerns over the increasing number of cases in Kaduna, Daily Trust reported.

The governor said measures need to be taken to contain the spread of the virus in order to prevent the state’s health system from being overwhelmed by the disease.