Nigeria's Kaduna State commissioner of health Dr Amina Mohammed Baloni has said that most citizens had not come to terms with the severity of the coronavirus and infections in the state have tripled within one month of the lockdown being lifted.

According to the Daily Trust, Baloni told the media that only 316 people tested positive for Covid-19 before the lifting of the lockdown, but the figures had now spiked to 1 611.

"Before now, only seven out of the 23 local government areas had cases of infection, but Covid-19 is in 17 local governments," she said.

The commissioner said the health guidelines were simple and people were maintaining physical distancing and washing hands but they weren't wearing face masks.

"Even if you think that your immunity is so strong that you can't contract the disease, you should follow the prevention guidelines to protect your family and community," she pleaded.

On Friday, the Premium Times reported that the Kaduna State Ministry of Business and Innovation had shut down some major businesses operating in the state for non-compliance with the state's Covid-19 protocols.

In its latest update, the Nigeria Centre for Disease control (NCDC) reported  40 532 cases of Covid-19. The West African Country has 858 coronavirus-related deaths and 17 374 recoveries.

NCDC’s tweet read: “555 new cases of coronavirus; Lagos – 156, Kano – 65, Ogun – 57, Plateau – 54, Oyo – 53, Benue – 43, FCT – 30, Ondo – 18, Kaduna – 16, Akwa Ibom – 13, Gombe – 13, Rivers – 12, Ekiti – 9, Osun – 8, Cross River – 3, Borno – 2, Edo – 2."

Lagos State still has the highest number of cases in Nigeria at 14 456. Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Oyo and Edo have 3 481, 2 570 and 2 167, respectively.