Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported four new cases of coronavirus in the country, taking the total number of infections to 139.

According to the NCDC, Four new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Nigeria – three in the FCT and one in Lagos.

Of the 139 cases confirmed in the country, two death has been recorded, with nine discharged

NCDC said, “Four new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Nigeria; 3 in the FCT and 1 in Lagos

“As at 08:00 pm 31st March there are 139 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Nine have been discharged with two deaths”

Also, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control is set to increase its capacity to test for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) to 1500 per day in the country.

Director General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, gave the reassurance at the Presidential Taskforce Briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ihekweazu said the focus of NCDC efforts was to improve the number of people that could be tested.

“Last week, we had the capacity to test 500 per day, by the end of this week we will be at 1000 a day.

“By next week we are hoping to get to 1500 a day, “ he said.

Ihekweazu, however, said that Nigerians need to reduce the demand side of the testing to those who really needed it.

He noted that the more the people force themselves into being tested, the less NCDC would have the capacity to test those who really need the testing.

Ihekweazu said the people that really need the testing would be transmitting it into the community and more people would get infected.

According to him, by testing those that do not need it, people are blocking the system and there’s a price to pay.

In a related development, the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Farouq, said the ministry was unrelenting in its school children feeding.

She said, rather, the ministry would liaise with the state governments to work out the modalities to know how to go about the programme, despite the stay-at-home directive.

Farouq also disclosed that the ministry has about 2.6 million poor and vulnerable households on its social register.

She said, so far, the ministry had reached out to about 1 million indigent people.