Westernars

NIGERIA on Wednesday recorded its highest ever Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases with last night’s confirmation of 196 by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The figure, one more above Tuesday’s 195 cases were recorded in Lagos (87); Kano (24); Gombe (18); Kaduna (17); Federal Capital Territory (16); Katsina (10); Sokoto (eight); Edo (seven) and Borno (six). Yobe, Ebonyi and Adamawa states have one case each. According to the NCDC, the number of discharged patients rose from 225 to 307. Fifty-five patients were discharged from isolation centres in Lagos and Katsina states. Lagos, which recorded 87 cases yesterday, discharged 49 patients from its Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) and another isolation centre, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said yesterday. The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, Dr Bello Suleiman, said six out of the 14 COVID-19 patients in Katsina State have been discharged after they tested negative twice. Sanwo-Olu sa

World Bank Group has said COVID-19 pandemic could push 49 million people into poverty in the year. The bank in a report said: “The coronavirus (COVID-19) is a crisis like no other the world has faced in recent decades in terms of its potential economic and social impacts. We estimate that the pandemic could push about 49 million people into poverty. A large share of the new poor will be concentrated in countries that are already struggling with high poverty rates, but middle-income countries will also be significantly affected. Almost half of the projected new poor (23 million) will be in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an additional 16 million in South Asia. The number of extreme poor in the poorest countries that are served by the World Bank’s International Development Association is projected to increase by 17 million. “At the same time, 22 million of the projected new poor will be in middle-income countries. There are projected to be 10 million new extremely poor people in fra

Lionel Messi will “have no trouble” signing a contract extension at Barcelona, according to the club’s former president Joan Laporta. Messi’s future at Camp Nou has been a talking point amid turmoil at Barcelona, where the star is contracted until 2021. The Argentina international can leave the LaLiga giants for free at the end of any season, sparking even further speculation over his future. But former Barca president Laporta, who is expected to run again next year, said it would be easy for Messi to re-sign. “[Messi] will have no trouble renewing his contract,” he told Deportes Cuatro on Wednesday. A player linked with a reunion with Messi at Barcelona is Neymar, who left the club for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. Laporta said he would bring the Brazil international back to Camp Nou, where he starred for four seasons before his departure. “They were not clear with him,” he said. “I would bring him back for sure.”

Manufacturer of personal healthcare products and consumer goods, PZ Cussons, has said affordability of detergents/soap to wash hands is also a critical element in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The Chairman, PZ Cussons Foundation, Prof Eyitayo Lambo, who spoke during the donation of soap to over 40,000 people towards controlling the spread of the pandemic in the country in six cities across the country, said it was on this realisation that the Foundation in collaboration with Foundation for Refugee Economic Empowerment (FREE), took the step to promote healthy living. FREE is a UK and Nigerian charity that aims to provide high quality, timely, accountable, and inclusive humanitarian assistance to displaced persons towards enabling them to return to normal and sustainable productive lives. Lambo said: “We have since learned that one of the simple ways to stay protected against the coronavirus is by consistent handwashing with soap. Sadly, however, not everyone can afford to

An Ilorin Magistrate’s Court on Thursday sentenced four persons to 14 days self-isolation for attempting to escape with one Kazeem Oladayo, a COVID-19 patient, at Sobi Isolation Centre in Ilorin. The Chief Magistrate, Mr Bio Solihu, also ordered the convicts to pay N20,000 fine each in addition to the isolation sentence. Solihu also ordered the NSCDC officers who arrested the violators to liaise with the officers of the correctional centre and the state’s Covid-19 Technical Committee to ensure that the convicts were isolated. The convicts are AbdulGaniyu Sadiq, Abdullah Isiaka, Sodiq Hakeem and Aremu Wasiu. They were convicted for violating the state government’s restriction of movement order and the rules guiding patients at the isolation centre. The Prosecutor, Insp Nasir Yusuf, urged the court to try the offenders summarily since they had pleaded guilty. Yusuf said that the patient was an inter-state driver who came from Lagos to Ilorin.

April 30, 2020 All staff of the branch of a new generation bank in Damaturu, capital of Yobe, have been advised to stay off from office after one of them was suspected to have tested positive for COVID -19. Some staff of the bank, who spoke to our correspondent in Damaturu, gathered the Yobe State COVID-19 asked them to stay off the office because of de-contamination. The Nation also gathered all the staff of the branch have been asked to proceed on self-isolation for 14 days as part of measures to stop the spread of the virus. Investigation however revealed the travel history of the case of the suspected case indicate that he has not travelled out of Damaturu in the last eight months. Some of the staff are expressing reservation on result due to the fact that their colleague has not travelled to any of the high- burden COVID-19 states. A medical personal at the State Specialist Hospital, who does not want to be mentioned, said: “If the result of is positive as it is bein

A leading Chinese medical expert on fighting COVID-19 in Shanghai said cooperation of the general public in implementing prevention measures is important in curbing the spread of the virus. Zhang Wenhong, Head of the Centre for Infectious Disease with Shanghai-based Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, made the observation at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday. “Efforts of communicating the strategies and tactics for epidemic prevention and control to the general public have generated positive effects. “Even better than what we did in hospital wards to some extent,’’ Zhang said. He gained widespread popularity online amid the epidemic after many of the remarks he made when educating the general public about the novel coronavirus went viral. For example, to persuade people to keep social distance, he said that by staying at home, every person became a soldier in the fight and that the virus could be “suffocated.” Zhang also published two manuals elaborating on sympt

The Kaduna State Ministry of Health has confirmed 16 new cases of COVID-19 in the state, raising the number to 25. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni, said on Thursday that the new cases were the Quranic education pupils (Almajri) who came to the state from Kano. Mohammed-Baloni said that they were tested positive to COVID-19 from sample of 40 people whose test results were released on Thursday. “These latest cases have raised the number of active COVID-19 cases in Kaduna State from nine to 25. “The high numbers of positive results from persons with travel history from outside the state, confirms the Kaduna State Government’s fears. “The state government had expressed fear about the danger of infection from neighbouring states, and the role of interstate travel in facilitating the spread of COVID-19 across state lines,” she said. The commissioner said one of the 17 cases announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was a repeat test

In fulfilment of its pledge, some stakeholders in the industry have rolled out insurance cover worth N11 billion for about 5000 health workers. The beneficiaries are those engaged by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The Acting Commissioner for Insurance, Olorundare Sunday Thomas, who broke the news, said the cash had been presented to the Chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. This is coming after weeks of intrigues on the modalities. The cover, which began from April 12, Ag. commissioner said, would cover 12 months. He said 19 life insurance firms were accredited to provide the cover, stating that for any fatality, the government agencies would advise the lead underwriter – FBN Insurance Limited – which would request for documents to pay the claim. He said 19 life firms were accredited to provide the cover and that the lead underwriter FBN Insurance, would handle this. Also, the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) Director-General, Mrs Yetunde Il

LASACO Assurance Plc has provided N1billion free insurance cover to 200 frontline health workers in Osun State, its Managing Director, Mr Segun Balogun, has said. Balogun, in a statement, said the workers involved in containing the disease would enjoy insurance worth N5 million each to cover death/permanent disability and medical/hospitalisation expenses. According to him, the gesture was to boost the morale and motivate the workers, who are in the fore-front of the battle against COVID-19 and are, thus, exposed to several risks. He emphasised the need of such protection for the workers to enable them focus on their duty. He commended Nigerians for cooperating with the government in the fight against the disease and advised them to continue to observe social distancing and other preventive measures eradicate the disease. He promised that the company would continue to provide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to support the government. LASACO Assurance, along with othe

Life insurance provides financial support to surviving dependents or other beneficiaries after the death of an insured. here are some examples of people who may need life insurance: Parents with minor children – if a parent dies, the loss of his or her income or caregiving skills could create a financial hardship. Life insurance can make sure the kids will have the financial resources they need until they can support themselves. Parents with special-needs adult children – for children who require lifelong care and will never be self-sufficient, life insurance can make sure their needs will be met after their parents pass away. The death benefit can be used to fund a special needs trust that a fiduciary will manage for the adult child’s benefit. Adults who own property together – married or not, if the death of one adult would mean that the other could no longer afford loan payments, upkeep, and taxes on the property, life insurance may be a good idea. An example would be an eng

Super Eagles goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, says his father never supported him playing football, adding that he got flogged anytime he disobeyed his advice. The national team first choice made this known during a live Instagram chat with ng_supereagles on Tuesday. The 21-year-old made his Nigeria debut on November 14, 2017, replacing Daniel Akpeyi in a 4–2 friendly win against Argentina and has since gone on to play 14 times rimes for the Eagles. “My dad was against me playing football because education was the priority in our family,” Uzoho said. “He flogged me anytime I went to play football. He often gave me Mathematics assignment just to keep me busy and prevent me from playing football. “But I still found my out even if it was just for five minutes and I knew the implication. “It was my coach back then that convinced my dad to allow me to pursue my career and he loosened up a bit, but that didn’t mean I still didn’t get beaten by him. “Despite the amount of beating I

The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has said his administration has spent over N1bn to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Speaking at a media briefing held at the Government House, Uyo, on Monday, the governor said the state government was currently constructing a 300-bed isolation centre at the Ituk Mbang General Hospital. He said all the Isolation centres including the Ibom Specialist Hospital had functional ventilators. The governor said although, COVID-19 was a new disease that took the world by surprise, it did not meet the Akwa Ibom State Government unprepared. On the proposed random testing for COVID-19 in the state, Emmanuel said, “It will absolutely be a waste of resources if we go on random testing. “There is no one who needed to be tested that has not been tested. Everything we do follows the NCDC’s prescriptions.” He said consultations were ongoing to decide on whether or not to lock the state down, promising to account for all donations recei

The Delta State Government has lifted the lockdown order in the state. It also directed that social distancing should be maintained to further checkmate the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who said this in a state-wide broadcast, on Tuesday, directed the compulsory use of face masks in public places. He said, “It has become necessary to partially lift the ban on movements within the state effective from Thursday, April 30, 2020. “This is to enable our people to engage in economic/business activities between the hours of 6am and 7pm. “Security agencies will be on hand to ensure strict compliance with the time- frame.” According to the governor, the state borders would be open to only agricultural, petroleum, food and other essential services. He said religious worship centres would remain closed and that a new directive about their mode of operations would be issued in the coming days. Okowa further announced that tricycle riders would only be all

Afropop singer David Davido Adeleke has announced that the proceeds from his recent music video, Dolce & Gabbana, will go to a coronavirus research program. In a recent interview with CNN, Davido said he will be donating the proceeds from the newly released music video to Dolce & Gabbana and Humanitas Together for Coronavirus Research fund. The video, which was released on Friday, April 24, off his ‘A Good Time’ album featuring Summer Walker, is geared to strengthen efforts toward scientific research benefitting global health. Davido also noted that the effect of the virus on Nigeria prompted his family to donate the sum of $1.3 million to the federal government and also distributed over 6,000 bags of rice across the Osun state. Speaking on the effect of coronavirus, Davido said, “People are really going through a hard time. This is the first time something like this has paused the whole world. A lot of people out here make money from day to day, like, surviving day

Naira Marley has put a halt to his exuberances on social media to embrace Islam during the holy month of Ramadan. The 25-year-old father of three stunned his 3.1 million followers on Instagram and 1.1 million followers on Twitter to share quotes from the Quran at the start of Ramadan on Friday, April 24. Reacting to some of the backlashes he got from some followers on Twitter and Instagram, Naira Marley said, “You will never be able to please all of the people all of the time, so concentrate on pleasing your maker (ALLAH) because that’s what matters.” Before the response, the UK trained singer had mocked those calling him out by saying, “Hating on someone you should be using as a prayer point.” Naira Marley was born Azeez Fashola in 1994. In less than 14 months, he became Nigeria’s most controversial music artist with at least 3 viral songs and large followership on social media and music scene. He has proudly promoted sex, alcohol, and drugs in his music but said in dif

The death of the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari, from complications arising from his Coronavirus infection, has brought home the reality of the pandemic for many sceptical Nigerians who had held the view that the entire hullabaloo about the novel virus is a scam. But, Nigeria has an uphill task ahead in its bid to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, otherwise known as Covid-19. As the lockdown imposed on Lagos and Ogun states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) expires today, President Buhari, who has the unenviable task of deciding whether to extend the restriction of movement or lift the order, is expected to address Nigerians once again to decide the way forward. It is unenviable because he will be criticised, whether he extends the order, lifts or modifies it. State governors on the aegis of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) have however pointed the way forward for President Buhari by recommending a two-week intersta

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is targeting two million Nigerians for Coronavirus (COVID-19) tests in the next three months, the agency’s Director-General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, hinted on Tuesday. Speaking in Abuja during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Control, Dr. Ihekweazu said the target was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive for aggressive reinforcement of testing and contact tracing measures. He said: “The laboratory strategic group that is responding to this outbreak has set itself a target of testing two million people in the next three months. This is a very ambitious target. We are working very hard with our development partners and all our friends to equip our labs to be able to do this. “It is going to cost us a lot of money but we can’t do this without a lot of collaboration from everyone. In countries that have achieved a lot more in terms of testing like in South Africa that we always refer to, they have

The 15-member medical team from China have tested negative to Coronavirus, according to Minister of Health Dr. Osagie Ehanire. The Chinese who were tested after completing their compulsory 14-day quarantine have all tested negative for coronavirus (COVID-19). The Chinese medics will be providing technical support to Nigeria in its fight against COVID-19, and sharing experiential strategies of how their country curtailed the spread of the virus. Dr. Ehanire said on Tuesday: “As for the Chinese persons who came in, the test has been done after they were quarantined for 14 days. All of them were negative. After that, the Federal Ministry of Health is done with that particular case.” He said a committee of experts headed by Prof. Oyewale Tomori, a virologist and the other members will soon be sworn in. “The ministry of health has set up a ministerial expert advisory committee, made up of eminent Nigerian virologists, public health experts, infectious disease and diagnostic exp

Reckitt Benckiser (RB), makers of JIK, has donated 100 cartons of products to Lagos State to support its fight against Coronavirus. Country Manager of RB Hygiene West Africa Asif Hashimi said: “This is a critical time and RB, makers of JIK, is proud to partner the Lagos State government in the fight against COVID-19. This contribution is in line with JIK’s efforts at containing the pandemic. “Over the years, Nigerians have come to trust JIK to keep their homes in good sanitary state and help curb the spread of infectious diseases. JIK is safe for the environment as it kills 99.9 per cent of illness-causing germs. This has been corroborated by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as part of precautions that should be adopted to help with prevention, among other measures. “JIK can be used on numerous surfaces, including door knobs, stair railing, floors, kitchen slabs, table tops, bathrooms and toilet surfaces. It can also be used to wash clothes and fumigate open place

The Federal Government has launched an investigation into the alleged abuse and maltreatment of Nigerians in China since the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The alleged attacks and abuse of Nigerians in the Guangdong region over the handling, test and treatment of COVID-19 patients, an allegation the Chinese government denied. Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama confirmed that the investigation has commenced. “Our Consulate in Guangzhou has started,” he confirmed to inquiries on the investigation by the Federal Government. A source close to Onyeama disclosed that the head of the Nigeria Embassy in Beijing has been directed to launch the immediate investigations into the allegations to advise the government on the next line of action. The source said: “I can authoritative tell you that the Nigerian government is investigating the alleged attacks on Nigerians by Chinese in Guangzhou. “The government really wants to get the actual position from the Chinese and N

The Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari over his decision to relax the coronavirus lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States. In a statement by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Engr Akeem Olatunji, it said Buhari’s decision to relax restrictions of movement in the affected areas is laudable because the lockdown has adversely affected Nigerians. The party noted that the new approach by the Federal Government was a testimony to the supremacy of Governor Seyi Makinde’s in combating the pandemic logically and scientifically which is now clear as a good template worthy of emulation. The party noted with disdain how opposition parties in the state, particularly the All Progressives Congress (APC), had attempted to discredit Makinde’s giant strides in keeping the state safe from a larger outbreak of the disease within the ambient of very limited resources while allowing commerce to thrive during partial lockdown in Oyo State. The