''There may be a fresh lock down'' Chikwe Ihekweazu warn Nigerians

    The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu has warned Nigerians of risking another lockdown if the guidelines were not observed and there was a surge in coronavirus cases.

   

Coronavirus: Three patients discharged in Kano

  Three Coronavirus patients have been dischared in Kano state after recovering from the disease.  Coordinator of the Technical Response Team on COVID-19, Dr Tijjani Hussain confirmed this during the daily briefing of the state task force on Tuesday May 5.  He said the patients were discharged after testing negative twice for the virus, in line with the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control(NCDC) directive. 

UK overtakes Italy in highest Coronavirus death toll in Europe

   

 

The United Kingdom has overtaken Italy as the country with highest official Coronavirus death toll in Europe. Figures released on Tuesday showed the fatalities in UK exceeds the death toll of 29,029 in Italy.  Reuters reported that the weekly figures from Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) added more than 7,000 deaths in England and Wales, raising the total for the United Kingdom to 32,313 as of late April.

   Tuesday’s figures are based on death certificate mentions of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, including suspected cases. This has spiked fear of UK becoming one of the worst hit countries in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic which has killed over 250,000 people worldwide. 

Atiku Abubakar's university, AUN, sacks over 400 staff days after his media outfit sacked 46 staff

   

   The American University of Nigeria, founded by former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has sacked 406 staff in one day. This comes days after Atiku's media outfit sacked 46 staff.

   On May 1, Workers' Day, 46 staff of Gotel Communication, a media house owned by Atiku Abubakar, were fired. Staff of American University of Nigeria, AUN, feared that they would be next and their worst fears became a reality yesterday, May 4, when they received a letter via mail, terminating their employment.

National Health Emergency Bill scales first reading in Senate

 

   The National Health Emergency Bill 2020 has scaled first reading at the Nigerian Senate Chamber of the National Assembly.

   This comes at exactly a week after the Controversial Bill on Control of Infectious Diseases 2020 scaled the first and second reading at the House of Representatives. Some Lawmakers raised concerns about the bill coming under a different title and demanded a draft copy of the bill to avoid a duplication and the controversy that greeted the house last week.

   President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, assured Lawmakers that the bill will be read for the second time next week Tuesday where it will be open for deliberations.

16 Lagos doctors infected with CovidD-19 - Medical Guild

   

   Medical doctors under the employ of Lagos State Government have expressed worry over-relaxation of the lockdown in the State, disclosing that 16 members of the Medical Guild in the state workforce have been infected with Covid-19.

  Addressing a press conference on the Issues of Covid-19 Response and Challenges Identified by the Guild, in Lagos, Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr Sodipo Oluwajimi who explained that the doctors were in stable condition, said to prevent more doctors from testing positive to the disease, they have adopted the slogan of ‘No Personal Protective Equipment, No work.”

   According to him, the State Government should prioritise the provision of PPE in the hospitals at all levels so as to prevent the spread of the virus. Sodipo added that the current community transmission of Covid-19 has led to a situation, where everyone can be designated as a Covid suspect especially as there are asymptomatic patients as well as those with atypical symptoms.

Dino Melaye places curse on himself and other Nigerian leaders, God will judge us all

   

   Former Senator Dino Melaye has placed a curse on himself and other Nigerian leaders, saying anyone who has held a political office in the past and present have failed and God will judge them all including himself. He stated this on twitter writing;

''EVERYONE WHO HELD AND IS HOLDING ANY POLITICAL OFFICE IN NIGERIA WHETHER ELECTIVE OR APPOINTED INCLUDING ME HAVE FAIL.WE SOLD CRUDE OIL FOR 64 YEARS BUT WE COULDN'T FEED OUR CITIZENS FOR JUST 2 WEEKS OF LOCKDOWN!! WELL, THE GOD OF THE POOR WILL JUDGE US ALL. ITS TIME TO REBOOT..''

PTF Mobilises 3,300 Informants To Report Suspected COVID-19 Cases In Kano

 

   The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 will engage about 3,300 informants to report suspected cases of coronavirus in Kano State.

  The PTF Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, revealed this on Tuesday in Abuja. He made the disclosure when he led members of the task force to the House of Representatives chamber of the National Assembly in the nation’s capital.

   Mustapha briefed the lawmakers on the measures being put in place by the Federal Government to address the situation in Kano and curb the spread of the disease in the state. He explained that the task force has mobilised the informants for a house-to-house search and report suspected cases of COVID-19 in the state. The PTF chairman believes Kano is fast emerging as the epicentre of the pandemic in the northern region of the country.

   As part of efforts to address the situation, he revealed that a total of 58 technical staff from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have been deployed in the state. According to Mustapha, the COVID-19 testing capacity in Kano has been increased to 400 per day and plans are in place to increase it to 2,000 daily by the end of the week.

  He, therefore, used the opportunity to call on the National Assembly to pass legislation that would further cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and improve the health sector. Among the PTF members who accompanied the SGF are the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, and the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu.

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Infectious Diseases Bill To Go Through Public Hearing- Gbajabiamila

   

   The controversial Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020 being debated on the floor of the House of Representatives will be put to public hearing, the Speaker has said. Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, who seemed to have bowed to public pressure, stated this during Tuesday’s plenary at the lower chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.

   He said, “The Control of Infectious Diseases Bill will be put forward to a public hearing where stakeholder contributions will be sought to make improvements to the bill before it is reviewed and debated by the Committee of the whole.

  “It is from the accumulation of these myriad views, suggestions and good faith critiques from within and outside the House that we will arrive at final legislation that meets the present and future needs of our country, and which we all can support in good conscience,” the speaker added. He, however, disagreed with those who condemned the timing of the bill, insisting that it was appropriate to enact such a bill at this time.

   The speaker also denied claims that the leadership of the House had received $10 million to pass the bill.  He decried that the allegations were weighty, and the House would take legal action. “Suffice it to say that none of these allegations is true. Unfortunately, we now live in a time when conspiracy theories have gained such currency that genuine endeavours in the public interest can quickly become mischaracterised and misconstrued to raise the spectre of sinister intent and ominous possibility,” Gbajabiamila said. He added, “In the recent uproar, certain fundamental truths have been lost and are worth remembering.

“Our current framework for the prevention and management of infectious diseases is obsolete and no longer fit for purpose. “The current law severely constrains the ability of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to take proactive action to prevent the entry into Nigeria of infectious diseases and the management of public health emergencies when they occur.”

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