Eight members of an organization test positive for COVID-19 in Oyo

  

   8 staff members of a company located in Ibadan South West local government area in Oyo state have tested positive for COVID19.

   This is coming barely two days after 30 workers in the same organisation tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of Coronavirus cases in the said company to 38. The state governor, Seyi Makinde disclosed this via his Twitter handle on Monday morning, May 18.

''The COVID-19 confirmation tests for eleven suspected cases came back POSITIVE. Eight of these cases are from the same organisation in Ibadan South West Local Government Area referred to in the update of May 16, 2020. One case is from Oluyole Local Government Area.'' the governor tweeted

   The governor also disclosed that two more COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in the state bringing the total number of deaths from the novel virus to four.

''Furthermore, the test results of two suspected cases from the University College Hospital, Ibadan, who passed away and have been buried also came back POSITIVE. So, the total number of confirmed cases in Oyo State is 118 and the total number of COVID-19 related deaths is four.'' he tweeted

   Governor Seyi however added that eighteen more COVID19 patients have recovered and have been discharged.

'' Eighteen confirmed COVID-19 patients have received their second NEGATIVE test results and have been discharged. This brings the number of discharged cases in Oyo State to forty-six.'' he tweeted

Coronavirus in Nigeria is just about the 'monetary gains- Pastor David Ibiyeomie

 

   Nigerian televangelist, and founder of Salvation Ministries, Port Harcourt, Pastor David Ibiyeomie, has said coronavirus in Nigeria is just about the monetary gains.

He made this known while preaching in his church saying the government are using the virus to make money from foreign bodies. He also claimed most people they claim are coronavirus patients are mostly 'high-fever patient''. He also reference the words of Raymond Dokpesi while further mocking the treatment of the virus in Nigeria.

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Chief Superintendent of Police on the run after testing positive for coronavirus in Abuja

 

   Police authorities and officials of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are looking for a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) who tested positive for Covid-19 but fled when a team came to evacuate him on Friday afternoon, The Nation has learnt. It was gathered the CSP (names withheld) attached to 21 Police Mobile Force (PMF) Nyanya, Abuja, was billed to be evacuated from his residence at Garki Barracks around 2pm on Friday.

   The officer was said to have been under quarantine and treatment at the National Hospital Abuja Isolation Centre after he tested positive. It was however not clear how and why the senior officer left the hospital and returned to his home where he was said to have continued self- treatment with the help of his friends and colleagues until NCDC officials came for him.

    Sources said the health workers were led by policemen from Garki Division to the officer’s residence but he refused all entreaties to open the door and follow them. It was gathered the officer and his family members were seen peeping through the window while the evacuators made unsuccessful efforts to convince him to follow them.

  “He was later seen driving out of the barracks in his car to an unknown destination. His mobile phone has remained unreachable. “Surveillance teams have been set up to trail and take him into custody. Police medical team have been alerted and on standby,” said a source.

US biotech company claims it has discovered cure for coronavirus

 

   Scientists at a California biotech company have found an antibody that completely blocks coronavirus in a discovery they called a 'cure,' Fox News reports.

  Sorrento Therapeutics, based in San Diego, claims its STI-1499 antibody stopped coronavirus from entering 100 percent of healthy human cells in petri dish experiments. It's one of several antibodies planned to be combined for a drug 'cocktail' Sorrento is developing in collaboration with Mt Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

   In a press release, Sorrento said it could produce up to 200,000 doses of the antibody a month - a production timeline that would likely make the drug available months sooner than a COVID-19 vaccine is expected. The company has filed for emergency approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but has not yet received the green light. Stocks for Sorrento soared by nearly 220 percent on the heels of the announcement.

   'We want to emphasize there is a cure,' Sorrento's CEO, Dr Henry Ji, told Fox. 'There is a solution that works 100 percent. 'If we have the neutralizing antibody in your body, you don't need the social distancing. You can open up a society without fear.'

COVID-19: Madagascar demands 170,000 Euros from Fed Govt for herbal drugs

 

  REPUBLIC of Madagascar has asked Nigeria to pay 170,000 Euros for the quantity of its COVID-19 cure drugs sent to the Federal Government, it was learnt at the weekend.

The quantity of the consignment sent to Nigeria through Guinea Bissau could not be ascertained yesterday. Guinea Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja on Saturday, brought the drugs allocated to Nigeria by Madagascar.

   President Buhari said Nigeria would take the drug through intensive test to determine its suitability. A source on Sunday said: “For our consignments in Guinea Bissau, Madagascar has asked Nigeria to pay over €170,000 (N78, 200,000). We have received the invoice because the African country has made us to realise that the drugs are not being given out free.

  “We are being asked to pay for the drugs yet to be validated. Since the AU directed the supply of the drugs to African countries, we may have no choice than to pay for it. “This payment may, however, be one-off because mass importation of the drugs from Madagascar will not be cost effective. By the time we take into account the cost of freight, the amount will be too high.

THE NATION

COVID-19: President Buhari To Address The Nation Today

President Muhammadu Buhari will address Nigerians on Monday, even as the first phase of the gradual easing of the COVID-19 lockdown comes to an end.

This is according to Aliyu Sani, the national coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19. Mr. Aliyu made this disclosure when he appeared on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

Nigeria Records 338 New COVID-19 Cases, Total Infections Near 6,000

Nigeria has recorded 338 new cases of the novel coronavirus, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

In a tweet on its official handle late Sunday, the NCDC said Lagos had recorded 177 new cases, while Kano posted 64 cases.

Other regions with new cases include the FCT with 21, Rivers with 16, Plateau with 14, Oyo 11, Katsina nine, Jigawa and Kaduna with four each, and three cases from the trio of Abia, Bauchi, and Borno.

Gombe, Akwa Ibom, and Delta states also recorded two new cases each, while Kebbi and Sokoto shared two cases between them.

338 new cases of #COVID19;

177-Lagos

64-Kano

21-FCT

16-Rivers

14-Plateau

11-Oyo

9-Katsina

4-Jigawa

4-Kaduna

3-Abia

3-Bauchi

3-Borno

2-Gombe

2-Akwa Ibom

2-Delta

1-Ondo

1-Kebbi

1-Sokoto

5959 cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria

Discharged: 1594

Deaths: 182 pic.twitter.com/1nC9HjskN3

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) May 17, 2020

Six drown while returning from funeral in Cross River

   

  At least six persons drowned when a boat conveying them and other passengers capsized in Ogurude, Obubra Local Government Area. According to sources in the area, the victims were returning from a burial in a village on the other side of the Cross River when the accident occurred.

   A teacher in the village, who identified himself as Ignatius Okpa, stated, “The canoe was overloaded. Some people were advised to stay back, but they insisted on going and the boat helmsman, who was eager to collect money, allowed more than the required number to board and mid river, the boat capsized.” He also said the victims were not indigenes of the area but visitors, who came from Akamkpa, another local government area, for a burial in the community.

   “They came from the Akamkpa Local Government Area to attend the burial of the father of their friend. They were unable to swim when the boat capsized. The helmsman and others from the area swam to safety, while the visitors drowned,” Okpa stated.

   He said divers had recovered some of the bodies, while the search for the others was continuing. Okpa blamed the incident on the non-availability of a boat donated by the state government due to a fault, adding that it was abandoned at the shore of the river in Ogurude, a situation that had left travellers with fewer boats with the attendant overloading of the canoe that capsized

Burundi expels four WHO officials over coronavirus warning

 

 

  Burundi government has kicked out the national head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and three members of his team during a presidential election campaign despite health risks from the coronavirus pandemic.

  The government confirmed on Thursday that a May 12 letter from the foreign ministry was sent to WHO country head Walter Kazadi Mulombo and three others of the U.N. body’s health experts, ordering them out by Friday.

  An election is due on May 20, to vote for a successor to President Pierre Nkurunziza, whose government has been repeatedly accused of rights violations. Bernard Ntahiraja, the foreign affairs assistant minister, confirmed the WHO officials had been declared “persona non grata” but did not give reasons.

Gunmen abduct Kaduna APC Vice-chairman and daughter

  The Police Command in Kaduna has confirmed the abduction of the Vice-Chairman, All Progressive Congress (APC), Kaduna State chapter, Shu’aibu Idris-Lauge and his daughter.

   The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Jalige, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna yesterday. According to him, Shu’aibu and his daughter were abducted from their Kwanar Zango residence along Kaduna-Zaria express way on Thursday morning.

  “Efforts are being made to rescue the kidnapped victims, apprehend and bring the culprits to book,” he said. Jalige, therefore, appealed to the public to support the Police by providing useful information that would lead to the rescue of the victims.

NFF donates PPEs to Lagos state government

 

   Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has made a donation of Personal Protection Equipment, PPE, to the Lagos State government to enhance the fight against coronavirus.

  First Vice President, Seyi Akinwunmi made the donation on behalf of the NFF in the company of the Head of the Nigeria women’s Football League, Aisha Falode.

  The duo presented the items to the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Segun Ogboye. Some of the equipment donated includes face-masks, hand gloves, overall gowns and head coverings

Nigeria records 193 new cases of COVID-19

   

   Nigeria has recorded 193 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 5162. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control confirmed the new figures in a tweet late Thursday. According to the NCDC, 58 of the new cases were in Lagos, 46 were recorded in Kano, 35in Jigawa and 12 in Yobe state.

   Nine cases were recorded in the FCT while 7 others were recorded in Ogun. Plateau and Gombe had five new cases each, four cases were recorded in Imo state while three new cases each were discovered in Edo, Kwara and Borno state.

   One case each was recorded in Bauchi, Nasarawa and Ondo. The total number of active cases in the country now sits at 3,815 while 1,180 persons have been discharged. As at the early hours of Friday, May 15th, the total number of fatalities recorded is 167.

Court Slams N10m Against DSS For Illegally Detaining Man Who Purchased SIM Card Previously Used By President Buhari’s Daughter

   

   A Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State, on Thursday slammed the sum of N10m against Nigeria’s lawless secret police, Department of State Services, for illegally detaining Anthony Okolie for 10 weeks for lawfully purchasing a SIM card previously used by President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Hanan.