Cases
Report highlights impact of coronavirus on graduates
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted 47 per cent of graduates and their activities (including job search), a report has stated. Also 17 per cent of graduates lost their jobs due to the pandemic, a research by the Knowledge Exchange Centre (KEC) and BudgIT revealed. The Executive Secretary, KEC, Aghogho Akporido, disclosed this during the virtual graduation ceremony of 43 students in its Graduate Advancement Programme (GAP) network, recently. He said the programme was extended to three months as opposed to the previous six weeks. He also said during the selection process, training session, career counselling and mentoring session and even in some cases, the internship was done virtually (online). Akporido said for the first time there were participants from eight states and volunte...
Imo governor orders workers to stay home over spike in coronavirus
Imo state governor, Hope Uzodimma, yesterday ordered the workers in the state, to stay home from Monday next week till further notice, ahead of the festive period. The governor in his state-wide broadcast to Imo people in Owerri, said that the reason was that due to the expected influx of people coming home for Christmas that there could be a surge in the cases of covid -19. Uzodimma while wishing his people fruitful Christmas celebration noted that the wearing of facemask would be compulsory and that mobile courts would be deployed to within the state, to enforce the order. He continued: “My dear good people of Imo State, it is with a great sense responsibility that I address you on this auspicious season of Christmas.In normal times, with just a few days to Christmas, I should be saying ...
Kaduna civil servants below level 14 to work from home
The Kaduna state Government has directed civil servants below grade level 14 to work from home starting from Monday 21st December 2020 following increased infection rates of COVID-19 in the state. The state Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai tweeted on Sunday that the measure was part of the Covid-19 containment strategy announced last week by his administration. He appealed to all residents to see COVID-19 prevention as a personal responsibility. “It is mandatory to wear facemask outside the house, organizations and individuals that allow people into their premises have the responsibility to enforce the no mask, no entry mandate, facemask should be worn to cover the nose and mouth,” he said. Daily Trust reports that the state recorded 179 positive cases as at Saturday, from 639 samples tested...
Governor Sanwo-Olu: Lagos can’t afford another total lockdown
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu says the state cannot afford another total lockdown amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Friday said there were indications that the country had entered a second wave of the pandemic. “In Nigeria, the indication is that we have entered a second wave of infections, and we stand the risk of not just losing the gains from the hard work of the last nine months, but also losing the precious lives of our citizens”, Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, who represented Boss Mustapha, chairman of the PTF, said. Sanwo-Olu, who went into isolation last Saturday after testing positive for COVID-19, advised residents to adhere to health protocol and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to help limit the ...
Akwa Ibom cancels state events, caution residents
The Akwa Ibom State Government has cancelled all state events requiring large gatherings as it confirmed 48 new cases of COVID-19 in the state. A statement by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and Chairman of the COVID-19 Management Committee, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, cautioned residents against acts that might lead to another lockdown with its attendant consequences. He said; “large political meetings are discouraged until the current spike of COVID-19 infections is reduced. “Religious leaders must adhere strictly to the guidelines and protocols for programmes as developed by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and submitted to the government. “School administrators must ensure compulsory and proper use of face mask by students, teachers and everyone in the school premises.” T...
Northern governors hail release of abducted Kankara schoolboys
The Northern Governors Forum has welcomed with excitement the release of the abducted students of Government Science School Kankara, Katsina State. Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong while reacting to the development, commended President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Aminu Masari, security agencies, community leaders and all stakeholders who contributed in making sure the school boys were released unharmed. He said the release of the students will comfort and assuage the parents and the entire country which has been agonized since the children were kidnapped. Lalong said with the release of the students, further measures must be put in place to ensure that this ugly incident does not occur again while thorough investigation should also carried out to ensure...
Akwa Ibom bans large gatherings as coronavirus surges
As a precautionary measure against the second wave of COVID-19, the Akwa Ibom State government has announced the cancellation of “all state government events requiring large crowds”. The Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Emmanuel Ekuwem, who disclosed in a statement on Friday, said “test results from our PCR laboratory clearly indicate a sharp increase in the number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our state”. The statement said Governor Udom Emmanuel has directed strict enforcement of COVID-19 guidelines and protocols at the Christmas village in Uyo, the state capital. The government said large political meetings are to be discouraged until the current spike of COVID-19 infections is reduced. It said the use of face mask and adherence to other COVID-19 guidelines and proto...
California hospitals overrun even as vaccine is rolled out
Even as high profile figures like U.S. Vice President Mike Pence rolled up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccinations, patients already ill with the disease crowded emergency rooms and overran intensive care units in California, now a worldwide epicenter. Another 41,000 people tested positive in the most populous U.S. state on Thursday, and 300 died, state public health officials said. In a state with 40 million residents, only about 1,200 intensive care beds remained available by Friday – just 2.1% of the total, the California Department of Public Health said. “We anticipated a surge, but I’m not sure if anyone imagined it would be as bad as it has been,” said Adam Blackstone, a spokesman for the Hospital Association of Southern California. Hospitals are strained under the press of patients,...
Wuhan’s coronavirus survivors share lessons one year on
In late 2019, Wuhan businesswoman Duan Ling and her surgeon husband Fang Yushun began to hear snippets in hospital chat groups about a disease emerging in the city’s respiratory wards. Duan didn’t pay much attention at first. Fang had that year returned from a stint studying in the United States, and the pair, both 36-years-old, were planning a family, starting a costly round of fertility treatments. “But as more and more news came, we began to realise this was something different from previous infectious diseases,” said Duan. In just over a month, Fang would become one of the first people in the world to contract what came to be known as COVID-19, which has since infected over 74 million worldwide and killed more than 1.5 million. During the early days of the outbreak, the city’s hospital...
U.S. records 247,403 new coronavirus infections, 3,656 deaths
The daily number of new coronavirus (COVID-19) infections and deaths has hit new highs in the U.S. On Wednesday, December 16, there were 247,403 new infections and 3,656 deaths with confirmed COVID-19 infection registered within the past 24 hours, a data released on Thursday, December 17 by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore said. The highest values before those 233,133 new cases and 3,306 deaths were recorded on December 11, 2020. In total, around 16.9 million people have been proven to be infected with the COVID-19 in the country with around 330 million inhabitants. Since the beginning of the pandemic, no fewer than 307,500 people have died from the COVID-19 pandemic. In absolute terms, that is more than in any other country in the world. The Johns Hopkins University website...
UATH honours 80 coronavirus frontline healthcare workers
The University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada, FCT, on Wednesday honoured 80 COVID-19 frontline healthcare workers for their dedication and selfless service in the hospital. Presenting the awards to the recipients, Prof. Bissallah Ekele, Chief Medical Director (CMD), UATH, said that the gesture was to encourage and prepare them for greater tasks in the future. Ekele said that when FCT recorded its first case of COVID-19, the institution was the first to receive patients because of its capacity to manage the pandemic through the help of its frontline healthcare workers. “About this time in 2019, we gathered to honour and celebrate the 2019 UATH Staff Award winners. We are here today to do the same and we thank God for keeping us alive to witness another celebration. “Permit m...
Pinterest overhauls harassment policy following discrimination complaints
A five-month investigation into Pinterest’s company culture published on Wednesday recommends broad changes to how the firm handles workplace conflicts, including harassment and retaliation. Produced by the law firm WilmerHale, the report details how the company can improve its workplace conditions and prevent discrimination, specifically recommending the creation of an internal ombudsman’s office that can field employee complaints. The law firm spoke with 350 current and former Pinterest employees over the course of its five-month investigation. Pinterest’s board has already unanimously voted to adopt the recommendations, which were shared with employees on Wednesday and posted publicly on the company’s website. In recent months, a number of Pinterest employees have come forward with comp...
