Coronavirus
NRC generates N1.4 billion IGR, remits N245 million to TSA in 2020
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on Friday said its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) as at Sept. 30 stood at N1.4billion as against N4.4billion projection for 2020. Mr Fidets Okhiria, Managing Director of NRC, in a statement said the sum of N245million was remitted to the TSA as at Oct.31. Okhiria said this at the 2021 Budget Defence to the Joint Committee of Land and Marine transport at the National Assembly in Abuja. He said that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic affected its operations as train services were stopped during its peak, thus affecting the IGR projection for the year. “The Joint Committee should also note that for the year 2020, the Corporation presented a separate Internally Generated Revenue & Expenditure Budget. “The sum of N1.4billion has been generated as ...
Nigeria records 180 new virus infections
Nigeria recorded 180 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the total number of infections in the nation to 63,508. Meanwhile, no death was recorded from the disease in the last 24 hours, meaning that the fatality stays at 1, 155. This is according to the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, on Thursday night. Of the 63,508 cases, 59,748 have been discharged across the country and the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 673,183 tests have been carried out across Nigeria. The 180 new cases were reported from 14 states. Thy are: Lagos (87), Oyo (51), FCT (12), Plateau (10), Edo (4), Ekiti (3), Ogun (3), Bauchi (2), Kaduna (2), Niger (2), Kano (1), Ondo (1), Osun (1), Rivers (1) With the latest figures, Lagos still leads in the number of confirmed cases wi...
Swedish premier self-isolates as nation reports virus surge
Sweden’s prime minister announced Thursday he has gone into protective self-isolation after a person close to him encountered someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. The country is experiencing an autumn surge of infections. From his Facebook account, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said that on his doctor’s advice, he and his wife, Ulla, were self-isolating, even though they have no symptoms. He said it was “the only responsible thing to do in this situation.” Lofven’s announcement came as Sweden’s Public Health Agency reported a record 4,034 new daily infections and five new deaths, putting Sweden’s total deaths at 6,002. In his post, Lofven said the new infections were clearly going in the wrong direction. Early in the pandemic, as other Nordic nations locked down to fight the vir...
Cristiano Ronaldo to make Portugal return against France, Croatia
Cristiano Ronaldo was on Thursday named in the Portugal squad to play a friendly against Andorra and Nations League matches against France and Croatia. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner tested positive for coronavirus on October 13 when with the Portugal squad, going on to miss the 3-0 victory over Sweden. The 35-year-old finally tested negative 19 days later, returning to the pitch with a double for Juventus against Spezia in Serie A action on Sunday. The Portugal captain also played in Juve’s 4-1 victory over Ferencvaros in the Champions League on Wednesday. Reigning European champions Portugal take on Andorra on Wednesday before Nations League A3 matches at home against France on November 14 and away to Croatia three days later. The main absentee from Fernando Santos’ 25-man squad is Pep...
Flying Eagles: WAFU B Zonal U-20 qualifiers postponed due to virus
The WAFU B Zonal qualifiers which will feature the Flying Eagles of Nigeria and six other West African countries billed for Lome, Togo, has been shifted to a later date due to coronavirus. The Togolese Football Federation (FTF) confirmed the postponement of the tournament in a communique published on their Twitter handle on Thursday. The WAFU B Zonal qualifiers which will be the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania, was originally scheduled for November 18 to December 2. According to FTF they will engage WAFU and CAF to find a new date for the competition. “The Togolese Football Federation is announcing to the sporting world that the WAFU Zone B tournament scheduled for Lome between November 18 and December has been postponed to a future date following a decisio...
British parliament approves second national lockdown
The British Parliament has approved a four-week coronavirus lockdown plan to begin Thursday morning. Lawmakers approved the plan Wednesday, 516-38. Beginning 1 a.m. Thursday, all nonessential businesses including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, golf courses, gyms, swimming pools, entertainment and sporting venues will close until at least December 2. The vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lockdown plan was never really in doubt after the opposition Labor Party said it would support the move, even though it criticized Johnson for acting too slowly. Some in Johnson’s own party, however, voted against the plan, saying a national lockdown was too severe. The plan is an effort prevent COVID-19 from escalating out of control and overwhelming Britain’s National Health Service. It represents ...
German COVID-19 Study Suggests Safe Indoor Concerts Are Theoretically (But Probably Not Actually) Possible *
Under conditions that may never be replicated in the real world, German scientists have found that safe indoor concerts are technically possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the good news. In August, researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg held a concert at Leipzig’s Quarterback Immobilien Arena. Using contact tracing devices and computer modeling, the scientists studied a group of 1,400 volunteers for 10 hours across three different simulated scenarios. In the first, there was no social distancing (this went badly), the second involved moderate social distancing (checkerboard seating, which went much better), and in the third go-round, pairs of people were seated 1.5 meters apart from their nearest neighbors, which produced excellent results. Researchers used fog ...
German Study Suggests Indoor Concerts May Have ‘Low’ Impact on COVID-19 Spread
The live music industry has taken a massive hit since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While there have been attempts at livestreams and outdoor shows, venues have suffered and are at risk of closing permanently. However, a new study from Germany suggests that indoor concert events may have a “low to very low” impact on spreading COVID-19. But that’s only if organizers do the following — put in adequate ventilation, follow “strict hygiene protocols” and limit the number of people who can attend. “There is no argument for not having such a concert,” Dr. Michael Gekle, part of the team at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg who conducted the study, told the New York Times. “The risk of getting infected is very low.” In an experiment that took place in August, German researc...
Damon Albarn: Artists “Should Be Allowed” to Perform During Pandemic
Over the weekend, Damon Albarn shared his thoughts on the importance of concerts during the ongoing pandemic. In an interview with Sky News, the Gorillaz mastermind said that live music is a remedy-like “prescription” for the mental stress of COVID-19, and expressed his opinion that artists shouldn’t be legally barred from performing if they wish to play to live crowds. “If people are willing to perform, they should be allowed to,” the 52-year-old said. “No one should be forced to do anything, but if people are willing then somehow we can make it work so everyone can feel comfortable and participate.” The idea of adapting live performances to fit pandemic-era restrictions isn’t a bad idea in and of itself, and artists like The Flaming Lips and The Chainsmokers have already attempted s...
Maynard James Keenan on “Arrogant” Pandemic Behavior: “There’s Logic Attached to Just Looking Out for Each Other”
Maynard James Keenan recently revealed that he battled COVID-19 earlier this year and is still feeling the residual effects months later. Unfortunately, the singer of Tool, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle fears any serious warning that he or others give about coronavirus is “just going to fall on deaf ears.” In interviews with Arizona Republic and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Keenan disclosed that he contracted COVID when Tool were on tour in Australia and New Zealand in late February. Eight months later, he still has lung damage, leading to daily coughing fits. Tragically, the United States is currently experiencing its worst single-day infection numbers yet, with roughly 100,000 people testing positive for COVID-19 every 24 hours. To this day, there’s a large contingent of the popula...
US terminates virus cash transfer to Uganda’s poor
Pool Photo The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has terminated its Covid-19 cash transfer programme in Uganda. The US embassy there said the decision followed the Ugandan government’s indefinite suspension of GiveDirectly, a non-profit organisation that was conducting the programme. “In light of this indefinite suspension, it is now unlikely that the programme will meet its original objective, which was to prevent Covid-19 related economic backsliding of the most vulnerable Ugandans,” the embassy said in a statement. “Therefore, we are obligated contractually to terminate the program permanently.” The programme was to benefit 120,000 Ugandans who lost livelihoods because of the coronavirus pandemic. Each beneficiary was to receive 100,000 Ugandan shillings ($26; £20) every m...
South African main opposition party elects new leader
South Africa’s largest opposition party on Sunday elected John Steenhuisen as their leader, who vowed to take the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) to greater heights after a slump in electoral support. Steenhuisen, who has acted as interim party leader since its first black leader Mmusi Maimane quit over a year ago, has also served as party chief whip in parliament. The triumph will see him lead the DA in the 2024 presidential elections against the ruling African National Congress (ANC). In his acceptance speech, Steenhuisen said under his leadership “people power” would be the order of the day, promising to “fight to give power and opportunities to every law-abiding, honest and hard-working citizen, regardless of their background”. Securing a whopping 80 per cent of the historic virt...
