COVID-19 Pandemic
Taraba governor launches 100-bed capacity isolation centre
Gov. Darius Ishaku of Taraba on Monday launched a 100-bed capacity isolation and treatment centre at the state NYSC Orientation Camp in Jalingo. He said that the establishment of the centre was part of measures to tackle the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Taraba. Represented by his Deputy, Haruna Manu, the governor said “there is currently no single case of COVID-19 in Taraba.” He explained that the move was, however, aimed at taking precautionary measures toward checking any spread in the event of an emergency. He commended the management of Access Bank PLC for donating beds for the centre and urged other well spirited individuals and groups to support government efforts at ensuring that the state remained COVID-19 free. Ishaku further urged the people to abide by the best global hygi...
Refugees Day: Don seeks global support for refugees, IDPs
University of Ilorin Dr Abiola Adimula of the University of Ilorin has advocated for greater global support for refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Adimula made the call on Saturday in a statement made available to newsmen to commemorate the 2020 World Refugees Day. She called on the Federal Government to take more proactive measures to provide good health facilities, welfare items and economic empowerment for IDPs. According to Adimula, every action counts in supporting stateless people and their hosts. “Everyone, including refugees, can contribute to the society and every action counts in the efforts to create a more just, inclusive and equal world. “Whoever you are,no matter where you come from, every one of us can make a difference. “Every action truly counts; do an action...
Is Company Culture Hindering Your Mobile Workforce?
Sourced from Tapscape While the mobile workforce has long been possible in theory, thanks to the ready availability of cloud technologies, many enterprises have continued to operate in a more traditional manner. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns around the globe have forced businesses to completely rethink the way they operate. This unprecedented situation has dramatically accelerated the mobility drive, and subsequently the adoption of the cloud. Most organisations were faced with the choice of enabling staff to work from home or ceasing to operate, and the cloud offers the ideal way to access technologies to facilitate this. There is no going back “While we may have moved down a level in our lockdown status, President Ramaphosa has stressed that those who are able to work re...
Minister: Nigeria working on plasma of recovered coronavirus patients for treatment
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Sunday said the Federal Government is working on research, using plasma from the blood of recovered Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients to treat people infected with the virus. Ehanire said this while answering questions from journalists in Abuja on the possibility of using plasma of recovered COVID-19 patients to treat serious cases. The minister, who spoke at a news conference to commemorate the World Blood Donor Day (WBDD), said some research institutes were already working on the new research. According to him, plasma of patients recovered from COVID-19 is called Convalescent plasma. “It is believed that persons who suffered COVID-19 and have recovered will have antibodies inside their plasma, which can be used to treat others. “It can be used...
COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps: Managing the Pandemic While Maintaining Privacy
Image sourced from Oudtshoorn Courant The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll worldwide for both individuals and economies. As a precaution, many countries have implemented strict lockdown measures such as closing schools, restaurants and borders, while mask-wearing in public and social distancing have become a must. The enforcement of these policies, along with the extensive testing of populations has helped to minimize infection rates. However, when an individual is found to be infected with the coronavirus, the race is on to find those who have come into contact with them, as these people could be carriers or even be infected. This has led to hundreds of coronavirus contact-tracing mobile applications being developed worldwide and backed by various governments and national health au...
South Africa’s rAge Expo 2020 Has Been Cancelled
Sourced from rAge. South Africa’s largest annual video gaming, tech and geek culture expo has been cancelled for 2020. The rAge Expo has been ongoing without fail for nearly two decades. For the first time in 18 years, the Johannesburg-based event won’t be going forward due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “The 2020 expo was shaping up to be yet another awesome event, and the team is deeply saddened that rAge won’t be coming to life in the real world this year. This isn’t a decision that was taken lightly. It was the product of lengthy internal discussions as well as valued input from other stakeholders, and the team all agreed that the expo would serve everyone better if it was cancelled for now,” reads a statement from the expo’s official website. “The coronavirus pandemic has touched e...
Uber Cash Digital Wallet Launched in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sourced from The Guardian. Uber is launching its Uber Cash digital wallet feature in Sub-Saharan Africa through a partnership with Nigerian founded fintech Flutterwave. The arrangement will allow riders to top up Uber wallets using the dozens of remittance partners active on Flutterwave’s Pan-African network. Flutterwave operates as a business-to-business payments gateway network that allows clients to tap its APIs and customize payments applications. According to TechCrunch, Uber Cash will go live in the next two weeks for Uber’s ride-hailing operations in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Tanzania according to Alon Lits, GM of Uber for Sub-Saharan Africa. “Depending on the country, you’ve got different top-up methods available. For example, in Nigeria, you can ...
Sony Delays PS5 Reveal Event
Sourced from Wikimedia. Sony has announced that it has decided to postpone the PlayStation 5 reveal event, originally scheduled for 4 June. pic.twitter.com/ZAY8StN0EU — PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 1, 2020 The company has decided to postpone the event and the new generation console’s reveal as rioting and civil unrest continues in the US following the killing of unarmed man George Floyd. A killing that many Americans feel to be direly unjust. In addition, the globe is also still grappling with the society-crippling COVID-19 pandemic. “We have decided to postpone the PlayStation 5 event scheduled for June 4. While we understand gamers worldwide are excited to see PS5 games, we do not feel that right now is a time for celebration and for now, we want to stand back and allow more important...
Olusegun Obasanjo’s library sacks many workers
The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State has sacked lots of workers following downturn caused by the deadly Coronavirus in the country. The library is owned by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Head of Human Resources, Administration and Procurement, Olanike Ogunleye, in a letter to affected workers, said the development was due to the overwhelming adverse impacts of coronavirus on the organisation. According to the letter, the current COVID-19 pandemic has had a toll on all business significantly, which had resulted to making some difficult business decisions. “Due to this situation, we regret to inform you that your employment will be put on hold till further notice. “You are to hand over all company properties in your possession to the human resource department...
How Using Cloud Can Increase Security for Remote Working During the Pandemic
Sourced from Tapscape The cloud can enable organisations to quickly scale out enhanced security to a suddenly remote workforce, as part of efforts to ensure business continuity and disaster recovery – this is according to Patrick Grillo, Senior Director and Solutions Marketing at Fortinet. The pandemic had created unique challenges for employers and employees across all sectors around the world, with Varun Kukreja, Senior Program Manager – IT Security MEA, IDC Middle East, Africa, & Turkey, saying securing the teleworker had become a top priority, with some 90% of organisations looking to provide staff with secure access to IT services and applications. The pandemic had also accelerated digital transformation, he says, with an IDC Meta survey interim results revealing that some 56% of ...
Instacart’s tip-baiting system is short-changing shoppers – US senators
Instacart’s tipping system is getting some new scrutiny from Congress. In a pair of letters today, a group of senators led by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) raised concerns that the service’s tipping system may be unfair or deceptive and called for a regulatory investigation of the practice. One letter sent to Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta took the service to task for allowing buyers to promise large tips but reduce them to zero after an order is fulfilled. “People are facing unprecedented economic hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the senators wrote, “and so we hope online delivery companies like yours are taking the necessary steps to protect shoppers and prevent unfair and deceptive practices.” Reached for comment, Instacart defended the system, arguing that it typically increases the...
Governor Fayemi: Lockdown violators swell Ekiti internal revenue by N2 million
Governor Kayode Fayemi on Friday disclosed that not less than N2million has accrued to the coffers of the State being the various fines paid by the lockdown violators since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor also said that over 100 offenders have been prosecuted. Speaking during the press briefing, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, said the laboratory located at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital will be commissioned by Governor Kayode Fayemi. “We are still perfecting some regulatory procedure with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, but everything will be finetuned before Monday. “We have had 20 COVID-19 cases so far, two are still active, we have recorded two deaths and 16 have been treated with investigational drugs and discharged,” she...
