COVID-19
Gombe records first coronavirus death
The Gombe State Government on Monday announced the state’s first coronavirus death. The chairman of the state task force on COVID-19, Idris Mohammed, disclosed this during the daily briefing on the activities of the task force. He said the deceased, a 50-year-old, who had high blood pressure died around 4 p.m. on Sunday from complications related to the COVID-19. According to him, the deceased concealed his health status “but the task force’s attention was called by a neighbour to the deceased who noticed that he was seriously ill upon his return from Bauchi”. He said his samples were taken and they returned positive, after which he was rushed to an isolation centre at Kwadon Infectious Diseases Hospital for treatment. “However, his condition deteriorated on Sunday, when he developed a str...
Above & Beyond Release Series of Ambient Music and Guided Meditation Compositions
With no clear light at the end of the pandemic’s tunnel in sight, many people are experienced a phenomenon known as “quarantine fatigue,” a behavioral instinct to return to pre-COVID-19 societal habits despite posing a danger to others. Speaking to TODAY recently, Melanie Ross Mills, a family relationship expert in Dallas, said, “We are created to bond and connect. We suffer when our social bonds are broken.” In harrowing times like this, when we must comply with stay-at-home ordinances in order to keep ourselves and others safe, it’s easy to become stir-crazy and lose your sense of self. Enter Above & Beyond, who are doing their best to combat the psychologic pitfalls associated with the global lockdown by releasing Flow State Meditations o...
Shinedown Singer Says Band’s Summer Tour Is Still a Go: “You Can’t Stay Inside Forever”
While most bands are conceding that touring won’t happen for at least the next several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shinedown frontman Brent Smith says his band is planning as if they’re hitting the road this summer. As he puts it: “We are not afraid to play for you.” Shinedown were forced to postpone their spring North American “Deep Dive Tour” due to the pandemic, but quickly rescheduled the dates for the summer, before health experts and government officials started predicting that concerts wouldn’t resume until 2021. In a new interview with Jose Mangin for Zippo Live, Smith explained that the band is still hoping to honor the newly scheduled dates. “We are supposed to be on tour right now doing that tour, interspersed with headlining some festivals,” said Smith. “We rescheduled...
Kaduna university expands online lectures to cover undergraduates
The Kaduna State University (KASU) says it has expanded its current online lectures to cover all departments in postgraduate and the undergraduate programmes to keep the students learning while on Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. The university’s Director of Academic Planning, Dr Salisu Tahir, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna on Monday. Tahir said that the university’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) team had recommended the use of Zoom platform for postgraduate lectures and Google Class for the undergraduate lectures. He said that the university had begun a week-long training for the academic staff to effectively adopt the user-friendly platforms to teach the students. He added that the directorate of academic planning had developed a module to enable ...
Medical experts decry non-compliance to NCDC guidelines
As COVID-19 confirmed cases continue to soar, health professionals have decried noncompliance with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, relaxation guidelines, expressing fears that the development may further worsen the spread of the infection across the country. In a separate interview with Vanguard, the experts described activities in the states as disastrous. In his submission, a Molecular Laboratory expert, Dr Casmier Ifeanyi, lamented that Nigerians have thrown caution to the wind with the turnout of people in the streets, plazas, and banking halls with no regard or respect for NCDC guidelines. Recalling that members of PTF had lamented the disregard for the guidelines, he expressed worry that despite the contagious nature of the disease, Nigerians still packed themselves in...
Ekiti discharges five patients, expands isolation centre
Ekiti State Government on Monday disclosed that five patients of the deadly coronavirus pandemic have been discharged from the Isolation Centre in Ekiti on Monday. This is just as the government revealed it’s a plan to expand the Isolation Centre to 100-bed space capacity for more preparation on the Pandemic. Governor Kayode Fayemi had on Saturday evening broke the news on his Twitter handle that the state recorded new three cases. According to the tweet from the Governor, “We got information from NCDC tonight that three more persons tested positive to COVID-19 virus. Two are contacts of the medical doctor still in our care and another person who sneaked into the state before he was quarantined. This underscores the need for extra vigilance. ” With the development so far, Ekiti has 15 conf...
Foundation donates face masks, rice to Ebonyi communities
Ebonyi State Government As the people and residents of Ebonyi State await both federal and state relief to cushion the hardships of the COVID-19 lockdown, an NGO, Golden-Julius Foundation (GJF) has stepped in to distribute over 2,000 bags of rice and other food items worth millions of naira to the indigent and disadvantaged people in the Nguzu and Ebiri communities of Afikpo South local government area. The Foundation also distributed over 3,000 face masks and hand sanitisers. The Foundation, which is owned by a popular philanthropist and businessman from the area, Chief Julius Ama Orji, popularly known as Ochiri, has been a platform for offering scholarships to indigent students, orphans, and for the empowerment of youths and widows in Edda communities and beyond. Speaking during the hous...
Kano cases of coronavirus now 602
Kano State Ministry of Health has confirmed 26 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state. The ministry said in its verified Twitter handle @KNSMOH, that the total confirmed cases of coronavirus recorded in the state stand at 602. It explained that there were 526 active cases, 50 discharged and 26 deaths. “Update as at 11:47 p.m. May 10, 2020; 26 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed. “Total confirmed cases in Kano State are now 602, 18 additional patients discharged and five deaths recorded,” it said. The ministry also enjoined people to observe safety protocols, use of face mask, social distancing and practice regular hand washing. Get more stories like this on Twitter
New Zealand further relaxes coronavirus lockdown measures
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has announced a gradual easing of the country’s lockdown measures. However, the government said the country’s border will remain closed. At a news conference on Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the easing will begin starting on Thursday, meaning most businesses and public spaces could reopen. “But everyone would need to play it safe. We must continue to behave as if the virus is still amongst us,’’ Ardern cautioned. According to her, schools will re-open from May 18, while bars will be able to re-open on May 21. “We may have won a few battles, but we have not won the war,’’ the prime minister said. She said that gatherings at home for weddings, funerals and tangihanga (Maori funeral rites) would be capped at 10 people, while all other social events, ...
NITDA chief advocates for a ‘digital first’ strategy in coronavirus recovery plan
Commonwealth of Nations On April 30, 2020, the Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, delivered a presentation on the role of digital technology in limiting the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in a webinar organized by Nile University of Nigeria. The webinar themed “Dealing with Coronavirus: Digital First Perspective,” was another in a series of virtual seminars held by the Nile University of Nigeria in its quest to ensure that its non-classroom educational activities (similar to its regular lectures) are not disrupted by COVID-19. This sentiment was echoed in the program’s opening address by the Vice-Chancellor of Nile University of Nigeria, Prof. Osman Nuri Aras, who stated the University’s commitment to continuing its educational activities (both classroom and non...
