Epicentre
Lagos to demolish shanties, takeover abandoned buildings
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday said that the government would continue to demolish shanties across the state. Sanwo-Olu said this during the Security Stakeholders Town Hall Meeting at Ikeja, adding that the state government would also confiscate abandoned buildings. He said that the shanties, abandoned buildings and vehicles were hideouts for criminals, hence, should be tackled. Sanwo-Olu said the government had demolished several hundreds of shanties and illegal structures around the state since November 2020. ”These shanties, by serving as hideouts for criminals, have exacerbated the insecurity situation in Lagos State. ”This clean up exercise will continue, even as we strive to ensure the creation of jobs and economic opportunities that will take people off the s...
Official: NASRDA to launch another satellite in June
IBTimes The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) says it is putting modalities in place to launch a Cubesat ‘Edusat-2’ within the first half of the year. The Acting Director-General of NASRDA, Dr Francis Chizea, said this at the ongoing Science and Technology Expo on Tuesday in Abuja, where the agency showcased its research works and achievements. The science expo is with the theme “Science, Technology and Innovation for Economic Recovery and Sustainability Amidst the COVID-19 Challenges” and is a platform to showcase innovation within agencies of government, private research institutions, the academia, among other participants. Chizea explained that EduSat-2 was a build-up on EduSat-1 which the agency built in collaboration with Federal University of Technology, Akure a...
Anambra introduces coronavirus mobile testing
The Commissioner for Health in Anambra State, Vincent Okpala, said on Thursday that the government, through its Ministry of Health, has introduced more aggressive measures, including mobile testing, in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state. Mr Okpala, a medical doctor, told newsmen in Awka that the ministry has introduced a drive-through COVID-19 testing where samples would be collected while the residents go about their normal businesses. The commissioner said a mobile truck with medical officers would drive through the streets to collect samples from the people voluntarily. He appealed to the public to avail themselves of this opportunity and go out for free and voluntary testing. The mobile team would also visit churches in the state to counsel the people on the need to go f...
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...
Nearly 100 teachers, 1,800 students test positive for coronavirus in South Africa
At least 98 teachers and 1,800 learners in South Africa’s Covid-19 epicentre province, the Western Cape, have tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus, forcing 20 schools to close. The schools will be disinfected this week. The southern African nation allowed schools to reopen from June 1. Education MEC Debbie Schafer, however, said the cases had not spiked due to the reopening of schools. “Of this number, 1,537 cases were reported before the schools were reopened,” Ms Schafer said. The provincial Education Department had spent R280 million (US$16.3 million) on hygiene supplies. Pupils and teachers were given two masks each, while schools were equipped with digital thermometers, hand sanitiser, liquid soap, and cleaning supplies. Opposition leader Mmusi Maimane, a former Democratic All...
South Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases top 20,000
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa has reached 20,125, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Friday. The country recorded 988 cases over the past 24 hours, Mkhize said in his daily update. The death toll related with Covid-19 reached 397, up by 28 from Thursday, the minister said. The total number of recoveries to date is 10,104, he said. The Western Cape province, the epicentre of the outbreak in the country, led all other provinces with 12,888 confirmed cases, followed by Gauteng with 2,521, the Eastern Cape with 2,459, and KwaZulu-Natal with 1,735. Nationwide, a total of 543,032 tests have been conducted so far, with 17,599 done in the last 24 hours, said Mkhize. South Africa is preparing to ease the lockdown from level four to level three of a five-level system...
PDP asks President Buhari to explain whereabouts of Chinese doctors
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has given the federal government a 48-hour ultimatum to declare the whereabouts of the Chinese medical team it brought in to assist in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in our country. The PDP’s position is predicated on the declaration by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, that he could not account for the whereabouts of the Chinese team, who were brought into the country from the global epicentre of the pandemic. The 15-member team of Chinese medical personnel arrived in the country on April 8 “to share their experiences in fighting the COVID-19.” Some Nigerians had kicked against the federal government’s decision to invite the medical experts, saying the country had enough doctors to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nigerian M...
