Handwashing
NCDC: Confirmed case of Delta variant of coronavirus detected in Nigeria
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), on Thursday, said it had detected a confirmed case with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, also known as lineage B.1.617.2. The variant was detected in a traveller to Nigeria following the routine travel test required of all international travelers and genomic sequencing at the NCDC National Reference Laboratory, Abuja. The Delta variant is recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a variant of concern, given its increased transmissibility. Facts indicated that the variant has been detected in over 90 countries and is expected to spread to more countries. The variant has also been linked to a surge in cases in countries where it is the dominant strain in circulation. According to NCDC, “there are ongoing studies to understand the impact ...
UN official highlights values of water in fighting coronavirus pandemic
Water has many values that are just not priced, Sasha Koo-Oshima, the Deputy Director, Land and Water Division, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), told Xinhua ahead of the World Water Day on March 29. The official highlighted that with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a large part of the world population still lacks access to handwashing facilities at home. “This is the first line of defence against this virus and the value of water is very evident in this progression. “The first thing we realised is handwashing. Many countries just don’t have clean water to even just wash hands,” she said. The UN on Monday warned that more than two billion people do not have direct access to water, the “blue gold” which is essential in defeating the pandemic. In its World Water Development Re...
Edo government warns worship, events centres against violating coronavirus protocols
The Edo State Government has warned owners of event centres, eateries, restaurants, pubs, shopping malls and other places hosting social events in the state against violating the state’s COVID-19 prevention protocols. In a statement signed on Saturday by the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, the government said event centres or business premises that violate regulations on social gatherings would be shut and owners or operators would be prosecuted at designated mobile courts. Ogie noted that the state COVID-19 compliance team had been mandated to ensure strict enforcement of the directives at the weekend, starting from Friday, February 19, 2021, with instructions to ensure full compliance with the protocols. “The Edo State Government hereby warns all event centres, eaterie...
Lagos governor recovers from coronavirus, urges precautions
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday announced his recovery from COVID-19 infection, having tested negative, following 14 days of treatment. Addressing State House correspondents at ‘Lagos House’, Marina, Sanwo-Olu said that he experienced moderate symptoms like headache, cough, among other COVID-19 symptoms. He thanked the people of Lagos and the medical team for their care, prayers, and concern throughout his isolation. “I was fortunate to have had a relatively moderate COVID-19 experience. About one in every 10 persons who contracted the disease in Lagos State were not so lucky; they have to go into intensive care, and some of them did not make it out alive. “For this reason, my gratitude is deep and profuse. And it is also for this reason, that I am here to app...
Governor Sanwo-Olu: Pre-primary classes remain closed in Lagos
The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that pre-primary classes in public and private schools across the state are to remain closed until further announcements are made. Sanwo-Olu said this during a press briefing on Saturday, where he gave an update on COVID-19 in the state and gradual resumption of activities. Newsmen earlier reported the announced reopening of schools in the state in which private secondary schools are allowed to open from September 21, while public schools will adopt a “phased reopening” on the date. Speaking on school resumption, the governor said it is necessary to provide clarifications regarding the resumption of schools, “to clear any confusion that may have arisen since the original announcement was made.” Mr Sanwo-Olu said while students in JS 3 ...
NYSC member donates foot-controlled handwashing apparatus to rural areas
File Photo Recently, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Ilori Ayotola Deborah, was in the news after she donated 10 foot-operated soap and water dispenser to some rural communities and offices in Abuja. Deborah who is currently undergoing her Community Development Service (CDS) under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said she drew her inspiration to embark on the project from the fact that the rural communities were yet to believe the stories of COVID-19. She said during her outreach programs to educate the rural communities on the preventive measures against COVID-19 pandemic, she realised that the handwashing mode in the communities does not conform with the standard given by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). “It was out of the little effort I was able to...
NGO distributes palliatives to physically changed
Lola Cater for the Needy Foundation, an Abuja-based non-governmental organisation, has distributed some palliative materials to the People Living With Disabiluties (PLWDs) in Karamajiji, Abuja. The organisation visited the PLWDs colony on Saturday where it distributed food stuffs, instructional materials on COVID-19, stationery items , cloths, shoes, hand sanitiser, liquid soap and water dispensers. Miss Ololade Ogunnubi, Founder of the organisation, said that the organisation also embarked on sensitisation of the community to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and ways to prevent the virus. Ogunnubi said that the campaign was aimed at making persons with disabilities aware of the pandemic and also to provide palliatives to them. The campaign which took place at the the physically challenged...
Ekiti polytechnic produces hand washing and sanitiding machines
The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, has produced machines for hand washing and sanitiser as part of its contribution to governments’ efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state. Speaking at the inauguration of the hand-free and pedal-operated equipment on Saturday, the Rector, Dr. Dayo Oladebeye, commended the efforts of the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the initiative. Oladebeye also applauded the functionality of the machine saying that, “it is efficient to use and it is smooth, without any friction.” The rector said that aside the hand washing and sanitising machine products, the Polytechnic has other initiatives that will attract patronages from across the country. “The Polytechnic is already making contacts to present the pedal-operated handwashing and sanitising ...
Edo screens 104,186 persons for coronavirus, discharges one, contact traces 689 others
The Edo State Government, as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, has ramped up ongoing screening and testing exercise across the state’s 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs), screening over 104,186 persons, testing about 704 residents and contact tracing over 689 others who have had various degrees of contacts with confirmed cases. Commissioner for Health, Dr Patrick Okundia, who disclosed this to journalists in Benin City, also announced the discharge of one more COVID-19 patient, who has tested negative twice for the virus and cleared from the state’s isolation centres. According to him, the new discharge brings the number of patients successfully managed and discharged from the state’s isolation facilities to 13. Okundia, however, reassured that the remaining cas...
UN: Somalia faces dire threats from conflict, natural disasters, coronavirus
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is appealing for strong International support to help millions of Somalis facing a growing number of catastrophic threats from conflict, natural disasters and the potential spread of COVID-19. More than 220,000 Somalis have fled their homes this year because of drought, heavy flooding and increased violence and atrocities by al-Shabab militants. This brings the total number of those forced from their homes in the country to 2.6 million. The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR says the conflict and natural and climate-related disasters are crippling the country’s economy and threatening the safety and welfare of the displaced Somalis. It warns impending desert locust swarms, which have been creating havoc across parts of East Africa, could destroy much of the n...
FRSC tasks Ogun residents to adhere to government’s coronavirus measures
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ogun, on Friday, reiterated the need for residents to adhere strictly to stay-at-home order towards curbing further spread of the novel coronavirus disease. The Sector Commander of the Corps, Mr. Clement Oladele, gave the advice in an interview in Ota, Ogun. Oladele urged strict adherence to government order so that the lockdown directive of staying at home would be successful. “FRSC wants to implore people to persevere so that we can collectively defect the virus. “I commend people of the state for their high compliance with the use of face masks. “There is still need for more enlightenment, especially for few people, who are not using their own face mask, to comply,’’ NAN quotes him as saying. Oladele also urged the people to embrace the good hygie...
