NCDC
Oyo state records 28 new coronavirus cases
Oyo State has recorded 28 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the latest figures released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday night. The 28 cases in the state were among the 339 figures recorded in 18 states on Thursday. The latest figure has increased the total number recorded in the state to 190. The recent daily increase in the number of people who tested positive to COVID-19 has created fear among residents, though the majority of them still go out without the use of face masks against the directive of the government. This nonchalant attitude of some of the residents had prompted the state COVID-19 Task Force to intensified sensitisation programme in the Oke-Ogun area of the state on Thursday, where it threatened to sanction erring members of the publ...
Nigerian government to dispatch experts to re-engage Kogi on coronavirus
The Federal Government on Thursday announced that a ministerial team of experts would soon be dispatched to Kogi on a mission to engage authorities of the state, to determine material and technical needs of the state on COVID-19. The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, made the announcement in Abuja at a news conference by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19. Newsmen report that the Kogi Government had alleged refusal of NCDC officials to observe protocols in line with the containment of the coronavirus when they visited the state. The allegation stirred up drama between the two parties as the NCDC officials left Kogi without adhering to terms and conditions, rolled out by Gov. Yahaya Bello. Following the development, Ehanire said the committee would need to re-engage the governor an...
NCDC lauds Kwara over testing centre
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has commended efforts of the Kwara State Government in the fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the state. The NCDC Team Leader, Dr Okoli Innocent, made the commendation when he led other members of the agency to inspect laboratories in preparation for establishing of Molecular Testing Centre in the state to test for the virus. Okoli explained that the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, was appreciative of the present administration’s strides in the health sector. The team leader pledged NCDC’s support to the state in the fight against COVID-19. He added that NCDC was not surprised that the state was ranked fourth in preparation for health emergency in the country, given the availability of modern medical equipment. Kwa...
Over 1 Billion SMSs Sent since the Beginning of Lockdown in Nigeria
Sourced from allAfrica. Nigeria’s lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the usage of SMSs – the quintessential short message service used all across the world – as subscribers were discovered to have sent over 1-billion messages within the last month. Though this mass of messages was largely free, checks on some operators revealed the rate of how customers made use of the SMS platform to send messages to one another. For instance, a check on MTN showed that within the first five weeks of lockdown, where people all across the country began to work remotely. Over one billion text messages were sent by customers within the first four weeks of the pan-African telecom introducing a new free SMS package – the package allows MTN Nigeria subscribers across the country to send 1...
Ogun confirms 25 new coronavirus cases
The Ogun State government has confirmed 25 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 178. A statement on the official Twitter page of the state government on Wednesday said the 25 patients have been quarantined across the treatment and isolation centres in the state, as contact tracing continues. “As at 20th May, 2020, the NCDC announced that 25 COVID-19 cases had been confirmed in Ogun State, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 178.” “The 25 patients have been quarantined across the Treatment and Isolation Centres in the State, as contact tracing continues. “The State has now discharged a total of 69 patients who tested negative to the virus and are now back with their families. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC...
Kogi: We bought 5,000 coronavirus test kits
Kogi State government has dismissed the notion that it’s not testing enough to justify the claim that the state is free of Covid-19. It claimed that it has bought 5,000 test kits to show its committment to the fight against Covid-19. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, in it’s situation report on Covid-19 response across states published on Tuesday said Kogi had submitted only one sample, since the outbreak of the virus in Nigeria. The sample returned negative. The NCDC’s report comes few days after the state government said it tested 111 persons without the supervision of the health agency. Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, had claimed that the testing kits procured by the state were used to conduct the tests and that those tested were picked randomly. In a statement...
NCDC: Only one coronavirus test conducted in Kogi
No more than one test has been carried out in Kogi State since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Nigeria on February 27. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reports that, as of May 18, 35,983 tests have been carried out across the country, while 5,959 have been confirmed positive for the virus. According to the NCDC update on the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, which was made available on its website, Kogi recorded the lowest number of tests with no confirmed case. This was followed by Cross River State with seven COVID-19 tests conducted but no positive case. Lagos State, which had the highest number of tests at 14,886, also topped the list of confirmed cases at 2,550. Similarly, the Federal Capital Territory was reported to have conducted 4,688 tests and confirmed 418 cases, while ...
Zamfara denies recording 10 new coronavirus cases
Zamfara Government on Tuesday said the figure of 10 new COVID-19 cases in the state announced on Monday by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) was wrong, as the state had only recorded two new cases. Alhaji Yahaya Kanoma, the state Commissioner of Health told newsmen in Gusau that the state government had alerted the NCDC of the error and demanded that it be rectified. “We were shocked and bewildered by this latest figure from the NCDC which said 10 new cases were confirmed when we know it was only two. “Our records have shown that when results from the center returned, we had a total of 76 cases made up of 45 discharged persons, 26 in isolation and five dead, so we didn’t know where NCDC got the additional eight. “We approached the center which could not give a convincing explan...
House of Reps urges speedy production of local coronavirus vaccines in Nigeria
The House of Representatives has stressed the need for speedy production of local vaccines for the treatment of COVID-19 in Nigeria. The House also mandated its standing Committees on Healthcare Services, Health Institutions and Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria to invite the Hon. Minister, Federal Ministry of Health, the Executive Director/CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Executive Director, May and Baker Nigeria PLC to brief the Committees and deliberate on possible ways of getting the needed legislative support to fast track the production of vaccines in Nigeria and report back within four (4) weeks for further legislative action The resolutioms followed the adoption of a motion on notice, moved by Rep. J...
Akwa Ibom governor commends ExxonMobil’s donations
Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has commended ExxonMobil for donating equipment and items worth millions of naira to curb the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic in the state. Emmanuel, who was represented by Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, Secretary to the State Government, gave the commendation in Uyo on Saturday. He expressed the government’s profound appreciation to ExxonMobil for the kind gesture and for demonstrating its pride of place as Akwa Ibom’s number one corporate partner. “The items received would be a significant support boost to the state government’s effort to contain the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state,” the governor said. ExxonMobil’s donation included WHO-standard RNA COVID-19 test kits for 1,920 tests, 1000 units of samples collection kits, two brand new ambulances and ...
Bayelsa discharges two coronavirus patients
The Bayelsa State government has announced that two patients that earlier tested positive for coronavirus in the state have been discharged. Newsmen report that the two patients who had contact with the index case were discharged from the isolation centre at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) in Okolobiri. A statement signed by the deputy chairman of the state’s COVID-19 taskforce and permanent secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Inodu Apoku, said “the repeat tests of the remaining cases linked to the index case returned negative. “These patients have also met all other NCDC guidelines for discharge. Consequently, they have been discharged today (Saturday). “So there is only one active COVID-19 case in the state after we discharged the index case and the other four linked c...
Plateau counter NCDC on number of coronavirus cases
Plateau State government has refuted a claim by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, that the State has five additional cases of COVID-19 disease as at Friday, the 15th saying it was only new case that was recorded as the remaining four were repeated cases which were mistaken for fresh ones. The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Nimkong Lar who briefed journalists alongside the Secretary to the Government of the State, Professor Danladi Atu, and State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dan Manjang said so far Plateau has only 11 active cases of the disease and all patients are responding to treatment. He noted that the attention of the NCDC has been drawn to the error with the belief that the needed correction would be effected. He urged citizens to continue to obey s...
