Outbreak
Kylian Mbappe on target as PSG win without injured Neymar
Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot as Paris Saint-Germain eased to their seventh straight Ligue 1 win on Saturday, beating Nantes 3-0 away to move provisionally three points clear at the top of the table. All the goals came in the second half at the Stade de la Beaujoire, with Ander Herrera opening the scoring two minutes after the restart and Mbappe converting a 65th-minute spot-kick before Pablo Sarabia secured the points late on. PSG have now taken maximum points since starting the season with back-to-back defeats and the reigning champions are three clear of Lille and Rennes at the summit. Lille, who are unbeaten, can rejoin the club from the capital at the top if they beat Lyon on Sunday. Rennes beat Brest 2-1 on Saturday. “I am very happy. We made lots of changes because we f...
Minister: Nigerian government waiting for NPAN to make submissions on palliatives
The Federal Government yesterday said it was ready to look into the hardships and the challenges the media, especially print, was facing due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this after presenting a portrait of the Argungu festival to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Briefing State House correspondents, the Minister said he had a virtual meeting with the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, some time ago, adding that he was waiting for the association to make submissions to him on the challenges the print media was facing. He said the Federal Government was willing to assist the media industry within its means to ameliorate the situation. Alhaji Mohammed, who said gov...
Nigeria confirms 476 new virus cases
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), has confirmed 476 new cases of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the country. The NCDC confirmed this through its official Twitter handle on Thursday. The agency said that seven deaths were recorded in the country. NCDC said that till date, 50,964 cases have been confirmed, 37,569, discharged and 992 deaths recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. According to it, the 476 new cases are reported from 18 states. It said that Lagos has the highest figures of 235 cases, followed by FCT with 44 cases. Others were Kaduna (41), Borno (33), Plateau (28), Abia (13), Edo (13), Rivers (12), Imo (11), Oyo (10), Kano (9), Kwara (7), Enugu (5), Katsina (5), Gombe (4), Ogun (4), Nasarawa (1), and Zamfara (1). The NCDC stated that...
Iran says medics exhausted in battle against coronavirus
Iran reported 216 new deaths from the novel coronavirus on Sunday, calling on its citizens to observe health protocols more closely to ease the burden on exhausted medical staff. The Islamic republic announced its first COVID-19 cases on February 19, and the outbreak quickly became the Middle East’s deadliest. Declared coronavirus deaths have surged since the end of June and claimed more than 200 lives nearly every day in the past week, including a record 229 on Tuesday. “Our biggest concerns are the infection and fatigue of medical staff,” health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said in a televised briefing on Sunday. “We can help them and prevent the spread of the disease” by observing basic guidelines such as hand-washing, mask-wearing and social distancing, she added. Iran said ear...
Nigerian government frees 7,813 inmates in 18 states, FCT
The Federal Government, on Tuesday, said it has released a total of 7, 813 inmates from various Correctional Centers since the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, who made the disclosure at a press conference in Abuja, said FG took the decision so as to curb the spread of the virus among inmates. Malami said the Federal Executive Council had earlier in 2017, passed a resolution that directed the Federal Ministry of Justice to put in place measures to fast track the decongestion of Correctional Centres nationwide. He said as a result of the resolution, a Presidential Committee on Correctional Service Reform and Decongestion was inaugurated in October 2017. Highlighting some achievements of the Pres...
President Ramaphosa: South Africa’s coronavirus outbreak will get worse
The president of South Africa has warned that the country’s coronavirus outbreak is going to get much worse, while announcing that lockdown measures are to be eased. Cyril Ramaphosa said a third of the country’s more than 22,000 cases had been recorded in the last week. Despite that, the president said the current lockdown could not be sustained indefinitely. He announced that, from 1 June, more restrictions would be lifted. Mr Ramaphosa was speaking after a mining company in South Africa said 164 workers at a gold mine near Johannesburg had tested positive for coronavirus. There have so far been 429 recorded Covid-19 deaths in the country. An overnight curfew will no longer be in place, more businesses will be allowed to open and schools will re-start, the president said. A controversial ...
China’s Wuhan reports first coronavirus infection in over a month
China on Sunday reported the first case of coronavirus in over a month in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak first started in December last year. China’s National Health Commission also reported the first double-digit increase in countrywide cases in nearly 10 days, saying 14 new infections had been confirmed. Two of the cases were imported into the country from overseas, the commission said. The coronavirus first emerged in China’s Wuhan, a major industrial and transport city in central China, in December. It has since infected nearly four million people worldwide — claiming more than 270,000 lives — and crippled the global economy. The total number infected in China is 82,901, with an official death toll of 4,633. No new deaths have been reported for nearly a month. China’s ruling Commun...
Jesper Gronkjaer: Hakim Ziyech will succeed in Premier League with Chelsea
Jesper Gronkjaer is backing Hakim Ziyech to succeed after his £37 million ($43m) move from Ajax to Chelsea. The Blues completed a deal in late February and the 27-year-old is set to link up with his new team-mates on July 1, with the Eredivisie season cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak. Ziyech will join a group including Filipe Luis, Bertrand Traore, Mario Melchiot, Winston Bogarde and Gronkjaer himself in making the switch to Stamford Bridge having played at the Amsterdam ArenA. Moving to the Premier League will prove a step up for Ziyech and Gronkjaer believes he is the star player from the Dutch side’s run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018. “Ziyech was the one who has caught my eye over the past two seasons even though he wasn’t produced by Ajax’s academy,” Gronkjaer told...
Mike Pence spokeswoman tests positive for spokesperson
The US vice president’s spokeswoman became the second White House staff this week to test positive for the coronavirus, officials said Friday, even as President Donald Trump continued to go mask-free at a World War II commemoration with veterans in their 90s. News that staffer Katie Miller had fallen ill boosted fears that the White House is at risk of becoming a viral hot spot just when Trump is leading efforts to wind down nationwide quarantine measures that have devastated the world’s biggest economy. Miller is spokeswoman for Vice President Mike Pence, giving her frequent access to high-level meetings. She is also married to top Trump aide Stephen Miller, the speech writer behind the administration’s hardline immigration measures. A senior administration official initially said only th...
China admits coronavirus exposed ‘shortcomings’ in healthcare system
The coronavirus outbreak exposed “shortcomings” in China’s public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country’s disease prevention and control mechanisms. China has faced criticism both at home and abroad for downplaying the virus and concealing information about the outbreak when it first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in December. The virus has since infected nearly four million people worldwide — claiming more than 270,000 lives — and crippled the global economy. Beijing has insisted it has always shared information with the World Health Organization and other countries in a timely manner. But on Saturday Li Bin, deputy director of China’s National Health Commission, made a rare admission when he said the heal...
PTF: NAFDAC screening local cures for coronavirus
The Federal Government said yesterday it has evaluated claims by local researchers that they have manufactured curative drugs for COVID-19. It explained that having met preliminary requirements, the drugs had been forwarded to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, for listing. National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force for COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, had restated the federal government’s position on Wednesday that no cure had been found for the disease. The government also expressed worries over the continued repatriation of Almajiriai by states, saying the development could fuel a spike in infections. On compliance with general safety protocols put in place against the virus, the federal government asked security agencies not to cut corners, addi...
NCDC: Nigeria’s coronavirus response powered by electronic data tool
The Federal Government has said that it is using an electronic data collecting tool developed during the Ebola outbreak to drive Nigeria’s response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, stated this at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19. According to him, the centre is making use of data to drive responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country for proper management. “The agency developed an electronic data collecting tool after the Ebola outbreak. The tool was the reason why Nigerians see the data of cases every day. The NCDC also has a tool for logistics management. We can tell with this tool where every single mask, medical gown or sanitiser has gone,” Dr Ih...
