Sunday
Egypt editor detained outside Cairo jail
Egyptian security services on Sunday detained the editor-in-chief of prominent independent news outlet Mada Masr, its lawyer said, the latest in a crackdown against journalists. Lina Attallah was arrested outside Cairo’s Tora prison as she was interviewing rights activist Laila Soueif, mother of jailed activist Alaa Abdel Fattah who recently began a hunger strike. “The prison security guards asked Attallah to show her identification card and later called her in for an investigation that lasted three hours,” lawyer Hassan al-Azhari told AFP. He said she was later taken a police station and was expected to appear before the prosecution Monday morning, adding the reason for her arrest and charges remained unclear. Later on Sunday, Mada Masr tweeted that the prosecution ordered Attallah’s rele...
Newborn baby tests positive for coronavirus in Russia
A baby was born with the coronavirus in Russia’s Caucasus region, health officials were quoted by TASS news agency as saying on Sunday, to a mother who is also infected. The birth in the North Ossetia city of Beslan follows one in mid-April in Peru, which health officials there said was the second known case of a COVID-19 positive newborn worldwide. In North Ossetia, “a pregnant woman was infected by the coronavirus, and her baby was born infected”, a regional health ministry spokesman was quoted by the state agency TASS as saying. “They are now at home, their state is satisfactory,” the spokesman added. The head of the hospital’s maternity unit, Hassan Tagaiev, was quoted by local television as saying that 17 of 35 women who were about to give birth there had tested positive for COVID-19....
Governor Fayemi: Ibrahim Gambari’s appointment excites governors
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has expressed excitement over the appointment of Prof Ibrahim Gambari as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. The Forum also expressed its readiness to work with Gambari for the progress and development of the country. In a congratulatory message signed by its Chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, in Abuja on Sunday, the NGF expressed confidence in Gambari’s competence for the job. “As you know, this appointment comes with great responsibilities and unconventional demands, requiring candour, discipline, professionalism, loyalty, focus, diligence and the highest level of service. “Your credentials, pedigree, experience and career trajectory both locally and globally speak to your capacity. As State Governors, we are excited a...
Madagascar records first death from coronavirus
Madagascar has registered its first coronavirus death, two months after its index case, the national COVID-19 taskforce said on Sunday, according to news site Reuters. The taskforce spokeswoman, Hanta Vololontiana, was quoted by Reuters to have said in a televised statement that the man had died on Saturday night. “A man died from COVID-19 in Madagascar … he is 57 years old and a member of the medical staff,” she said. The first casualty of the island on the east coast of Africa was said to be a 57-year-old medical worker who suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure. Newsmen had about a fortnight ago did a rundown of countries with a clean death slate. This included Vietnam, Rwanda, Faroe Islands, Madagascar, Cambodia, Nepal, Uganda, Central African Republic, and Mozambique, accordin...
Coronavirus: Lagos begins chloroquine clinical trial this week
The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, has said the state will this week commence the clinical trial treatment of COVID-19 using chloroquine as approved by NAFDAC. The state, which is the epicentre of the virus in the country, had previously disclosed plans to carry out the chloroquine clinical trial. Omotoso, in an interview with newsmen on Saturday, said, “We are ready for the chloroquine clinical trial because we have just secured all the approvals. The documentation has also been completed. Those that will be used for the trials are ready too. By next week we should be ready for the trial. “Also, Lagos got a supply of additional 20,000 testing kits, although we were expecting 40,000. It means that the testing will increase now.” In a related devel...
53 more Nigerian returnees from Ghana, Benin Republic arrive Seme border
Another batch of 53 Nigerian returnees from Ghana and Benin Republic arrived Seme Border Post in Lagos State on Saturday. Newsmen gathered that 39 out of the 53 returnees who came from Ghana were brought in two luxurious buses with registration numbers, Lagos KTU 833XY and LSD 614 YR. Newsmen also gathered that the remaining 14 Nigerian returnees from Benin Republic were dropped by different vehicles at the border by Beninoise officials. An official of Port Health Services (PHS) in Seme, who pleaded anonymity, told newsmen that the Nigerian returnees, comprising 39 males and 14 females, had been screened by health officials. “They arrived at 3:30 a.m. today from Ghana and Republic of Benin. “While those from Ghana came in two luxurious buses, the returnees from Benin Republic were dropped ...
China admits to destroying early coronavirus samples, says action was taken due to safety concerns
China has acknowledged it destroyed early samples of COVID-19, confirming a claim put forward by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late last month. On Friday, Liu Dengfeng, a supervisor with China’s National Health Commission, admitted that ‘the Chinese government issued an order on January 3 to dispose of coronavirus samples’ at unauthorized laboratories, according to Newsweek. But Liu denied that the samples were destroyed as part of a cover-up, insisting that they were disposed of so as to ‘prevent risk to laboratory biological safety and prevent secondary disasters caused by unidentified pathogens.’ He stated that the labs were ‘unauthorized’ to handle such samples, and they had to be terminated in order to comply with Chinese public health laws. Liu did not specify how many labs des...
German Bundesliga restarts with ‘ghost’ derby
Borussia Dortmund host Schalke 04 in Germany’s fiercest derby on Saturday but no more than 300 people will be in and around the 80,000 capacity arena due to COVID-19 restrictions as the Bundesliga gets back to business after a two-month break. The Bundesliga is the first major sports league to resume since world sport was brought to a standstill by the pandemic, and players will have to abide by a strict set of health guidelines aimed at minimizing the risk of infection. Fans will not be able to attend the matches as part of the safety regulations, leaving it up to the players to provide the spark for what are being called “ghost” games. “It will most certainly be the most unusual derby in history,” Dortmund’s head of pro players Sebastian Kehl said this week. “This game lives off fans, th...
Governor Wike extends relaxation of Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor lockdown till Sunday
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has extended relaxation of the Covid-19 lockdown he imposed on Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas till Sunday. Wike in a Wednesday evening broadcast said, the total lockdown on the Port Harcourt metropolis, expected to take effect again from Thursday following two days. (Tuesday and Wednesday) breather for residents to restock for food and medicals will now resume 17 May. He said, “In consideration of concerns of our people, and need for residents to replenish their supplies especially, the State Security Council decided to impose night-time curfew and review the effective date of the complete lockdown on Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City LGAs from the Thursday 14 May to Sunday 17 May 2020 by 8.00 p.m.” “Consequently, there will be nigh...
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...
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...
19 dead as Iran warship hit by ‘friendly fire’ in tense Gulf
An Iranian warship was hit by a friendly fire missile during naval exercises, killing 19 sailors, state media and the army said Monday, amid tensions with the US in Gulf waters. The incident involving the Konarak vessel occurred on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask, off the southern coast of the Islamic republic, state television said on its website. “The vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target,” said the channel. The armed forces said in a statement that 19 crewmen were killed and 15 injured. It said the Konarak had been involved in an “accident” during the exercises, without elaborating. The vessel had been towed ashore for “technical investigations”, it added, calling on people to “avoid speculatio...
