Testing
Tokyo 2021: Japan, medical experts disagree over safe Olympics
Japanese infectious disease specialist Atsuo Hamada wants to see the Olympics happen in Tokyo this summer, but admits if they were being held anywhere else, he’d probably support a cancellation. “Even without the coronavirus pandemic, the Olympics as a mass gathering fosters all sorts of infectious diseases,” Hamada, a professor at Tokyo Medical University, told AFP. With less than six months until the pandemic-postponed Games, organisers say they’re confident the event will be safe. But some medical experts aren’t so sure, and think cancellation is safer. “I do understand the athletes’ sentiments,” said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Britain’s University of Southampton. “But I think from… the global public health point of view, there’s nothing about the Olympic...
PTF: Nigeria has over 100 molecular laboratories
Nigeria can now boast of over 100 molecular laboratories for the testing of COVID-19 in the country, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF), Boss Mustapha, has said. This is just as the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, flayed the non challant attitude of people in his home state, Kwara, to the pandemic. The SGF who spoke Tuesday at the commissioning of State House Clinic Special Care Centre (COVID-19 Isolation Centre) stated that the number of molecular laboratories grew from two last year to more than 100 as at today and are spread across the 36 states of the federation. His words: ‘‘From just two molecular laboratories for the testing of COVID-19 in Nigeria, we now have over 100 molecular laboratories, public and private, across the 36 States of the Feder...
PTF: Nigeria records four cases of UK coronavirus variant strain
Mr Boss Mustapha, Chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said Nigeria recorded four cases of COVID-19, B117 variant strain, first reported in the UK. The PTF chairman made the disclosure at national briefing on Monday in Abuja. Mustapha said; “over the last few weeks, the PTF had been closely following the rising number of infections reported daily in Nigeria and in other jurisdictions. “Similarly, our scientists have been sequencing the variants of the virus. “There have been reports of cases with the B117 variant strain first reported in the UK, found in Nigeria. Three of these were in travelers out of Nigeria and one in a resident,”. He also stated that the daily statistics for Nigeria as at January 24, 2020 showed that cas...
Nigeria to conduct 450 coronavirus tests per local council
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 says the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) will carry out 450 COVID-19 tests in each local government area of the country. The PTF chairman, Mr Boss Mustapha, also Secretary to the Government of the Federation, made this known at the national briefing on COVID-19 on Monday in Abuja. Mustapha said the exercise would start with the states that were in the forefront of resourcing and infrastructure. According to him, the PTF has authorised the NCDC to immediately implement the 450 tests per local government plan nationwide. Mustapha said: “We are aware that states are not on the same pedestal in the area of testing, and we shall begin with the states that are in the forefront of resourcing and infrastructure.” On resumption of schools, Mus...
Coronavirus: Concern grows over potential superspreader event during US Capitol riot
Concerns are mounting about the health of lawmakers and other people in the Capitol last week, after the first member to test positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) since Wednesday’s chaos, said she believed she was exposed in a crowded hiding place with hundreds of other legislators. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., tested positive on Monday while experiencing mild symptoms, and said in a statement that she believes she caught the virus from her fellow lawmakers while hunkering down as Capitol Police struggled for hours to contain a Trump-inspired mob attack on the Capitol. Lawmakers were trapped in a room near the Capitol with hundreds of others, in some cases for hours, where at least one person who later tested positive for the coronavirus was present. The Office of the Attending P...
Minister: Tests on NYSC members confirm coronavirus is everywhere in Nigeria
The Federal Government says it has further confirmed from results of tests conducted on prospective National Youth Service Corps members confirmed that no part of the country was free of COVID-19. The Minister of State for Health, Sen. Olorunnimbe Mamora, made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja at a briefing by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19. “We safely and comfortably drew this conclusion because corps members are mobilised from all the states of the country for each of the orientation camps,”the Minister said while warning that increasing cases of COVID-19 are imposing enormous burden on the nation’s health facilities. He said that the 18,699 active COVID-19 cases were stretching health facilities. “With the increased number of confirmed cases, the number of active cases ha...
Coronavirus: Prof. Maurice Iwu restates efficacy of herbal medicine
Bioresources Development Group (BDG) chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu has restated the efficacy of herbal medicine in the treatment of the COVID-19 cases as the virus enters variant stage globally. The former chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and eminent Professor of Pharmacognosy, Iwu, in a chat with Vanguard said that the effectiveness of special herbal drugs produced in the country, stands the chance of combating the disease at an early stage, but noted that the slow pace in acceptance and approval hinders its feasibility. Iwu also pointed that herbal extracts from a plant, “Andrographis Paniculata”, commonly known as green chiretta, already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Thailand is on its way to serve as an alternative treatment to the seve...
#EndSARS: It’ll take long to rebuild destroyed property – Governor Sanwo-Olu
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, said, yesterday, that it would take the state time to rebuild the properties destroyed during the EndSARS protests. This came on a day the Lagos State government disclosed that the 2021 budget of N1.164 trillion would be funded from a revenue estimate of N971.028 billion in the fiscal year, with a target on the expansion of tax nets. Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this while briefing State House correspondents, after meeting behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said the meeting dwelt more on the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, security situation and the impact of the #EndSARS protests in the state. On rebuilding Lagos after the EndSARS protests, he said: “It is also some of the things I dis...
Victor Osimhen faces Napoli sanctions for breaching coronavirus rules in Nigeria
Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso said Sunday he felt foolish for giving Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen permission to travel home for Christmas with the forward testing positive for coronavirus on his return. Osimhen faces club sanctions after images of him partying without wearing a mask were shared on social media. But Gattuso said he also felt embarrassed for giving the 22-year-old permission to return to Africa. “The responsibility of sending him to Nigeria was also mine. It’s embarrassing for the two of us,” Gattuso said after Sunday’s 4-1 Serie A win over Cagliari. Osimhen apologised earlier on Sunday. “I am sorry for what happened. I made a mistake going to Nigeria right now,” the forward said in an Instagram post. “I made a mistake going to a surprise party without understanding the gr...
Egypt to probe four coronavirus deaths due to alleged lack of oxygen
Egyptian prosecutors opened an investigation into the deaths on Sunday of at least four coronavirus patients at a public Egyptian hospital, after a video of nurses struggling to keep the patients alive was shared widely on social media. The governor of Sharqia province denied allegations by a relative of one of the patients that the deaths were caused by a lack of oxygen at the government-run intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients. Governor Mamdouh Ghorab said the patients died because they suffered chronic diseases in addition to the virus. The relative, who also filmed the video, offered no immediate evidence to back up their claim that the hospital ran out of oxygen. Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with more than 100 million people, is facing a surge in confirmed v...
Fulham vs Tottenham in ‘serious doubt’ after coronavirus outbreak
Tottenham’s game with Fulham on Wednesday evening is in ‘serious doubt’ after a number of people at the west London club tested positive for coronavirus. It comes just a day after Manchester City’s trip to Everton was postponed after City returned five positive cases of COVID-19. The Premier League confirmed on Tuesday that it had received a new high of 18 positive cases after the latest round of testing. The Athletic have claimed that Fulham are in serious danger of being unable to fulfil tomorrow’s fixture with an unconfirmed amount of coronavirus positives. There has, however, been no official comment from the Craven Cottage side. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begin...
Egypt to probe four coronavirus deaths due to alleged lack of oxygen
Egyptian prosecutors opened an investigation into the deaths on Sunday of at least four coronavirus patients at a public Egyptian hospital, after a video of nurses struggling to keep the patients alive was shared widely on social media. The governor of Sharqia province denied allegations by a relative of one of the patients that the deaths were caused by a lack of oxygen at the government-run intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients. Governor Mamdouh Ghorab said the patients died because they suffered chronic diseases in addition to the virus. The relative, who also filmed the video, offered no immediate evidence to back up their claim that the hospital ran out of oxygen. Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with more than 100 million people, is facing a surge in confirmed v...