Transmission
Coronavirus: Nigeria now at tipping point – PTF
The Federal Government, yesterday, took stock of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic vis-a-vis the attitude of Nigerians to embracing safety precautions, and concluded that the country was now at a tipping point. This came as government announced its decision to establish oxygen plants in all states of the federation as part of measures to resolve the “oxygen crisis” that had engulfed some of the isolation and treatment centres in the country. Meanwhile, Edo State has recorded 28 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 270, as the state government cautions residents to abide by the precautionary health and safety guidelines. Vanguard, meanwhile, gathered that former vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe and th...
Governor Sanwo-Olu still recovering from coronavirus infection
Over one week after testing positive for COVID-19, Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is yet to make a complete recovery. The governor tested positive for the novel disease on December 11, 2020 after he was in close contact with an infected aide. The Lagos government reported that the governor was displaying mild symptoms and fatigue and was receiving treatment at home. While providing an update on the governor’s health on Monday, December 21, Lagos Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said Sanwo-Olu is doing much better. However, he said the 55-year-old remains in isolation and receiving home based care. “We are waiting for a complete clearance of the virus so that Mr Governor can resume public activities,” he said. Abayomi urged members of the public to adhere to safety measures...
FDA: Independent committee recommends authorization of coronavirus vaccine
An independent committee of experts recommended Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration authorize the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 16. Now, the FDA will decide whether to follow that recommendation. The agency could announce a decision within days. If they do authorize the vaccine, health care workers could begin receiving the shots almost immediately. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met all day to review data on the vaccine, discuss plans for distribution, and outline plans for continued research. FDA scientists published a report about the vaccine on Tuesday, which analyzed data from the pharmaceutical companies and found that the vaccine was safe and 95 percent at preventing symptomatic COVID-19. Data fro...
‘Electronic voting, best option for credible polls’
An Oyo State politician, Olayinka Oladimeji Segelu, has called for the adoption of electronic voting in Nigeria’s electoral process. Segelu, who aspired for House of Representatives in 2015, said the plan by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to commence electronic voting with Anambra State governorship election next year was a good move. He said: “Honestly, the only way we can ensure transparency and reliability in the conduct of elections in Nigeria is to embrace electronic voting as it is done in some other countries of the world. “We must understand that establishing an independent body to manage and supervise elections is not enough to guarantee free and fair elections devoid of an efficient and reliable system. “To start with, the cost of adopting the electronic bal...
Firm restates commitment to enhance financial inclusion
Nigeria-based fintech solution, NowNow, has said that it will continue to upgrade its services to attune to current realities, such that will drive economic and social growth. Founder of NowNow, Sahir Berry, while speaking on how COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the financial space recently, mentioned that Nigeria needs to strengthen its fintech space more than before. Berry stated that it was important for Nigeria to tap into the trends and prospects of fintech given the country’s large unbanked or underbanked. He added the company recognised this gap in Nigeria, which informed its investment in the space. “In 2017 we identified that one of the two big problems in Nigeria was lack of youth empowerment and financial inclusion. With a population of almost 100 million youths, we found that ac...
Coronavirus vaccine breakthrough raises hopes of rapid global rollout
A coronavirus vaccine developed by Britain’s University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca has shown successful results in early trials. If it is approved by regulators, the vaccine appears suitable for a fast rollout around the globe. Early analysis of trials involving 20,000 volunteers in Britain and Brazil show the vaccine is at least 62% effective after two doses. In volunteers given a different dosing regimen — a half dose, followed by a full dose — that figure rose to 90%. The average efficacy of the two dosing methods is 70%. None of those given the vaccine developed severe COVID-19 illness. Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said the recent successful trials of three different vaccines by Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, represent a...
Tokyo reports record daily virus cases, outbreak locks down Australian state
Daily coronavirus cases in Tokyo and South Korea hit fresh highs on Wednesday, as pollution-cloaked New Delhi struggled with rising cases and Australia reported a highly contagious virus strain which forced a state-wide lockdown. The post Tokyo reports record daily virus cases, outbreak locks down Australian state appeared first on TODAY. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
NCDC: Coronavirus presents malaria symptoms but it’s not
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says though Coronavirus (COVID-19) presents symptoms similar to malaria such as fever, both diseases are caused by different organisms and differ in mode of transmission. The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle, while warning Nigerians against taking COVID-19 and malaria as the same infection. The health agency also identified 12 symptoms that could point to the existence of COVID-19 in the human body. According to NCDC, the listed symptoms will help Nigerians “take responsibility” by quickly calling the available holtines if they experienced a combination of this symptoms. The NCDC urged Nigerians to alert its officials, “If you have COUGH or FEVER and one of these symptoms: Loss of Taste; Loss of Smell, Difficulty Breathing, D...
Singapore ends two-month virus lockdown
Singapore on Tuesday began allowing activities that “do not pose a high risk of transmission” to resume after two months of lockdown. Despite reporting the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in East Asia, the government chose to stick to its plans of easing restrictions from June. Asides China, Singapore has recorded more coronavirus cases than any country in East or South-East Asia. Yet, offices, factories, schools and worship centres are now opened. Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, had said on Monday that the relaxation will likely prove “a big relief to all’’ but one that is “certainly not without its risks’’. Some restrictions will, however, remain for several more weeks. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online....
NMA: Nigerians may suffer if governors take over coronavirus management
File Photo The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has asked President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow states take full control of managing the COVID-19 pandemic saying Nigerians may suffer. Newsmen recall that Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, said on Sunday in the next phase of the lockdown, states will take more responsibility in their areas. “I can assure you of one thing: the ownership of the next phase will be the responsibility of the states under national supervision and coordination, because we have gone into community transmission. Where are the communities? The communities are in the states,” the SGF said. However, speaking on COVID-19 Watch on AIT, on Monday, the NMA president, Innocen...
31 coronavirus carriers on the run in Gombe
At least, 31 people who tested positive for Coronavirus in Gombe State are on the run, the state’s Taskforce on COVID-19 said on Wednesday. According to the task force, the 31 people have refused to show up once they knew they were positive. Chairman of the task force, Prof. Idris Mohammed, who spoke while giving update of Coronavirus in the State, said the 31 positive individuals who were yet to be identified and evacuated. The 31 positive cases were among people intercepted at the state entry points, whose samples were taken for tests after being isolated. However, by the time their results came out, which tested positive, they had found their ways back into their communities, refusing to be evacuated to the isolation centres. Mohammed, however, appealed to them to cooperate with the tas...
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...
