World Health Organisation
Minister: Nigeria working on plasma of recovered coronavirus patients for treatment
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Sunday said the Federal Government is working on research, using plasma from the blood of recovered Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients to treat people infected with the virus. Ehanire said this while answering questions from journalists in Abuja on the possibility of using plasma of recovered COVID-19 patients to treat serious cases. The minister, who spoke at a news conference to commemorate the World Blood Donor Day (WBDD), said some research institutes were already working on the new research. According to him, plasma of patients recovered from COVID-19 is called Convalescent plasma. “It is believed that persons who suffered COVID-19 and have recovered will have antibodies inside their plasma, which can be used to treat others. “It can be used...
WHO: Africa’s coronavirus cases exceed 230,000
Flickr The World Health Organisation, Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, says the number of coronavirus cases in Africa is now over 230,000. The UN health agency gave the update on its official twitter account @WHOAFRO on Sunday. It stated that “there are over 230,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent – with more than 105,000 recoveries and 6,200 deaths.” WHO also noted that South Africa, Nigeria, and Algeria had the highest reported cases on the continent. According to the organisation, South Africa has 65,736 cases and 1,423 deaths, followed by Nigeria with 15,181 confirmed cases and 399 deaths, while Algeria has 10,810 confirmed cases and 760 deaths. WHO said that Lesotho, Seychelles and Gambia are countries currently with the lowest confirmed cases on the...
Borno discharges 135 coronavirus patients
Borno State Government has discharged 135 COVID-19 patients. The patients, who initially tested positive for the virus, later tested negative twice upon treatment. Speaking on Friday at the Abba Kyari COVID-19 Isolation Centre in Maiduguri, Deputy Governor, Usman Kadafur, said the state has recorded successes in recent time while commending the efforts of the World Health Organisation and other developmental partners. The deputy governor, who is also the Chairman, Committee on Response and Prevention of COVID-19, described the collaboration as a huge success in the fight against COVID-19 in the state. Kadafur advised the public to adhere strictly to COVID-19 preventive protocols to mitigate and completely eradicate the virus. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money ...
WHO: Africa’s coronavirus cases hit 123,000
Flickr The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday reported that COVID-19 cases in Africa as at May 26 had risen to over 123, 000. The WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, gave the update on its official twitter handle @WHOAFRO. “There are over 123,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent – with more than 50,000 recoveries and 3,600 deaths,’’ it said. The figures show that South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria have the highest reported cases in the continent. According to the report, South Africa has 25,937 cases and 552 deaths, followed by Algeria with 8,857 cases and 623 deaths, while Nigeria has 8,733 confirmed cases and 254 deaths. It said that Ghana had 7,303 reported cases and 34 deaths, while Cameroon recorded 5, 436 confirmed cases and 177 deaths. The ...
US coronavirus death toll hits 100,000, cases now 1.7million
The coronavirus death toll in the United States hit 100,000 on Tuesday. According to renowned data website Worldmeters, the toll hit the mark around 6:00pm Nigerian time. On May 17, the figure reached 90,000; half of the number died in just one month. As at April 19, John Hopkins University and Worldometers, put their individual tallies at 40,000. America is currently the worst-hit country in the world. The U.S. has recorded 1,710,000 cases of coronavirus since the outbreak. Globally, over 5,630,000 cases have been recorded with nearly 350,000 deaths. 2,400,000 patients have recovered. President Donald Trump and his administration’s officials insist that China knows more than it is telling about the virus. The American leader recently suggested that Beijing wanted him lose the presidential...
China reports no new coronavirus cases in 24 hours
China on Saturday reported zero new coronavirus infections for the first time since it started reporting data in January, a day after Communist Party leaders celebrated “major achievements” in the virus fight. The virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, but cases have dwindled dramatically from the peak in mid-February as the country appears to have brought the virus largely under control. The official death toll in the country of 1.4 billion people stands at 4,634, well below the number of fatalities in much smaller countries. However, doubt has been cast on the reliability of China’s numbers and the United States has led the charge in questioning how much information Beijing has shared with the international community. The milestone comes a day after the ...
Lagos conducts 16,000 coronavirus tests
The Lagos State Government says it has conducted about 16, 000 COVID-19 tests at a cost of N40, 000 to N50, 000 per test. Prof. Akin Abayomi, the state Commissioner for Health, made this known at the Lagos COVID-19 update on Thursday. Abayomi said that there were plans to ramp up testing capacity to about one thousand tests on a daily basis. He said that Lagos had conducted the highest number of COVID-19 tests in Nigeria, with four testing laboratories, and planned to increase the testing sites in the coming weeks. According to him, as the state ramps up its testing capacity, there will be need to subside the cost of the test, either through insurance or donor funds. “For now, the Lagos State Government is providing COVID-19 tests free of charge,” he said. The commissioner said that the st...
WHO: Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases top 95,000
Flickr The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday reported that COVID-19 cases in Africa as at May 21, had risen to over 95, 000. WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, gave the update on its official twitter account @WHOAFRO. “There are over 95,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent – with more than 34,000 recoveries and 2,995 deaths,” it said. The figures showed that South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria had the highest reported cases in Africa. According to the report, South Africa had 18,003 cases and 339 deaths followed by Algeria with 7,542 cases and 568 deaths, while Nigeria had 6,677 confirmed cases and 200 deaths. It stated that Ghana had 6,096 reported cases and 31 deaths, while Cameroon recorded 3, 733 confirmed cases and 146 deaths. The report sai...
WHO pledges to use ‘every tool’ to fight coronavirus
The World Health Organisation (WHO) would use every tool at its disposal to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director-General, has said. Ghebreyesus spoke at the closing of two-day virtual World Health Assembly in Geneva. In his speech posted on WHO website, Ghebreyesus said some of the recommendations from the assembly would be shared and be implemented. “WHO’s focus now is fighting the pandemic with every tool at its disposal. “Our focus is on saving lives. At the end of the day, what matters is life. That should be at the centre of everything we do and everything we say. “I’ve been heartened by the way countries have shared experiences, best practices through our regular Member State briefings and at this Assembly,’’ he said. The director general said the agency woul...
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...
Taiwan rejects China’s main condition for WHO participation
Taiwan’s health minister, on Friday, rejected China’s main condition for the island to be able to take part in the World Health Organisation (WHO) – that it accepts it is part of China – ahead of a key meeting of the body during a pandemic, Reuters reported. Non-WHO member Taiwan has lobbied to take part as an observer in next week’s World Health Assembly (WHA), drawing strong objections from Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces. Taiwan says the coronavirus pandemic has made it more urgent than ever that it be allowed proper access to the WHO. China says Taiwan can only participate under the “one China” principle, in which it accepts it is a part of China. China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party refused to do this, a...
Abuja doctor explains coronavirus treatment regimen
The COVID-19 Team Leader at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Dr. Yunusa Thairu, has given a rare insight into the treatment regimen for the COVID-19, explaining how a cocktail of an anti-retroviral drug, Aluvia, as well as Zinc and Vitamin C tablets are deployed. Dr. Thairu disclosed this on Monday, while answering questions after the official opening of the 506-bed space COVID-19 Isolation and Treatment Centre in Idu, Abuja. According to him, the regimen was adopted at a meeting with the World Health Organisation, WHO, and the United Nations, UN, alongside with some other unnamed stakeholders. The meeting, according to him, resolved to use Chloroquine or Aluvia which is a combination of antiviral therapy and other management techniques that can be used to make COVID-19 patients ...
