TheNewsGuru

Tag: Coronavirus

  • BREAKING: SSG, Commissioner test positive for COVID-19 in Delta

    BREAKING: SSG, Commissioner test positive for COVID-19 in Delta

    Two top government officials have tested positive for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Delta State as the State intensifies efforts to combating the spread of the disease.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Mr Olisa Ifeajika, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa made this known on Sunday in Asaba, the State capital.

    According to Ifeajika, both officials showed mild symptoms of the virus and consequently subjected themselves to the test.

    He said that both men had been moved to an isolation centre and were stable, and responding well to treatment.

    Ifeajika called on residents of the state to adhere strictly to the COVID-19 protocols as anyone, irrespective of status, could contract the virus.

    “Let me advise all Deltans to, as a matter of top priority, always obey the COVID-19 protocols, which have been in public domain, so as to curb further spread of the pandemic.

    “The fresh cases in our hands in Delta further testifies to the fact that COVID-19 is not a scam. It is real and people should take the issues of the virus and personal hygiene seriously.

    “COVID-19 is not a death sentence; so, when you begin to feel unwell, reach out to approved government hospitals for appropriate tests to be carried out.

    “We can save ourselves and others from this virus if we obey all the protocols of wearing face masks, regular washing of hands in running water, use of alcohol-based sanitisers and maintaining physical-distancing while congregating in any form.

    “All our hospitals and isolation centres across the state are on 24 hours alert to receive any case(s) of the Coronavirus or other health challenges,” he stated.

    According to Ifeajika, the officials are the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Chiedu Ebie and the Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu.

  • Jurgen Klopp slams England’s response to COVID-19

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has criticised England’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, revealing he feels like an alien for continuing to take it seriously.

    During its peak, there were fears the Premier League season would be abandoned completely with Klopp himself conceding he became fully aware of that possibility.

    But despite those sporting concerns, Klopp has stressed his real focus has remained on matters off the pitch as he noted the major difference in how England and Germany have dealt with the coronavirus.

    “I was not worried for one second that the ­government could cost us the title because I was worried about the numbers who were dying – and I’m still worried,” Klopp said.

    “I didn’t vote for this ­government. This government was the choice of other people. And the problem I had was that I got the news from England and the news from Germany. If aliens looked at us both from the outside, they would think we came from two different planets.

    “From a personal point of view, I don’t understand why we started wearing face masks in closed areas on June 15 when five or six weeks ago all the other countries were doing it.

    “You can argue about whether it makes sense to wear them, but all ­countries who started wearing face masks earlier have smaller casualty numbers than here in England. That’s the truth.

    “When I see the numbers here in ­England and then in Germany, I think. Look, it’s not perfect in Germany, people have died and have been ill. But, in terms of living your life, it is completely different.

    “If you want to enter a shop in Germany, but don’t wear a face mask, then you aren’t allowed in. With a face mask, you can go in all the shops you want. You can go to the hairdresser, wherever.

    “They wear a face mask, you wear a face mask, and sometimes the people in the shop will have even more ­protection like a screen.

    “When I go to the petrol ­station in England, I am the only one wearing a face mask and I’m the only one with gloves – I feel like an alien. I will not stop doing that until someone tells me it’s over.

    “But inside the club, we are safe. We are tested twice a week and it is a safe ­environment.”

  • Bayelsa records spike in COVID-19 positive cases

    Bayelsa records spike in COVID-19 positive cases

    Bayelsa State has witnessed a spike in the number of samples returning positive to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

    This is happening despite proactive and preventive measures taken by the State government to avert the spread of the disease.

    Seventeen (17) new cases were recorded on Friday 19 June, 2020 while Twenty-five (25) cases were confirmed on Wednesday, 17 June, 2020, bringing the total number of confirmed Covid-!9 cases in the state to 128.

    A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information and

    Orientation, and Member Bayelsa State Taskforce on Covid-19, Mr. Freston Akpor noted that One (1) patient was discharged from the treatment centre at Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri in line with NCDC protocol.

    Regrettably, Six (6) patients gave up the ghost due to complications arising from the Coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to nine (9).

    Currently, there are ninety (90) active cases of Covid-19 at treatment centres in the State.

    Mr. Freston Akpor stressed that Covid-19 is real and deadly.

    “More so, there is no vaccine or drug for the virus. Citizens are therefore enjoined to take responsibility by adhering strictly to public health advisories.

    “Citizens are advised to always wear facemask in public places, wash their hands frequently and thoroughly with soap under running water.

    “Citizen should also stay safe at home if there is no compelling reason to go out.

    “It is the responsibility of all to protect all of us from the pandemic. Please stay safe,” he stated.

  • BREAKING: Delta records highest COVID-19 cases in single day

    BREAKING: Delta records highest COVID-19 cases in single day

    Delta State has recorded the highest number of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in a single day.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed 83 COVID-19 cases for the State on Saturday.

    The development brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the State to 501.

    The State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa had earlier said the level of infection was on the rise due to the lackadaisical attitude of people who erroneously believe that the pandemic was a fluke.

    The Governor lamented that COVID-19 treatment centres in the State were already full of patients, emphasising that caution was needed to manage the alarming rate of infection and transmission.

    While speaking on Friday with Government House Correspondents on the level of infection of the dreaded disease in the State and other parts of the country, Okowa urged Deltans and other residents of the State to always observe all precautionary measures against COVID-19 in order to checkmate community transmission.

    He further stressed that the rising cases were due to community transmission and failure of people to observe prescribed protocols such as wearing of face mask in public places, social and physical distancing and other measures to keep the virus in check.

    He advocated the need for everybody to be at alert as the level of immunity of people differs, pointing out that those with symptoms of the disease should go to the hospital for treatment before they become a big risk to their family members, friends and colleagues.

    While saying that his administration would do everything possible to manage the situation, Governor Okowa appealed to residents of the state to avoid large congregation of people so as to mitigate the spread of the disease.

    “I want to plead with all Deltans that it is time for us to realise that there is community transmission of the disease which can affect anybody if adequate care was not taken,” Okowa said.

    The governor expressed worry that some states in the country would surpass the figures recorded in Lagos State due to the failure of most Nigerians to comply with all the laid down rules.

    Governor Okowa opined that the dreaded COVID-19 could only be eliminated with behavioural change of the entire citizens of the country.

    TNG reports that NCDC confirmed 661 cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria on Saturday.

    Lagos recorded 230, Rivers-127, FCT-60, Oyo-51, Edo-31, Bayelsa-27, Kaduna-25, Plateau-13, Ondo-6, Nasarawa-3, Ekiti-2, Kano-2, and Borno-1.

    There are now 19,808 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country; 6,718 discharged with 506 deaths.

  • New COVID-19 exposure tool appears on smartphones without users notice

    New COVID-19 exposure tool appears on smartphones without users notice

    A new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) exposure notifications tool has appeared on smartphones without users having to personally install it.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the new COVID-19 exposure notifications tool showed up on the settings of both iOS and Android smartphones as part of an update of the operating systems.

    The update released by Google and Apple on Friday caused some confusion, with people querying the new addition to their handsets on social media.

    On iPhones, the new COVID-19 exposure notifications tool is located in settings, via the privacy menu and then the health section.

    On Android phones, the new tool is located in the Google section of the Settings menu of your smartphone, where you will find ‘Services & preferences’.

    How the new COVID-19 exposure notifications tool works

    To help understand whether you have been exposed to someone who reports having COVID-19, you can turn on Exposure Notifications, but if you change your mind, you can turn it off as well.

    To use the tool, you would be required to download a public health authority’s app. If you have COVID-19, you share that info with the app to help alert the people you have been in contact with.

    If you have been exposed to someone who has shared they have COVID-19, the app will notify you and give you further instructions.

    After downloading the public health authority’s app, turn on your phone’s Bluetooth, and also turn on your phone’s Location setting. The tool uses this to scan for Bluetooth signals. It does not collect or track your location.

    When you turn on Exposure Notifications within an app from the public health authority, your phone shares random IDs with other nearby phones that also have turned on the Exposure Notifications tool.

    Throughout the day, your phone and the phones around you exchange random IDs. When your phone detects a random ID from another device, it records and stores the ID.

    If someone reports having COVID-19 and their ID is stored on your phone, the app will notify you of next steps to take.

    If the app learns that you have come in contact with someone who reports themselves as having COVID-19, the system shares with the app the day the contact happened, how long the contact lasted, and the Bluetooth signal strength of that contact.

    If you have COVID-19, in the public health app, you may report yourself as having COVID-19. The app may ask you to share your random IDs. This helps the public health authority to notify others.

    The app may then check if your random IDs are stored on other people’s devices. It may alert others who came in contact with you. Those other people won’t know your identity. You decide if and when to share your data.

    All of the Exposure Notification matching happens on your device, which means only you and your app know if you report having COVID-19 or been exposed to someone who has reported having COVID-19.

    Your identity is never shared with other users, Apple, or Google.

    When you download a public health authority app, you can opt in to use Exposure Notifications.

    If you have COVID-19, you can choose to share your random IDs with the app. To help prevent tracking, your phone’s random ID changes every 10-20 minutes. Your phone only stores random IDs from the last 14 days.

    The public health authority app is not allowed to use your phone’s location or track your location in the background. Only official public health authority apps can use the system.

    You can turn off Exposure Notifications in your Android phone’s Settings, or uninstall the public health app.

    Important: By turning off this feature, you won’t be notified if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19.

    You can delete the random IDs stored on your device before they are automatically deleted after 14 days. You can’t delete your random IDs that are stored on other people’s devices or that you shared with an app.

    Important: By deleting this data, you won’t be notified if you have been exposed to COVID-19.

  • 98 more COVID-19 patients recover in Lagos

    98 more COVID-19 patients recover in Lagos

    Ninety-eight more COVID-19 patients have recovered from the deadly virus in Lagos State.

    The discharged patients consist of 71 males and 27 females.

    This was disclosed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in a statement issued on Friday.

    Giving a breakdown of the figures, Sanwo-Olu said 23 were from Onikan, 22 from LUTH, 17 from Gbagada, and another 17 from Eti-Osa areas of the state.

    While 14 patients came from Agidingbi, 4 were from the Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, and 1 from Paelon Centre, an accredited private facility respectively.

    This brings to 1283 the total number of discharged Covid-19 patients in the state.

  • COVID-19 treatment centres in Delta already full – Gov. Okowa

    COVID-19 treatment centres in Delta already full – Gov. Okowa

    Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Friday said Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment centres in the State were already full of patients, emphasising that caution was needed to manage the alarming rate of infection and transmission.

    Governor Okowa stated this while speaking with Government House Correspondents on the level of infection of the dreaded disease in the state and other parts of the country.

    He urged Deltans and other residents of the State to always observe all precautionary measures against COVID-19 in order to checkmate community transmission.

    The governor noted that the level of infection was on the rise due to the lackadaisical attitude of people who erroneously believe that the pandemic was a fluke.

    He said Delta recorded 83 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in two days due to community transmission and failure of people to observe prescribed protocols such as wearing of face mask in public places, social and physical distancing and other measures to keep the virus in check.

    He advocated the need for everybody to be at alert as the level of immunity of people differs, pointing out that those with symptoms of the disease should go to the hospital for treatment before they become a big risk to their family members, friends and colleagues.

    While saying that his administration would do everything possible to manage the situation, Governor Okowa appealed to residents of the state to avoid large congregation of people so as to mitigate the spread of the disease.

    He reiterated that the 400 confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded in the state as at June 18, 2020 was largely due to the failure of people to obey stipulated guidelines for the containment of the disease.

    “As at today we have lost 18 persons to COVID-19 pandemic in Delta including very prominent persons and people are still telling us that there is no COVID-19.

    “In just two days (Wednesday, June 17 and Thursday, June 18, 2020), we had 83 confirmed cases of corona virus disease in the state; in spite of this obvious fact, some Deltans are still doubting the reality of COVID-19.

    “I want to plead with all Deltans that it is time for us to realise that there is community transmission of the disease which can affect anybody if adequate care was not taken,” Okowa said.

    The governor expressed worry that some states in the country would surpass the figures recorded in Lagos State due to the failure of most Nigerians to comply with all the laid down rules.

    Governor Okowa opined that the dreaded COVID-19 could only be eliminated with behavioural change of the entire citizens of the country.

  • BREAKING: Nigerian scientists discover breakthrough COVID-19 vaccine

    BREAKING: Nigerian scientists discover breakthrough COVID-19 vaccine

    Nigerian Universities’ Scientists, under the aegis of COVID-19 Research Group, on Friday announced the discovery of a vaccine for the prevention of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

    Addressing a news conference on Friday at Adeleke University, Ede, in Osun, Dr Oladipo Kolawole, Leader of the team, said the vaccine was being developed locally in Africa for Africans.

    Kolawole, a Specialist in Medical Virology, Immunology and Bioinformatics, at Adeleke University, Ede, however, said the vaccine would also work for other continent when unveiled.

    He said the study, which led to the discovery of the vaccine, had enjoyed initial funding by the Trinity Immunodeficient Laboratory and Helix Biogen Consult, Ogbomosho, to the tune of about N7.8 million.

    Kolawole said the group had been working extensively by exploring the SARS-CoV-2 genome from African countries to select the best possible potential vaccine candidates.

    He said after trying out some selected processes of vaccine development, the researchers had been able to choose the best potential vaccine candidates for the SARS-CoV-2 and had made the possible latent vaccine constructs.

    On how soon the unnamed vaccine would be unveiled to the public, Kolawole said that it would take a minimum of 18 months.

    According to him, this is because a lot of analysis and studies as well as approvals by medical authorities were still required.

    Also, Prof. Solomon Adebola, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the university, said the university was poised to assist in the funding of the research with a view to bringing the vaccine to limelight.

    “We are glad that a vaccine that will provide solution to a global problem like Coronavirus pandemic is coming from the garden.

    “It is our passion to be a solution provider to such a global pandemic, and we are ready to throw our weights behind the team and make the vaccine a reality,” Adebola said.

    Commenting, Prof. Julius Oloke, the Head, Coordinating Unit of the Research Group and Vice-Chancellor of Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, said the vaccine was real.

    He said, “It’s a pleasure that we have come together to produce a vaccine at a time that the world is in need of solution to a ravaging pandemic.

    “It’s a proof that we are working and not folding our hands or looking away from the problem.

    “The vaccine is real. We have validated it severally. It is targeted at Africans, but will also work for other races.

    “It will work. It cannot be faked. This is a result of determination. It took a lot of scientific efforts.

    “The population of those that need vaccines is more than those that need drugs. That is why the research focussed on vaccine.”

  • Mass protests in U.S. caused no new spike in COVID-19 cases – Reports

    Mass protests in U.S. caused no new spike in COVID-19 cases – Reports

    The wave of mass protests against racism and police violence has not resulted in a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., media reported, citing preliminary studies.

    In Minnesota, which is the epicentre of the protests, 1.8 per cent of 3,200 protesters, who tested for COVID-19 at community sites, turned out to be infected with the coronavirus, The Wall Street Journal reported on late Thursday.

    Some 8,500 other Minnesota protesters tested through their health-care providers or at other sites, and only 0.99 per cent of them were diagnosed with COVID-19.

    Within the past seven days, the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests in New York has remained below 3 per cent, with the number of hospitalised patients continuing to decrease.

    The authorities of Seattle and Chicago have also said that no major outbreaks of the coronavirus disease have been registered so far.

    Nationwide protests against racism and police violence were originally sparked after George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, died in Minneapolis on May 25, after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.

  • What couples in Jos like about the pandemic lockdown

    What couples in Jos like about the pandemic lockdown

    Some couples in Jos, Plateau, have expressed what they liked most about the COVID-19 lockdown.

    Some of the couples, who spoke with the NAN on Friday in Jos, said that if it were possible to have a lockdown without a pandemic, it would help build healthy family relationships.

    Mrs Patience Davis, a mother of two and a restaurateur, said the lockdown gave her and her husband an enabling environment to sort out pressing issues in the family.

    “I have told my husband to increase the house-keeping money but he wouldn’t budge.

    “But he did in the month of May when he escorted me to the market,’’ Davis said.

    Mr Brown Kelechi and his wife, Ego, said that the lockdown taught them how to live as retirees, as they have both had a foretaste of it and were prepared better now to face it.

    Mr and Mrs Bold Kehinde said that the lockdown taught them tolerance in a different light.

    “We have been getting on each other’s nerve and constantly arguing about trivial things.

    “But during the lockdown, we mended all walls,’’ they said.

    Mr and Mrs John Popoola said they had been putting in extra effort to direct the path of their teenage son, adding that during the lockdown, they plunged into the teenager’s world and made a huge success.

    “We couldn’t understand why the boy was isolating himself but we later discovered what the problem was and dealt with it,’’ the Popoolas said.

    Mr and Mrs Ibrahim said that the lockdown gave them the opportunity to give priority to family and relate closely like never before.

    They also said that the period helped in adding flavour to their relationship.