The Federal Government has raised a Presidential Task Force for the control of Coronavirus in Nigeria.
The 12-member committee is chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
The SGF, while inaugurating the committee on Tuesday in Abuja, said it had six months to complete its assignment.
Details soon…
A Chinese official says Favipiravir, an antiviral drug, has shown good clinical efficacy against coronavirus (COVID-19).
The virus was first detected in Wuhan, a city in the Asian country, in December.
Speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday, Zhang Xinmin, director of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development, said the clinical trial of the drug has been concluded.
He said Favipiravir, an influenza drug which was approved for clinical use in Japan in 2014, did not show obvious adverse reactions during the clinical trial.
According to the official, more than 80 patients participated in the trial in the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province.
Xinmin said 35 patients were taking Favipiravir and the 45 were on a control group.
At the end of the trial, he said the results showed that the patients who took the Favipiravir drug tested negative for the virus within a short time. On the other hand, the patients in the control group have shown no improvement.
Another clinical research at the Zhongnan Hospital in Wuhan University showed that the “therapeutic effect of the drug is stronger than the control group”.
Xinmin said the drug has been recommended in the diagnosis and treatment of the deadly virus.
He added that a pharmaceutical firm in the country has been granted the approval to mass-produce and supply favipiravir.
Lothar Wieler, President of Robert Koch Institute in Germany on Tuesday said coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic might go on for two years and develop in waves.
“The pandemic is developing in waves. We know this is exactly the case. But how fast are these waves? And when will this pandemic infect the projected 60 to 70 per cent of the world’s population? This can take years. We project it to be two years.’’
He added that the appearance of a vaccine or any intervention in the course of the pandemic would be useful.
“The sooner the vaccine is available, the sooner we will manage to contain this pandemic. But even when we get a vaccine, it does not mean that everyone will be vaccinated since it is connected with the amount of the vaccine.’’
According to the Koch Institute, there have been over 6,000 coronavirus cases in the country including 13 fatalities.
Wieler earlier said that coronavirus cases were obviously higher than the official count.
More than 180,000 COVID-19 cases in 155 countries and territories have been confirmed. The majority of the patients have recovered but more than 7,000 others have died.
Iran’s death toll from the pandemic coronavirus has increased to 988, with 135 new deaths in the past 24 hours, a health ministry spokesman told state TV on Tuesday.
“The death toll is 988 … with 1,178 new infected people in the past 24 hours, now the total number of infected cases is 16,169 across the country,” said Kianush Jahanpur.
Jahanpur added that 5,389 people infected with the virus have recovered.
Iran reported its first confirmed coronavirus cases on Feb. 19, 2020 in Qom.
As of 14 March 2020, according to Iranian health authorities, there had been 611 COVID-19 deaths in Iran with more than 12,500 confirmed infections.
As of the same date, Iran has the third highest number of COVID-19 deaths after Mainland China and Italy, the highest in Western Asia and the third-highest number of cases, surpassed only by Mainland China and Italy.
Union of European Football Associations, UEFA has postponed Euro 2020 until next summer, the Norwegian FA claim.
Euro 2020 was due to begin on June 12 for one month, but the decision has been made to postpone the finals due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on the sporting calendar.
The tournament, which involves 24 nations and takes place across 12 host cities, will instead be played in the summer of 2021, starting on June 11 and ending on July 11.
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The Senate on Tuesday has called for travel ban on high risk countries with Coronavirus.
The high risk countries are United Kingdom, China and others.
Details shortly…
Burkina Faso and Cameroon have recorded five new cases of COVID-19, Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Burkina Faso to 20, the Minister of Health, Claudine Lougue, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Ministry of Health received, on Monday, new results from the laboratory examinations of suspected cases taken by the rapid intervention teams.
“The results are as follows: five suspect cases are declared positive for COVID-19 and four returned negative,’’ said the minister.
Burkina Faso confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 9.
The Ministry of Health invites people to calm, serenity and strict compliance with the recommended measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
Similarly, Cameroon reported on Tuesday five more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of contamination to ten, according to a tweet from the Cameroonian Minister of Public Health Manaouda Malachie.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Cameroonian Prime Minister, Joseph Ngute, chaired a crisis meeting with ministers over the pandemic.
The Federal Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced a new case of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria, being the third COVID-19 case to be reported in the country since the spread of the pandemic.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) gathered that this case, according to the ministry, was confirmed on the 16th of March in Lagos State, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 3.
On how the third COVID-19 case in Nigeria turned in herself to health workers, the Federal Ministry of Health said the new case is a Nigerian national who returned to Nigeria from the United Kingdom on the 13th of March after a brief visit.
“On return to Nigeria, the case decided to go into self-isolation and subsequently developed symptoms, at which point, the case called the NCDC toll-free line to report symptoms.
“Officials from the Lagos State COVID-19 Emergency Operations Centre were then dispatched to the case’s home to collect a sample. This was tested and positive for COVID-19,” the Ministry revealed in a statement.
According to the Ministry, the case is currently being treated at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) in Yaba, Lagos, and TNG learnt that the third COVID-19 case patient is clinically stable and is responding to treatment.
The Ministry also stated that contact tracing has started to identify all persons who the patient has been in contact with, since her return to Nigeria.
The Ministry said the Federal Government of Nigeria will continue to assess the situation and review the national response accordingly.
“We are immediately announcing the following interventions:
“We strongly discourage any travel to all affected countries except for essential trips;
“We encourage everyone returning to Nigeria from any country to self-isolate for 14-days
“All those returning from countries where there is ongoing high community transmission (over 1,000 cases cumulatively), should self-isolate and will be actively followed up for 14 days by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Port Health Services
“Please continue to maintain hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette,” an advisory by the Ministry read.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Health continues to carry out daily risk assessments of the COVID19 situation.
“The National Emergency Operations Centre led by NCDC and supported partners, will continue to support the Lagos State Ministry of Health in its response.
“All Nigerians are asked to continue to take all necessary precautions to protect themselves and their families,” the Ministry further stated.
These measures include taking the following precautions below:
(1) Wash hands regularly with soap and water or use an alcohol-based sanitiser if no water and soap is available
(2) Maintain at least 2 metres (5 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing
(3) Persons with a persistent cough or sneezing, should stay at home until they recover
(4) Make sure you and people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene, with means covering your mouth and nose with a tissue. If none is available, you can cough into the sleeve of your bent envelope. If using a tissue when you cough or sneeze, dispose of the used tissue properly, into a dustbin
(5) Stay at home if you feel unwell with symptoms like fever, cough and difficulty in breathing and please call NCDCs toll free number 0800 970 000 0010, which is available 24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday for guidance. Do not self-medicate
(6) Stay informed on the latest developments about COVID-19 through the official Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Lagos State Ministry of Health and other State health department official channels on TV, radio and social media.
Also, citizens have been advised not to abuse social media or spread misinformation or disinformation that can cause fear and panic.
The Federal Ministry of Health through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control will continue to provide updates as and when they become available, and will put in place all available measures required to control the spread of any infectious disease outbreak in Nigeria.
The Lagos State Ministry of Health has announced that another case, the third case of the deadly Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been confirmed in Lagos, Nigeria.
According to an update made by the Lagos State Ministry of Health, via its official Twitter handle, @LSMOH, the third case patient is said to be an independent case not connected with the index case.
Breaking!
Third case of #COVID19NIGERIA confirmed in Lagos.
– This is a new case independent of the index case
– 30 year old Nigerian, female
– Returned from the UK on 13th March
– Observed self-Isolation, developed symptoms
– Tested positive
– Now at Mainland GH receiving care pic.twitter.com/f8osZk4Ba4— LSMOH (@LSMOH) March 17, 2020
The carrier, a 30-year-old Nigerian female, who returned from the United Kingdom on Friday, 13 March 2020, observed self-isolation, developed symptoms and has been tested positive.
She is now receiving care at Mainland General Hospital.