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Tag: Coronavirus

  • JUST IN: British Health Minister tests positive for coronavirus

    JUST IN: British Health Minister tests positive for coronavirus

    Nadine Vanessa Dorries, a UK health minister has confirmed she has contracted the coronavirus. The 62 year-old is the first MP to catch the deadly bug.

    In a statement, she said: “I can confirm I have tested positive for coronavirus. As soon as I was informed I took all the advised precautions and have been self-isolating at home.

    “Public Health England has started detailed contact tracing and the department and my parliamentary office are closely following their advice.

    “I would like to thank PHE and the wonderful NHS staff who have provided me with advice and support.”

    She later tweeted: “Thanks for so many good wishes. It’s been pretty rubbish but I hope I’m over the worst of it now. More worried about my 84-year-old mum who is staying with me and began with the cough today. She is being tested tomorrow. Keep safe and keep washing those hands, everyone.”

    Dorries catching the bug will cause some concern at 10 Downing Street, where she attended last Thursday a reception to mark the International Women’s Day

    She was seen in a picture with Boris and his pregnant girlfriend.

    Dorries fell ill on Friday, a day after and her diagnosis was confirmed Tuesday night.

    As an MP, Dorries has been representing Mid Bedfordshire since 2005.

    She has been serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since 2019.

  • English club owner reveals he has coronavirus

    English club owner reveals he has coronavirus

    Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis has tested positive for coronavirus.

    Marinakis, 52, was at the City Ground for Forest’s Championship fixture against Millwall on Friday.

    Olympiakos are due to host Wolves in the Europa League on Thursday.

    “Mr Marinakis was diagnosed after showing the first symptoms on his return to Greece,” said Forest.

    “During his stay in Nottingham he did not show any symptoms of the virus.

    “The club are seeking advice from medical professionals and the relevant governing bodies to ensure the correct measures are taken.”

    Marinakis had earlier revealed he had been diagnosed with coronavirus on social media platform Instagram.

    “The recent virus has ‘visited’ me and I felt obliged to let the public know,” he said. “I feel good as I take all the necessary measures and I discipline to the doctor’s instructions.”

    Millwall, who won Friday’s game in Nottingham 3-0, have said that “senior club representatives who came into contact with Mr Marinakis have begun a period of self isolation”.

    A club spokesman added: “This is purely a precautionary measure and no individual has displayed any symptoms. The club will continue to follow all necessary guidance from the appropriate bodies.”

    The Lions are due to host Derby County at The Den on Saturday.

  • La Liga matches to be played behind closed doors

    La Liga matches to be played behind closed doors

    La Liga matches will be played without fans for at least the next two rounds of fixtures to try and stop the spread of coronavirus, the Spanish league said on Tuesday.

    FC Barcelona also said its UEFA Champions League clash with Napoli next week would be played behind closed doors, while Valencia’s game with Atalanta would also take place without any supporters.

    The decision was taken in conjunction with the directive by the Spanish government’s sports council (CSD) that professional and non-professional sports events and competitions should take place behind closed doors.

    “According to information from the High Council of Sports, La Liga Santander and La Liga SmartBank (second division) matches will be played behind closed doors, starting today (March 10) and for at least the next two weeks.

    “La Liga will continue to be in permanent contact with the Ministry of Health and the CSD to follow its recommendations and/or decisions, prioritising the health of fans, players, club employees, journalists etc. due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

    “For weeks, La Liga has been working on alternative plans in coordination with UEFA in case health authorities decide to suspend any match, creating a plan to play these matches,” La Liga said in a statement.

    The first match affected is the clash between Eibar and Real Sociedad later on Tuesday at Ipurua Municipal Stadium, a game already postponed from Feb. 16 because of air contamination.

    If the measure is not extended, the next round of matches with supporters will take place on the weekend of April 4 to April 5.

  • UN shuts headquarters to tourists over Coronavirus

    UN shuts headquarters to tourists over Coronavirus

    The United Nations on Tuesday closed its New York headquarters to the general public to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, a spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.

    The move comes one week after a similar measure was taken at the main UN building in Geneva.

    “As of now, we have not been advised of any COVID-19 cases amongst UN staff in New York,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

    Some 3,000 people work in the iconic building overlooking the East River in Midtown Manhattan, the scene of annual gatherings of world leaders.

    Normally, some 5,000 tourists visit the building each week in guided tours.

    About 500,000 people visit the UN headquarters each year, not all tourists, officials said.

    “The United Nations will continue to monitor the situation closely and further measures may be taken as circumstances evolve,” Dujarric said.

  • Coronavirus spread puts all of Italy on total lockdown

    Coronavirus spread puts all of Italy on total lockdown

    Italy’s 60 million people on Tuesday were under lockdown with public events cancelled, movement restricted and schools and universities closed, in a drastic bid to slow the pace of COVID-19 infections.

    According to the sweeping measures announced on Monday by the government in Rome, people across the country are only allowed to leave their home for a few reasons, including grocery shopping, visits to the doctor and care for elderly or sick relatives.

    Overnight, panicked shoppers made a run on 24-hour supermarkets, in spite of the government insisting this is not necessary as people are still allowed to leave their homes to buy food.

    A report says the message is to make people to stay inside and avoid socialising.

    Cinemas and theatres were closed nationwide.

    Shops, bars and restaurants were only open to a limited extent.

    The nationwide emergency measures followed quickly on the heels of travel restrictions for large parts of northern Italy adopted on Sunday.

    The closure of all schools, universities and kindergartens has been extended from mid-March to at least early April.

    However, international train and flight connections, as well as local public transport, have not been restricted by Rome.

    Italy has the largest number of COVID-19 cases outside of mainland China.

    Since it was first detected in Italy in February, almost 10,000 people have contracted it, with 463 deaths.

    Hospitals in the hard-hit north report they are at capacity and places in the intensive care units are scarce.

  • Coronavirus: NYSC scales up activities to fortify corps members

    Management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Ondo State says it has adopted proactive measures to prevent outbreak of communicable diseases especially Coronavirus in Orientation camp.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria had recorded two cases of COVID-19.

    Mrs Grace Akpabio, NYSC State Coordinator, stated this in a statement on Tuesday in Akure.

    Akpabio said the secretariat had complied with health safety measures approved during the pre-orientation workshop held at the Directorate Headquarters in Abuja.

    She said the state secretariat had concluded arrangements to host 2, 200 prospective corps members deployed to the state for the 2020 Batch ‘A’ service year.

    The coordinator said the management had placed hand sanitisers and washing basin at the main entrance, hostels and strategic places in the Orientation Camp, Ikare Akoko.

    Akpabio advised prospective corps members to take advantage of medical provisions provided in the camp to fortify themselves.

    She said: “We do not have immunity against diseases or illnesses, but I want to assure the prospective corps members posted to Ondo State that we had done all what was humanly possible to prevent any outbreak of diseases in our camp.

    “We have enough hand gloves and face masks to go round all the participants. Some of the lasting measures put in place are thorough clearing and cleaning of the whole land mass on which the camp is situated.

    “We have equally replaced nets of all doors and windows which were torn by previous participants.

    “We do not stop at that, all ceiling fans have been serviced and they are working perfectly well”.

    The NYSC boss allayed fears of parents, saying that our mandate is to protect the participants and as parents, we shall stop at nothing to ensure that the corps members have the best camping experience ever.

    Akpabio appealed to security agencies to intensify monitoring and surveillance of the routes leading to the camp to forestall any untoward happenings.

    NAN reports that orientation exercise for Batch ‘A’ (Stream-1) had commenced for the 2, 200 expected prospective corps members.

  • Second Coronavirus patient transferred to Lagos

    The Lagos State Government has said that the patient who recently tested positive for Coronavirus will be managed at the Biosecurity Facility of the Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba.

    Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi who disclosed this on Monday at a news conference to give updates on #COVID19Lagos explained that the patient who tested positive to #COVID19 is one of the 40 persons who had close contact with the index case.

    According him, the 40 persons had been in isolation at Lafarge health facility in Ewekoro in Ogun state since the confirmation of the index case.

    Abayomi stated further that the second confirmed case of #COVID19 indicated the first person-to-person transmission in Nigeria.

    He noted that Lagos State Government through the State Ministry of Health has resolved to take responsibility for the management of the secondary case because State has the required facility and equipment for proper management of highly infectious diseases.

    The Commissioner said the resolve to take responsibility for the management of the patient is because Lagos State is not ready to take chances with the spread of the disease especially when proximity of both States is taken into consideration.

    “What transpired is that the secondary case is one of the 40 suspected cases who came in close contact with the index case and had previously been in isolation at Lafarge Health Facility in Ewekoro. .

    “We conducted test for 40 people because that is the group that had contact with the index case who is currently being managed in our biosecurity facility at Yaba and out of the 40 contacts one tested positive to #COVID19”

    “We felt that it is in the interest of all that the patient be managed at the Mainland Hospital Yaba. This is why the patient is being moved from Ogun state to Lagos”. Abayomi said.

    The Commissioner assured members of the public not to panic stating that government will continue to respond swiftly and take necessary actions to contain the spread of the disease.

    He noted that the fact that the patient had been previously isolated limit the number of possible contacts he must have had.

    “The good news is that we have identified him early enough. We are not taking chances and we do not wait for suspected case to develop symptoms before we carry out test. We have also isolated all those that have had contacts with the patient”. Abayomi said.

    He stated that the search for two remaining passengers who flew on the Turkish airline with the index case continued.

    The Commissioner urged members of the public to assist in the search of the passengers whose names he gave as Enwelunta Godfrey Obumnore and Sadeeq Abiodun Salami; both males.

  • Culture minister, five lawmakers infected with coronavirus

    Culture minister, five lawmakers infected with coronavirus

    France’s culture minister has become the latest politician to be infected by the coronavirus, a government colleague said on Monday, after several lawmakers came down with the COVID-19 illness.

    Franck Riester is doing well and resting at home, health minister Olivier Veran said on BFM Television.

    Five French parliamentarians have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, according to media reports on Monday, along with a worker in the National Assembly cafeteria where some or all of the lawmakers may have picked it up.

    Riester may have caught the virus from one of the five parliamentarians, culture ministry sources said. The stricken minister last met President Emmanuel Macron several days ago, they added.

    The chief executive of state-controlled Paris airport operator ADP (ADP.PA), Augustin de Romanet, has also tested positive for the virus and is working from home, a spokesman said earlier.

    No other government officials are known to have caught the coronavirus, health minister Veran said, adding that cabinet colleagues had been observing the recommendations they have issued to the public.

    “Nobody has been shaking hands in cabinet meetings for the last two weeks,” he said.

  • Italy calls for all sports events to be cancelled until April 3

    Italy calls for all sports events to be cancelled until April 3

    Italy’s top sports body on Monday called for all sports events to be cancelled until April 3.

    It asked the government to issue a decree to enforce the measure as the country fights with the worst coronavirus outbreak in Europe.

    After a meeting between representatives from all Italian team sports federations, the National Olympic Committee (CONI) said in a statement the government should intensify its measures against the virus.

    “Health protection is the top priority for everyone,” the statement said.

    It added there was a unanimous agreement that sports activity at every level should be suspended until April 3.

    However, the statement noted international competitions, for both clubs and national teams, do not fall within CONI’s jurisdiction and so cannot be influenced by its decision.

    This include UEFA football tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League, in which Italy’s Serie A leaders Juventus are set to host France’s Lyon on March 17.

    There was also the Europa League, in which Inter Milan and AS Roma have home games scheduled against Spain’s Getafe and Sevilla on March 12 and 19 respectively.

    The government had already ordered that all sports events, including Serie A matches, must be played behind closed doors to avoid crowds of people that could boost the contagion.

    The closed-doors games at the weekend caused chaos.

    Italy’s sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora called Serie A organisers “irresponsible” after they ignored a late call from the players’ union for the day’s matches to be suspended.

    The chaotic situation saw Parma’s clash with SPAL delayed by 75 minutes.

    The previous two rounds of fixtures were heavily disrupted by the spread of the virus as several games were suspended.

    Cases of coronavirus in Italy have now risen to 7,375, with 366 deaths, the highest number outside of China.

  • Coronavirus: Lagos releases names of wanted persons

    Coronavirus: Lagos releases names of wanted persons

    The Lagos State Government has declared two people wanted who boarded the Turkish Airline with the Italian who brought Coronavirus to Nigeria.

    Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi had last week threatened to release the names of the two contacts who had yet to be reached for isolation in a bid to curtail the spread of the disease.

    However, on Monday, Abayomi, at a news conference released the names of the two contacts who had refused to show up for isolation.

    They are Enwelunta Godfrey Obumnore and Sadeeq Salami.

    “The yet to be reached two contacts from the 24th of February, 2020 Turkish flight are; ENWELUNTA GODFREY OBUMNORE and SADEEQ ABIODUN SALAMI ( males). I appeal to members of the public who know or have any information about these two contacts to reach the Lagos State Ministry of Health through the State epidemiologist on +234 802 316 9485.

    “This is a matter of national security, Lagos State Government needs your cooperation on this matter for a greater Lagos,” he said.

    Abayomi added, “We have tried to find the two passengers on the Turkish flight TK 625 and we are yet to find them. I appeal to the two individuals to reach out to the ministry.

    “Please we need to contact you and you need to be in touch with the Ministry of Health. We have been trying to reach you by the address you put on your forms and by the numbers but none of those numbers are working. It is vitally important that you reach out to us with the numbers that are generally available with the press, or to the Federal Ministry of Health or to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).”

    Abayomi, however, said the “index case is doing well. He is still secreting the virus but as soon as he eliminates the virus we will release him.”

    On the second person who contacted the disease, the commission said “The new case was the person spending lots of time with the index case by virtue of his job, that was the project coordinator. That demonstrates the first infectious case in Nigeria but the good news is that we have the person under surveillance.”