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Tag: Coronavirus

  • 2-month-old baby diagnosed with COVID-19 in Delta

    2-month-old baby diagnosed with COVID-19 in Delta

    The Commissioner for Health in Delta, Dr Mordi Ononye, on Friday, confirmed that a two-month-old baby was among the 116 confirmed cases of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the State.

    Ononye, who made this known at a news conference in Asaba, said that paediatricians were taking care of the child, and expressed optimism that the baby would get better and be discharged.

    He said that the State currently had 116 confirmed cases of the pandemic, with 31 discharged and 77 active cases.

    “We have recorded eight deaths which is about seven per cent fatality rate and have conducted 850 tests and have received 7, 708 calls on our hotlines. We have investigated 850 suspects and at present, 13 health workers have been infected.

    “No one should doubt that Covid-19 is real; there are confirmed cases in 13 local government areas of the state and 66 per cent of those affected are males while 34 per cent are females, with bed occupancy rate of 48 per cent,” Ononye said.

    He affirmed the commitment of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration to curbing the spread of the virus in the state and appealed to the media to assist in creating more awareness of the pandemic.

    He disclosed that a lot of the patients still at the Isolation Centres were waiting to be discharged as they had been tested two times and found negative after treatment.

    Secretary to the State Government, Mr Chiedu Ebie, announced that the curfew of 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. imposed in the state by the government was still in force and urged Deltans to obey safety measures set by the government to check the spread of the virus.

    “Covid-19 is real and you don’t need government to pursue you to obey set protocols; we ensure that boundaries across the state are monitored, though, it has not been an easy task because some people just want to flout government’s directives.

    “The curfew is still in place from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. and I plead with all Deltans to obey the advice of government.

    “I thank the private sector for their support which has come in different forms – cash, food items, medical consumables, among others, ” Ebie said.

    At the news conference, the Index Case of Covid-19 in the state, Chief Austin Eruotor and the fourth victim of the pandemic, Mr Jerry Azinge, shared their experiences.

    They said that it was important for early diagnosis and for those affected to get early treatment as Covid-19 came in different forms and symptoms.

    On his part, Chairman, Delta State House of Assembly Committee on Health, Mr Augustine Uroye, appealed to the public not to stigmatise discharged patients of Covid-19, and commended the state government for commitment to the fight against the virus.

  • BREAKING: Gov. Bello relaxes lockdown in Kabba-Bunu LG, insists Kogi is COVID-19 free

    BREAKING: Gov. Bello relaxes lockdown in Kabba-Bunu LG, insists Kogi is COVID-19 free

    Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has relaxed the two-week lockdown imposed on Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of the state, barely a week into the exercise.

    He insisted that the state remained COVID-19 free.

    Bello made the disclosure while briefing newsmen at the Government House, Lokoja, on Friday, saying that the decision to relax the lockdown was informed by timely completion of contact-tracing and cooperation of the people.

    The governor said that with relaxation of the lockdown, the state residents would be free to go back to their businesses and live normal lives.

    He said that a medical team led by the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Haruna Audu, had collected samples from people suspected to have had contact with the alleged COVID-19 victims, adding that the result of their tests returned negative.

    Bello said that samples collected during the lockdown and contact-tracing would be sent to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for further tests to corroborate the result of the medical team which conducted the exercise.

    “We have concluded contact-tracing, carried out extensive tests on the members of the family,and they all came back negative. As far as we are concerned, the state is free from COVID-19,” he said.

    On the state’s COVID-19 index case allegedly discovered by the NCDC, Bello said there was need for the centre to be more professional in handling suspected cases.

    “While we have no reason to doubt the professional competence of the centre, we call for more professionalism in handling the issue of the pandemic,” he said.

    The governor expressed appreciation to security agencies in the state for helping to enforce the lockdown without reports of molestation from the people.

    “I want to place on record the appreciation of the state government to the people of Kabba-Bunu for their cooperation, and security agencies who encourage it without any incident of molestation,” he said.

    He urged the residents of the state to abide by all the protocols laid down by the World Health Organisation and NCDC to protect lives.

  • Bayelsa records 3rd COVID-19 death

    Bayelsa records 3rd COVID-19 death

    The Bayelsa Task Force on COVID-19 has confirmed a third fatality in the fight against the coronavirus that is ravaging the world.

    Dr Inodu Apoku, Chairman of the task force, announced this in a statement on Friday in Yenagoa.

    Apoku said that the third death was from the nine new cases recorded by the state.

    The National Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC) had on Thursday announced that nine new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the state.

    Apoku, also Permanent Secretary, State Ministry of Health said that the nine newly confirmed cases “bring the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 30.

    “Four of out of these nine cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases while five are not epidemiologically linked to any of the previously confirmed cases.

    “Three of the cases are health care professionals.

    “One of these fresh unlinked cases was brought in critically ill and died few minutes after admission.

    “Following the history of the sickness, as was revealed by relatives, samples were collected for COVID-19 testing.

    “She died as COVID-19 suspected cases.

    “The test result returned positive, and as such, we have another COVID -19 related death making a total of three in the state.

    “All remaining eight new cases have since been evacuated for further treatment at our isolation facilities,’’ Apoku said.

    According to him, all their contacts are being listed and adequately followed up, including necessary environmental decontamination.

    “Samples have and are still being collected from their high-risk contacts while they have all been counselled on self-quarantine.’’

  • 3 doctors test positive to COVID-19 in Nasarawa State

    3 doctors test positive to COVID-19 in Nasarawa State

    The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) says three doctors have tested positive for the COVID-19 in Nasarawa State.

    NMA Chairman, Dr Bulus Umaru, made this known in Lafia.

    He said, “three gynaecologists and two auxiliary staff have contracted the coronavirus in the course of their work of dealing with patients.

    “The doctors are now on admission at an isolation centre at the Federal Medical Centre and are responding to treatment.”

    He urged the NMA members and other health workers to observe personal and environmental hygiene and guard against contracting the disease.

    Umaru advised health workers in the state to be properly kitted with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) whenever on duty attending to patients.

    “You may not know which patients have the virus, hence the need for proper protection to avoid being infected,” he said.

    He also appealed to the Nasarawa State Government to pay hazard allowances to health workers battling the Coronavirus pandemic to ensure industrial harmony at this critical time.

    Umaru urged the state government to also introduce insurance schemes for health workers.

  • 8 die, Kano records just 10 as covid-19 infections toll balloon to 11,516

    8 die, Kano records just 10 as covid-19 infections toll balloon to 11,516

    Nigeria’s covid-19 caseload increased to 11,516 on Thursday night, with 350 new cases.

    The death toll also went up from 315 to 323, indicating that eight COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hour cycle.

    The

    350 new cases of #COVID19;

    Lagos-102
    Ogun-34
    FCT-29
    Borno-26
    Kaduna-23
    Rivers-21
    Ebonyi-17
    Kwara -16
    Katsina-14
    Edo-10
    Delta-10
    Kano-10
    Bauchi-10
    Bayelsa-9
    Imo-8
    Plateau-4
    Ondo-3
    Nasarawa-2
    Gombe-1
    Oyo-1

    11516 cases of #COVID19Nigeria
    Discharged: 3535
    Deaths: 323 pic.twitter.com/hiWLGxMLLr

    — NCDC (@NCDCgov) June 4, 2020 “>fresh figures released by NCDC covered 19 states and the FCT Abuja.

    Lagos registered one third of the cases with 102 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

    Ogun has 34 and the FCT 29. Borno reported 26 cases, Kaduna 23, Rivers 21 and Ebonyi 17.

    Here is the breakdown of the new figures:

    Lagos-102
    Ogun-34
    FCT-29
    Borno-26
    Kaduna-23
    Rivers-21
    Ebonyi-17
    Kwara -16
    Katsina-14
    Edo-10
    Delta-10
    Kano-10
    Bauchi-10
    Bayelsa-9
    Imo-8
    Plateau-4
    Ondo-3
    Nasarawa-2
    Gombe-1
    Oyo-1

    11516 cases of #COVID19Nigeria
    Discharged: 3535
    Deaths: 323

  • Gov Okowa speaks on future of COVID-19 in Delta

    Gov Okowa speaks on future of COVID-19 in Delta

    Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has said future decisions to be made regarding the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and socio-economic activities in Delta State would be based on available data.

    Governor Okowa, who made this known on Thursday, while speaking to newsmen shortly after inspecting some projects in the State, said right from the lockdown, some contractors were allowed to return to site with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols.

    Speaking on COVID-19 in the State, he said Delta’s confirmed cases had risen to 106, adding that the numbers were restricted to certain local government areas while the State was monitoring the development.

    “For us in Delta State, we have 106 cases of COVID-19 now but they are actually restricted to certain local governments at the moment and we are monitoring the trend and whatever decisions we are going to take as we move into the future is going to be based on the data that is available before us.

    “This is to ensure that we are taking informed decisions and having a targeted approach; that is our intention and we hope that God willing, we will continue to do our best to combat the pandemic,” he stated.

    The Governor restated the importance of roads’ connectivity to economic development of the state, saying in spite of prevailing Coronavirus pandemic, governance and infrastructural development of the state would be sustained.

    He said that connecting the State with roads and bridges would ensure economic growth of communities and assured Deltans of his administration’s commitment to executing projects that would impact on the people.

    Some of the projects visited by the Governor are the Alihami-Agbor-Nta-Oki road in Ika South Local Government Area, Owanta Erosion Control and road project and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Training School, Owa-Oyibu in Ika North East Local Government Area.

    Okowa, who was conducted round the projects by the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Chris Onogba and his Housing counterpart, Chief Festus Ochonogor, said “we will continue to execute programmes and projects that will make our people to be prosperous.

    “In spite of the COVID-19 and the slowdown of so many things we are doing as a state, there was the need to go down and check the things that we intend to continue in the next few weeks.

    “I first visited the Alihami-Agbor-Nta-Oki road; it was a surprised visit and the contractor himself was not on site but the workers were on site and it afforded me the opportunity to have first-hand knowledge of level of work being done; a lot of drainage work has been done and some sections of the road have been stone-based.

    “That road is very important because when it is completed to Edo State junction, it means that those going to Jesse, Oghara and Sapele axis will have a much faster route and that is very good for us and our people because it connects Delta with a section of villages that are actually in Edo, and then to the Jesse end.

    “The road interconnectivity is good for commerce and economic development of the benefiting communities and we will continue to construct as many roads as our finances can enable us,” he said.

    On the Owanta gully erosion and road project, the governor said that before now, the place was terrible as several homes had been lost to the erosion, but expressed optimism that with the work being done now, several homes had been saved.

    “It’s actually a project of Delta State with the World Bank. This is one of the five sites in Delta and the contractor, Levante Construction, is doing well. We are happy with the work being done and he has assured us that even through the rain they will continue working to ensure that a lot of homes are saved.

    “We are in the process of awarding contracts for other erosion control projects in the state,’’ he said.

    He said the FRSC training school was a collaborative project between the state and the agency.

    “It is a partnership between the state and the Federal Road Safety Corps because we believe that the school will have an impact on the economy of this area.

    “We are providing the buildings; they will provide other needed infrastructure and provide the staffing to enable the school take off.

    “Right from the lockdown, we allowed some contractors to return to site with strict adherence to the NCDC protocols and that was why we allowed the erosion control project to continue because it could have been very devastating but am glad that the contractors are on course and they have assured me they will continue to work throughout the rains,’’ the governor said.

  • COVID-19 patient absconds from Jos isolation centre

    COVID-19 patient absconds from Jos isolation centre

    A male COVID-19 patient has absconded from a Plateau isolation centre, the Coordinator, World Health Organisation (WHO), Mr Williams Bassi, has said.

    Bassi made the disclosure during a courtesy visit to the palace of the Gbong Gwom Jos, Jacob Buba, on Thursday.

    Officials of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), WHO and the State Ministry of Information, had paid a courtesy visit to the royal father to begin the campaign on COVID-19 in Jos North.

    The WHO coordinator, however, stated that efforts were on to trace the fleeing patient and return him to the centre to complete his treatment.

    He said that the challenge being experienced in the state was that people who had tested positive refused to leave their homes to receive treatment at the isolation centres.

    “We have one COVID-19 patient that has absconded from the centre, but I assure you we are on his trail and we will trace him and bring him back to continue with treatment.

    “The major problem we have is that so many people have tested positive but have refused to go to the isolation centre, an example is the Duala Area in Jos North.

    “They keep refusing to go to the isolation centres until some demands are met, and this is not good for us all.

    Bassi noted that early identification, isolation and treatment were the best way to stop the spread of the disease.

    Earlier, the Director, NOA, Mr Bulus Dabit, said that Jos North was the epicentre of the disease in Plateau state accounting for 76 out of 109 positive cases in the state as of June 3.

    Dabit said the high number could be because most people in the community did not believe that COVID-19 was real, hence, the non compliance to social distancing and observance of personal hygiene.

    He said the high number of cases in the area was what prompted the motorised campaign to educate the people on the dreaded disease.

    The director appealed to the traditional ruler to use his position to impress the message of social/physical distancing, personal hygiene and other safety measures on his subjects as non compliance was higher in rural communities.

    The Gbong Gwom Jos stated that he was working with government and relevant agencies to spread awareness of the disease to local communities.

    He advised the public to always eat foods that could build immunity as having a strong immune system was one of the ways to beat the disease.

    Buba stated that it was a good sign that the virus could be defeated in the state as the number of discharged cases exceeded the number of active cases.

  • Autopsy reveals George Floyd tested positive for Coronavirus

    Autopsy reveals George Floyd tested positive for Coronavirus

    A full autopsy report has revealed that the late George Floyd tested positive for Coronavirus before his death.

    The 20-page autopsy report released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that Floyd tested positive for Coronavirus in April.

    It was released after the coroner’s office released summary findings that Floyd had a heart attack while being restrained by officers.

    George Floyd’s death has now been classified as a homicide.

    TMZ reported that the Coroner said; “Positivity for 2019-nCoV can persist for weeks after the onset and resolution of clinical disease, the autopsy result most likely reflects asymptomatic but persistent PCR positivity from the previous infection.”

    ”This meant the deceased was likely walking around without issues or active symptoms, but the virus was still in his body.

    ”The final report from Hennepin on Wednesday says Floyd had “no injuries of anterior muscles of the neck or laryngeal structures.”

    Ben Crump, Floyd’s family attorney, had earlier decried the official autopsy as described in the original complaint against Chauvin, for ruling out asphyxia.

    An autopsy commissioned by the Floyd family concluded that he died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression.

  • Rising cases of COVID-19 in America worry WHO

    Rising cases of COVID-19 in America worry WHO

    Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director-General, World Health Organisation (WHO), has expressed worry over the rise of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases reported in America.

    Ghebreyesus said this at a news conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

    According to him, more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported to WHO for each of the past five days.

    “The Americas continues to account for the most cases. For several weeks, the number of cases reported each day in the Americas has been more than the rest of the world put together.

    “We are especially worried about Central and South America, where many countries are witnessing accelerating epidemics.

    “We also see increasing number of cases in the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia and Africa, although the numbers are much smaller.”

    Meanwhile, the director general noted that the number of cases in Europe had continued to decline, saying, “we saw the fewest cases reported in Europe since the 22nd of March on Tuesday.

    “WHO continues to work through our regional and country offices to monitor the pandemic, to support countries to respond, and to adapt our guidance for every situation.

    “WHO continues to provide the world with new and updated technical guidance, based on the most up-to-date evidence.

    “Just in the past week, WHO has released a new case report form for suspected cases of multi system inflammatory syndrome in children and operational guidance on maintaining essential health services.

    “We have released guidance on controlling the spread of COVID-19 at ground crossings; planning recommendations for mass gatherings and a protocol for surveillance of infections among health workers.

    “Also, we have released ethical considerations for the use of digital technologies in tracking COVID-19 and updated guidelines on the clinical management of patients with COVID-19.

    “This is an update of the guidance we published in March,’’ he said.

    In addition, Ghebreyesus said the guidance included a COVID-19 care pathway, which described the steps followed by a patient from screening to discharge, to ensure delivery of safe and quality care, while stopping onward transmission.

    “WHO continues to train millions of health workers all over the world to apply our guidance; our OpenWHO.org online learning platform has now registered three million enrollments for our courses on COVID-19.

    “And we have added two new courses: one on decontamination and sterilisation of medical devices and another on environmental cleaning and disinfection.

    “In total, we’re now offering 12 courses in 27 languages; in the past week, we launched COVID-19 courses in Amharic, Arabic, French, Hausa, Macedonian, Odia, Spanish and Vietnamese,’’ he said.

    The director-general further said that WHO would continue to respond to the new Ebola outbreak in the city of Mbandaka, in the Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    “So far, eight cases have been detected. Four of those have died and the other four are receiving care.

    “To be clear, this outbreak is in the same area as a previous outbreak in 2018, which was stopped in just three months.

    “However, it is on the other side of the country to the Ebola outbreak that WHO and partners have been fighting for almost two years in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, in eastern DRC.

    “The latest person confirmed with Ebola attended the burial of one of the first cases, but was detected in the town of Bikoro, 150 kilometres away from Mbandaka. This means that two health zones are now affected,’’ he said.

    According to him, almost 50 responders from WHO and partners arrived in Mbandaka on Wednesday, plus 3,600 doses of Ebola vaccine and 2,000 cartridges for lab testing.

    “The government is now sequencing the virus to see whether or not it is related to a previous outbreak.

    “This is an important reminder that even as WHO focuses on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to monitor and respond to many other health emergencies.’’

  • Covid-19: Umahi shuts down Govt offices as cabinet members test positive

    Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi has directed the shutting down of all government offices in the State from Thursday to pave way decontermination.

    This followed the infection of some Executive Council members with the Covid-19 virus.

    The Governor stated this in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Orji Uchenna Orji.

    He expressed concerned over the increased number of Coronavirus cases recorded in the state which it said has risen to 75 out of the over 3,000 sample tests conducted.

    According to the statement, 26 COVID-19 cases have been treated and discharged while 49 cases are still receiving treatment and in stable conditions.

    Although he did not give the names of the cabinet members who tested positive to the virus , the Governor described the situation as disturbing.

    He noted that the cabinet members who tested positive are currently receiving treatment and are all in stable conditions.

    Mr Orji said that In order to ensure effective contact tracing, the Governor has directed that all Government offices be shutdown from Thursday, 4th June 2020 and resume on Wednesday, 10th June 2020.

    “All civil servants shall work from their respective homes within this period but shall leave their phones open to respond to official imperatives”.

    “In view of this development, the State Governor passionately appeals to all sons and daughters of Ebonyi State who are living outside the shores of the state to avoid the risk of returning to the state, as records have shown that the positive cases hitherto recorded in the state were those who returned from the epicentre states.

    “The Governor further pleads with our people to take seriously the NCDC COVID-19 Protocol, especially all precautionary measures such as hand washing, use of hand sanitizers, use of face masks, social distancing and avoiding of crowded places, moreso as we have entered into another phase of spread of COVID-19 called community transmission”

    The Commissioner further said that the Governor has directed Dr Richard Nnabo and his team to commence comprehensive decontamination of Government offices including the new and old Government House complex.

    “All Exco members and Government officials especially of the Ministries of Finance and Budget are advised to undergo COVID-19 test within this seven days period.

    “The Governor further advises that during this period of close down of Government offices, all workers especially from the two Ministries aforementioned should go into self isolation. All site operations shall however remain open, but must be in strict observance of COVID-19 protocol.’

    Governor Umahi however commended all those who have made concerted efforts in the fight against Coronavirus pandemic.