The Indian city of Mumbai is to roll out mandatory coronavirus tests in crowded places as the country grapples with a rise in infections.
The local government said rapid tests would be done randomly in areas such as shopping centres and train stations.
A refusal to be tested will “amount to an offence”, it said.
India recorded 40,953 new Covid cases on Saturday, the biggest daily jump for nearly four months. A total 159,000 people have died with the disease.
It has seen more than 11.5 million cases of coronavirus infections so far – and the number has been steadily climbing for weeks as the country scrambles to vaccinate its population and identify highly contagious variants of the disease.
In Mumbai, a coronavirus hotspot in the western state of Maharashtra, 2,982 people have contracted the disease in the past 24 hours.
How will the tests work?
The rapid tests will be mandatory in crowded places such as shopping centres and train stations from 22 March, city officials said.
The tests will be carried out for free – except those at shopping centres, where the costs will be covered by individuals.
Mumbai officials did not specify what action would be taken against those who refuse to have tests.
The local authority said it would use rapid antigen tests (RATs), a type of test that detects the presence of proteins unique to the coronavirus.
But research shows these tests are less reliable than other types and sometimes produce incorrect results.
What’s the coronavirus situation in India?
India has recorded the third-highest number of infections, and the fourth-highest number of deaths, of any country in the world.
Infections started to dip at the start of 2021, but doctors have blamed a fresh wave on poor adherence to restrictions.
In recent weeks Maharashtra, which has long been a virus hotspot, has accounted for the majority of new infections.
Seven other states – including Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh – are also reporting a resurgence of Covid-19.
Some regions in India have brought back restrictions, including lockdowns and restaurant closures, while more are believed to be considering similar moves.
Jordan’s health minister has resigned after six people died due to a lack of oxygen at a hospital ward treating Covid-19 patients, state media report.
The deaths were reported early on Saturday at a new government facility in the town of Salt, about 14 miles (23km) west of the capital, Amman.
Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh had asked Health Minister Nathir Obeidat to step down over the incident.
Police were sent to the hospital after dozens of relatives turned up.
The oxygen shortage, which lasted for about an hour, reportedly also affected intensive care and maternity units at the facility, although there were no reports of fatalities on those wards.
It is not yet clear why there was an oxygen shortage and an investigation is under way, Mr Obeidat said. The health minister had earlier said he felt a “moral responsibility” for what had happened.
A forensic doctor at Jordan’s health ministry, Dr Adnan Abbas, told Petra news agency that all six patients who died on Saturday were being treated for coronavirus.
image captionRelatives wait to see family members near the entrance of the hospital
Dozens of relatives whose family members were receiving treatment at the Salt hospital turned up at the facility following the news, but were prevented from entering by police and security personnel.
One relative, Fares Kharabsha, said he was inside the hospital when the incident occurred and saw staff carrying portable oxygen devices to patients, AP news agency reported.
“They resuscitated a large number of people, including my father and mother,” he said, adding: “I saw people who died.”
Jordan’s King Abdullah II has visited the hospital since the incident, Reuters news agency reported.
The country has so far reported more than 460,000 cases of Covid-19 and 5,224 coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Jordan has stepped up measures to reduce the spread of the virus in recent weeks as cases have steadily increased since late January.
Restrictions include overnight curfews at weekends, which prevent prayers inside mosques and masses in churches.
The country, which has a population of about 10 million, began its vaccination programme in January.
The Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, Hamed Bakayoko, has died in a hospital in Germany, authorities say.
Bakayoko, who was receiving treatment for cancer, passed away on Wednesday, just days after his 56th birthday.
He was appointed prime minister in July, following the sudden death of his predecessor Amadou Gon Coulibaly.
President Alassane Ouattara described Mr Bakayoko as a “great statesman, an example to young people and a man of exemplary loyalty”.
PM Bakayoko
“Our country is in mourning,” said President Alassane Ouattara on Twitter. “I have the immense sorrow to announce to you the death of Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko this Wednesday, 10 March, in Germany following cancer”, Ouattara said, adding, he was “a great statesman, a model for our youth, a personality of great generosity and exemplary loyalty ”.
A transfer to Turkey, where there was talk of the Ivorian Prime Minister undergoing an emergency transplant, had also been considered for last Thursday. But doctors said he was no longer operable.
Bakayoko received treatment in France on February 18. In recent months, he had contracted coronavirus and malaria.
During his first stay in Paris at the end of January, he had performed a series of medical tests at the American Hospital without any precise diagnosis. Alassane Ouattara went to his bedside visited the prime minister on March 3 in Paris. During a dinner with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, the Ivorian president expressed concern about the health of his prime minister.
A former media executive who turned to politics, he played a prominent mediation role in Ivory Coast’s civil war during the first decade of the century.
“He was a key player in the political game and a major player in reconciliation. It’s a true shame,” Issiaka Sangare, spokesman for the opposition Ivorian Popular Front told AFP news agency.
Aside from his role as prime minister, Mr Bakayoko was also the country’s defence minister.
Patrick Achi has been appointed as interim prime minister, while Tene Birahima Ouattara, a younger brother of the president, has been named interim defence minister.
Paris St-Germain have ruled Neymar out of the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie against Barcelona.
The Brazil forward missed the first leg against his former side, which PSG won 4-1, with a thigh injury.
“Neymar returned to partial training with the squad last week and will continue to work back to fitness individually,” said a PSG statement.
Barcelona will be without defenders Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo for the match in Paris on Wednesday.
Pique sustained a knee injury in the Copa del Rey semi-final win over Sevilla on 3 March, while Araujo has returned to training after an ankle problem but is not in the squad.
Ex-Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho is still missing for the Spanish side because of a knee injury.
Barcelona, who lost 8-2 to eventual winners Bayern Munich in last season’s one-legged quarter-final, have made it past the last 16 of the Champions League in each of the past 13 seasons.
In 2016-17, they were beaten 4-0 by PSG in the last-16 first leg in Paris, before winning the second leg 6-1 in Spain.
Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman remained optimistic his side could reach the quarter-finals and said: “It is always different to have a result like this.
“Losing 4-1 at home means we have to score goals away from home and it’s more complicated but nothing is impossible.
“We believe in ourselves – we know we are Barca and have to win and will demonstrate this mentality.”
PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino, who took Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2018-19, will also be without on-loan Everton striker Moise Kean as he is self-isolating because of coronavirus.
Neymar helped the French champions reach their first Champions League final last August and has scored 12 goals in 17 competitive fixtures this season.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday revealed that he tested positive for the Coronavirus.
He broke the news in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, while speaking at a colloquium put in place to celebrate his 84th birthday.
The programme held within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library(OOPL), Abeokuta.
Obasanjo, who said he was a bit concerned about it, added that he had to put a call to his daughter, Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo – Bello, an epidemiologist.
Obasanjo said, “It will surprise you that I tested positive for COVID-19. I called them to come and test me, they came on a Saturday, I didn’t get the result till Wednesday and it came out positive but I didn’t see any symptoms.
“When they came three days after, they tested me and said I am negative, that is three days after I tested positive.
“My daughter, Iyabo is an epidemiologist and I called her to explain, she said maybe they tested me at the later stage of being positive.
“I told her I had no symptoms and she said it could be a faulty result. But I tested positive. Since then I have been tested three times and the test came back negative. So, if you want to come near me, you can come near me.
“It is nothing to worry about, when I tested positive, my household ran from me, I told them to stay in their place while I stayed in mine.”
The Nigerian government says all is now set for the construction of 38 oxygen plants across the country as President Muhammadu Buhari has now approved about 17 million dollars for the project meant to address the demand for medical oxygen. The West African country’s COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed to over 1,000 infections in the last few weeks amidst a second wave of the pandemic.
Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed told a meeting of the National Economic Council. Wednesday that the construction of the new plants was necessitated by an increase in the number of patients in need oxygen. In a statement, the government said it had earmarked an additional $671,000 for repairing existing oxygen generation facilities in five hospitals.
The authorities have said that the situation was critical though the number of Covid-19 patients in need of oxygen support is unclear. Nigeria on Thursday, recorded 1,964 infections – its highest number of new daily cases so far.
Oxygen shortages are common in Nigerian public hospitals leading to the death of some patients. But authorities now say severe cases of COVID-19 requiring oxygen have worsened the situation.
According to the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, a large number of patients who are currently on admission in the isolation centres who aare largely dependent on oxygen. A patient with a critical case may use about six cylinders of oxygen in 24 hours, Abayomi explains. In the commercial capital Lagos, the epicenter of Nigeria’s outbreak, demand for oxygen at one of its main hospitals had increased fivefold in recent weeks to 350 6-liter cylinders a day according to the state government.
He said Kogi would not respond to the second wave of the virus with “mass hysteria”.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has discouraged the use of COVID-19 vaccine, claiming that the jabs are meant to kill people.
The Nigerian government had said it was expecting at least 100,000 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech approved COVID-19 vaccines to come in by the end of January 2021.
According to Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), provisions have been made for President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to receive the vaccine on live television.
Kayode Fayemi, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, while addressing journalists in Abuja after meeting with President Buhari last week, said he and his colleagues would also take the vaccine on live television.
Yahaya Bello
He said, “We too will like to demonstrate to our citizens that we believe that the vaccines would work.
“Don’t forget, we have a lot of experience on this. The Governors Forum managed the polio vaccines administration in the country and we have garnered a lot of experience.”
But in a viral video, Bello condemned the use of the vaccine, saying it was produced to kill people.
Speaking to a crowd of people, the Kogi governor doubted the authenticity of the vaccine, saying there is no cure for HIV and many other diseases troubling mankind.
He however did not provide any evidence to support his claims that the vaccine could be dangerous to the health.
Bello said, “Vaccines are being produced in less than one year of COVID-19. There is no vaccine yet for HIV, malaria, cancer, headache and for several other diseases that are killing us. They want to use the (COVID-19) vaccines to introduce the disease that will kill you and us. God forbid.
“We should draw our minds back to what happened in Kano during (sic) the Pfizer polio vaccines that crippled and killed our children. We have learned our lessons.
“If they say they are taking the vaccines in public, allow them to take their vaccines. Don’t say I said you should not take it but if you want to take it, open your eyes before you take the vaccines.”
This is not the first time the governor would be making controversial assertions about the virus or the potency of the vaccine.
In a Channel’s TV programme last December, Bello also questioned the need for Nigeria to procure COVID-19 vaccine.
“What is applicable over there may not work in Nigeria. We don’t need to participate in this marketing of COVID-19 vaccine. We should channel the money we want to use to buy the vaccines to other things. The Presidential Task Force (PTF) should give the right advice to the president,” he said.
Also, in his New Year broadcast, Bello said it would be irresponsible of his government to see COVID-19 as a definer of 2020.
He said Kogi would not respond to the second wave of the virus with “mass hysteria”.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 1,449 people have died of COVID-19 complications across the country.
While the country has recorded 112,004 cases of the disease, 89,939 people have recovered from it.
Kogi is one of the states where COVID-19 figures are believed to be highly questionable as the governor has insisted that there is no coronavirus in the state.
Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has extended the stay-at-home order for all State Public Servants on Grade Levels 14 and below to Monday, January 18, 2021, to stem the tide of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Head of Service (HoS), Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, said this, on Sunday, in a signed statement, noting that the directive excludes staff on essential duty as well as First Responders.
Muri-Okunola urged all public servants to stay safe and ensure continued adherence to all COVID-19 protocols in order to rid the state of the pandemic.
Masquerade displays during the New Year celebration have been banned in Cross River even as churches are ordered to restrict cross over night activities to 10 pm.
A statement by Operation Akparakwu headed by Dr Walter Mboto, Permanent Secretary, State Security Advisers Office warned organisers of masquerades that if they dared to display on the 1st of January or within the period as planned.
Governor Ben Ayade
“This is a warning to organizers of Nyoro Ekpe 2021 in Efe Ekpe Iboku Utan, opposite Duke Town Presbyterian Church that they will be arrested and prosecuted should they go ahead with the planned public masquerade display during this period”.
The statement further stated that government has also banned public displays of Tin Koriko, Nnabor and any other gathering that fails the Covid-19 protocol. The government in the same vein warned churches not to exceed 10pm which is the stipulated time for movement in the state as the curfew imposed since the #EndSARS period is still in place.
Oyo State The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has approved the suspension of the 12am to 4am curfew earlier imposed on states by the Federal Government to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The suspension is to enable churches hold the traditional crossover service to usher in the New Year.
This was announced in a statement on Wednesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa.
The statement indicated that the governor gave the directives in a brief endorsed by the chairman of the Technical Team of the COVID-19 Task Force, Prof. Temitope Alonge.
The statement added that other advisories, including the directive of 50 per cent occupancy for worship and event centres, ban of street carnivals and others, remained in effect. The statement reads partly, “Following a review of the pronouncement of the technical team of the Task Force on COVID-19 in Oyo State on December 29, 2020, the Governor, Seyi Makinde, FNSE, has magnanimously directed that the 12 midnight to 4am curfew be lifted.
Governor Seyi Makinde
“The governor has also warned citizens and residents of Oyo State to ensure strict compliance with the guidelines, protocols and advisories as laid down by the OYO State COVID-19 task force aimed at limiting the transmission of the disease in our communities.”
kogi State. Churches in Kogi State have been told that they can observe the crossover services without any hindrance if they wish.
The state chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Bishop John Ibenu, stated this in Lokoja on Wednesday.
He said, “I have spoken with government officials, we shall observe our crossover service in our various churches on December 31 to January 1. “Let us keep the nation and Kogi State in prayers and have the trust that no plague will come near our state.
Governor Yahaya Bello.
Recall that the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, had consistently maintained that the COVID-19, even though it exists, had been exaggerated for political and economic purpose.
Observe COVID-19 protocols – FCTA
Also, the Federal Capital Territory Administration has admonished churches in the nation’s capital to comply strictly with the COVID-19 protocols during the crossover service holding on Thursday to usher in the New Year.
It said errant worshippers would be sanctioned and churches found violating the guidelines would be shut.
The Head, Media and Public Enlightenment of FCT COVID-19 Task Force, Ikaro Attah, said worshippers and churches must support government decision to promote progress and development of the FCT. He said, “We had discussions with religious leaders on the need to obey the COVID-19 protocols, so all those who will be attending the crossover service must adhere strictly to the guidelines. They should put on their face masks, wash hands, as well as keep physical distancing.”
“Those that failed to comply will be brought before the court for prosecution. Again, the centre where the protocol is flouted will be shut.”
Lagos State.
The Lagos State Government on Wednesday advised residents to comply with COVID-19 protocols, saying the cases were rising. The government in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, also commended religious organisations for the roles in fighting the pandemic.
“The Christian Association of Nigeria has issued a statement on how Churches should conduct their watchnight services.
“The Sanwo-Olu administration has maintained a harmonious relationship with religious organisations and has confidence in the ability of its leaders to ensure compliance with COVID-19 protocols amid the clamour for crossover services,” the statement reads partly.
Enugu bans night service.
The Enugu State Government banned the crossover service. A public service announcement the state released on Wednesday, through the Office of the Chief Secretary to the Governor, said the ban became necessary following the second wave of the coronavirus disease.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
It reads partly, “Due to the second wave of COVID-19, the conventional crossover activities on December 31, will not hold this year.”
Ban on crossover service not anti-Christian – Ondo
In a related development, the Ondo State Inter-ministerial Committee on COVID-19 said the decision of the government to ban crossover service is not targeted at Christianity.
The Chairman of the committee, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, stated this during an interactive meeting with religious leaders and stakeholders in Akure on Wednesday.
Fatusi said there was the need for every stakeholder to key into the fight against COVID-19.“We are talking about a matter of life and death. People have talked about maintaining protocols in the markets and other places, but focus on churches and mosques is because by their designs they spread COVID-19 more than open places.
“It is an enclosed place and people are more active there. The likelihood of higher infection is very prominent. The decision to cancel crossover vigil is not about churches, you will recalled that the government cancelled Muslims gathering too; it is about subsisting order for prevention of outbreak of infection and reducing further spread of COVID-19”.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu
The Ondo State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria Rev. Ayo Oladapo called on the government to permit churches to celebrate the crossover service, stressing that churches had been educating the people on preventive measures against the pandemic.
Chinese regulators have approved a coronavirus vaccine developed by state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, officials announced Thursday.
Sinopharm said yesterday its coronavirus vaccine is 79.34% effective, citing interim analysis of Phase 3 clinical trials.
Though few details were provided, the company said the vaccine met the standards of the World Health Organization and China’s own regulator, the National Medical Products Administration.
Qatar received its first novel coronavirus vaccines on Monday, just hours after regulators approved the jab for use in the Gulf state, which says it will innoculate all residents free of charge.
A shipment of 14 boxes of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine landed at Doha’s Hamad International Airport aboard a Qatar Airways passenger Boeing 787 from Brussels shortly after 2000 GMT, according to AFP correspondents on site.
Authorities have not said how many doses arrived in the first shipment.
Abdullatif al-Khal, Chair of the National Health Strategic Group on Covid-19, said during a speech on state TV Monday that vaccinations would begin from Wednesday. “The priority will be the elderly, those with chronic conditions and medical staff,” he said.
An illustration picture shows vials with Covid-19 Vaccine stickers attached, with the logo of US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, on November 17, 2020. JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP
Vaccinations will be administered on a voluntary basis and provided free of charge, he told AFP.
The European Union, Britain, the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, Israel and Bahrain have all green lighted the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, paving the way for inoculations to begin.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has proven to be 95 percent effective in global trials, where two doses are administered three weeks apart.
It needs to be stored at the ultra-low temperature of -70 degrees Celsius (-94 Fahrenheit), posing handling and storage challenges.
Qatar’s health ministry “has issued the approval and registration of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine, which is one of the two vaccines (the ministry) has secured agreements to purchase,” it said in a statement Monday, ahead of the delivery.
The vaccine “was approved after the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Control conducted a thorough review of the vaccine and the results of clinical studies conducted on a wide range of volunteers”, the ministry added.
“Their review showed that the vaccine is safe and effective in accordance with international standards.”
Qatar will also administer doses of the vaccine made by US firm Moderna Therapeutics.
The Gulf state has tested 44 percent of its population of 2.75 million and recorded 142,159 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, with the high rate attributed to aggressive testing and unsanitary accommodation for workers.
However, only 243 people have died of the virus and the rate of new infections per 100,000 for the past week was 37.7 — well down from the peak.
Khal said that “starting this month and continuing throughout 2021 we will undertake the biggest vaccine program ever delivered in Qatar”.
The Saudi restrictions are among the most draconian imposed so far after news of the new strain.
Saudi Arabia blocked all travel to the country via air, land and sea, becoming the latest country to impose fresh travel curbs in response to the emergence of a new strain of the Coronavirus.
The Saudi restrictions are scheduled to last a week, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. They appear to be the most draconian imposed so far in response to the new variant, which is deemed to be 70 per cent more infectious than the original strand and is rampant in the UK.
Nations such as Kuwait and Iran have halted air travel to the UK while Ukraine, Lebanon and Spain have not.
Russia though, on Monday, joined the list of countries halting travel to the UK. Moscow announced it would pull air links with the UK — initially for a week from midnight. Announcing the decision, the federal coronavirus task force said it would study the impact of the new mutated strain of the virus before deciding its next move.
The Moscow-London link, which reappeared in August, is one of very few open air corridors between Russia and the west.
In Israel, chaos erupted at Tel Aviv airport after authorities ordered all arrivals from the UK, South Africa and Denmark to enter two-week self-isolation in designated army-run hotels due to mutant strain. Just hours after the decision was made public, 25 Israelis arriving on an EasyJet flight from Luton initially refused to be taken into quarantine, according to local media reports.
Turkey has imposed a temporary halt to flights to and from the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, and South Africa in response to the new Covid variation, which epidemiologists say shows no sign of being more deadly than the original virus or more resistant to the various vaccines that are being rolled out.
“It has been reported that the rate of transmission has increased in the UK with the mutation of the coronavirus,” Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.
UK-based Nigerian doctor and social media influencer, Dr Olufunmilayo has raised an alarm of a new mutated Coronavirus which have been reported in London, United Kingdom.
In tweets he shared, Olufunmilayo revealed that many countries in Europe like Germany, Italy, France, Belgium and Holland have now banned flights from UK due to the new mutated fast-spreading strain of Coronavirus.
He also advised those who arrived Nigeria from the UK to isolate for 14 days and call the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control if they develop fever, cough, breathlessness.
He tweeted;
ATTENTION: There’s a new mutated coronavirus that is just reported in London UK. It is described “out of control” and “very infectious”. France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and Bulgaria have all banned flights from UK over this. RT this for Nigerian Authorities.
9am today, UK recorded almost 36,000 new cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest ever daily increase in Covid cases in UK since the pandemic started. It is highly suspected that this new mutated virus strain may be responsible.
Many countries in Europe like Germany, Italy, France, Belgium and Holland have now banned flights from UK due to a new mutated fast-spreading strain of Coronavirus. These are countries who have vaccines. Nigeria has no vaccine yet.
Pls I beg Nigeria Govt, Kindly look into this. If you just came from UK into Nigeria, pls isolate for 14 days and call @NCDCgov if you develop fever, cough, breathlessness.
There’s a mutated strain of Coronavirus in London right now. Nigerians, pls don’t be quick to see an IJGB. Before they give you Covid cos of chocolates. Countries that have banned UK flights: 1.France 2.Italy 3.Germany 4.Austria 5.Netherlands 6.Kuwait 7.Belgium 8.Turkey 9.Denmark 10.Israel 11.Ireland 12.Bulgaria 13.Latvia 14.El Salvador 15.Romania 16.Luxembourg 17.Czech Republic but Nigeria still dey do sho ni CC, fall in.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday said Lagos may slip into a second wave of Coronavirus pandemic, if residents failed to comply with the precautionary measures against the spread of virus.
The governor disclosed that of every 100 tests that the state has performed, an average of 10 turn out to be positive, stating it is an increase from the five per hundred recorded in September, though lower than the peak in August, which was between 20 and 30 per hundred.
“This suggests the existence of active community transmission, and represents the very likely possibility of the emergence of a second wave in Lagos State.
“This second wave calls for a full re-awakening of caution and precaution. The complacency that crept in over the last few months as a result of our early interventions when cases started to decline from our peak in August, must now give way to an abundance of vigilance.”
As a measure against a possible second wave of COVID-19, Sanwo-Olu asked all public servants from GL 14 and below, except emergency workers and first responders, to work from home as from Monday, December 21st for the next 14 days – in the first instance.
He also said all schools must shut down with immediate effect, and until further notice, while concerts, carnivals and street parties are banned in Lagos State until further notice, just as night clubs have not been allowed to open yet, so all night clubs in Lagos must immediately shut down, until further notice.
Sanwo-Olu added that the midnight to 4am curfew imposed by the Federal Government remains while the protocol of ‘No Mask No Entry’ must be enforced by all public places: Offices, Businesses, Markets, Shops, and so on must be adhered to.
The governor further said all places of must ensure that no gathering exceeds two hours, and also that no gathering exceeds 50 per cent of the maximum capacity of the venue, with all event planners must obtain prior clearance from the Lagos State Safety Commission for all events, and ensure that any planned gatherings do not exceed 300 people.
He said where the capacity of a venue exceeds 300 and permission has been granted, the occupancy shall not be more than 50 per cent of such a venue.
“The Safety Commission has been directed to visit Event Centres and gauge compliance with the established guidelines, to stop the virus from spreading. If there is evidence of lack of compliance at any Event Centre, it will be shut down immediately.
“Security agents have been mandated to ensure full enforcement, without exception. No one will be deemed to be above the law.
Any and all breaches of these regulations and public health protocols will lead to immediate closure as well as attract heavy fines, and any other sanctions and penalties deemed fit, in line with the Lagos State Infectious Diseases Control Regulation 2020.
“Event Centre Owners/Planners/Vendors will be responsible for any breach of protocols by their Staff.
“We will continue to closely watch the profile of the unfolding situation, while also awaiting updates and pronouncements from the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. We will also keep working with the Presidential Task Force to ensure that the gains of the recent past are not frittered away on the altar of festivities and sheer carelessness. The lives of all Lagosians, including our elders and other vulnerable citizens, matter.”
Sanwo-Olu implored residents to take responsibility for the welfare and safety of all while they enjoy the festive season with friends and families. “It is important that as a community we strictly abide by the above regulations in the context of a global pandemic, without prejudicing our efforts to keep the economy running and maintain our means of livelihood to a sufficient extent.
“Let us use this festive season to spend quality time in small but controlled gatherings with family and friends in the spirit of the season. This virus does not discriminate. We must take responsibility, and not treat this pandemic with levity.
Nigeria recorded 152 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths, new data from the country’s infectious disease agency, NCDC, showed Tuesday night.
With the latest update, Nigeria’s COVID-19 total case count increased to 64,336, keeping it fifth on the list of African countries hit hardest by the disease, behind Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.
The total death toll is now 1,160 with the two new fatalities added to the tally.
Meanwhile, more people have recovered from the virus even as fears of an imminent and more devastating second wave of infections gain momentum.
Of the over 64,000 infections, about 60,333 persons have been discharged from hospitals after treatment, but about 3, 000 active cases remain in the country.
The 152 new cases were reported from nine states – Lagos (93), FCT (21), Oyo (15), Rivers (11), Bauchi (7), Kwara (2), Bayelsa (1), Edo (1), Plateau (1).
With 93 new infections on Tuesday, more than half of the daily tally, Lagos further stretched its lead on the number of infections to over 22,000, about a third of the country’s total.
Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, and the second-most impacted city with a total of over 6,000 cases also came second on Tuesday with 21 infections.
Currently, Nigeria has tested about 687,952 of its 200 million population.
News about the world’s first successful trial of a coronavirus vaccine was greeted with jubilation on Monday.
But while there are a number of reasons to remain cautious, there’s at least one one big practical hurdle to overcome.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Health Secretary Matt Hancock spoke of the “mammoth logistical operation” of transporting the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from its point of manufacture to the arm of the patient.
That’s because it cannot be removed from a temperature of -70C (-94F) more than four times.
And that temperature is about four times as cold as the average home freezer.
Most other vaccines do not require anywhere near such low storage temperatures, so there is not a widespread infrastructure already in place.
In its own disclosure notice, Pfizer acknowledges there are “challenges related to our vaccine candidate’s ultra-low temperature formulation and attendant storage, distribution and administration requirements”.
At the Downing Street press conference on Monday, England’s deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam warned that even in normal times, “things can and do and have always gone wrong” when it comes to both vaccine manufacture and distribution.
How will it travel?
In the short-term, Pfizer has a plan.
The vaccine will be distributed from its own centres in the US, Germany and Belgium. It will need to travel both on land and by air, face potential storage in distribution centres in between stages and the final hurdle will be local delivery to clinics, surgeries, pharmacies, hospitals – anywhere the vaccine will be administered.
As revealed by the Wall Street Journal, Pfizer has developed a special transport box the size of a suitcase, packed with dry ice and installed with GPS trackers, which can keep up to 5,000 doses of the vaccine at the right temperature for 10 days, as long as it remains unopened. The boxes are also reusable.
Wiltshire-based firm Polar Thermals makes similar boxes for other vaccines and counts Pfizer among its clients, but not so far for this particular purpose.
image captionPolar Thermal’s “thermal shipper” can be reused thousands of times
The box is not likely to be cheap. Head of sales Paul Harrison says a standard chilled transport box, which will retain a temperature of up to -8C (not -80C) for five days and is big enough to hold 1,200 vaccines, costs about £5,000 per unit – although they can be re-used thousands of times.
His firm uses aerogel as insulation, rather than dry ice – which could come in handy if a global shortage of carbon dioxide from earlier this year continues to affect the availability of related products, of which dry ice is one.
The vaccine can survive for a further five days once thawed, Pfizer has said, but this does not buy a great deal of extra time.
In the longer-term, Public Health England says that in the UK “national preparations” are under way regarding both central storage and distribution of the vaccine across the country, but declines to give details.
As it stands, extreme cold storage is certainly not commonplace, and your local GP is unlikely to have it.
“We do not have fridges in general practice that go down to that sort of temperature,” GP professor Sam Everington told the BBC’s Newsnight programme on Monday. “So we will need them.”
And that issue is not exclusive to the UK. Dr Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, told Reuters: “We’re a major medical centre and we don’t have storage capacity like this.”
Some institutions, such as universities and research labs, do have the right storage capacity. Is there a possibility they could be donated or lent out as temporary vaccination homes? In the UK, universities shared resources at the height of the first wave of the pandemic, including PPE-making equipment and ventilators.
“We may see existing fridges donated,” said Dr Michael Head, epidemiologist at the University of Southampton
The first effective coronavirus vaccine can prevent more than 90% of people from getting Covid-19, a preliminary analysis shows.
The developers – Pfizer and BioNTech – described it as a “great day for science and humanity”.
Their vaccine has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries and no safety concerns have been raised.
The companies plan to apply for emergency approval to use the vaccine by the end of the month.
A vaccine – alongside better treatments – is seen as the best way of getting out of the restrictions that have been imposed on all our lives.
There are around a dozen in the final stages of testing – known as a phase 3 trial – but this is the first to show any results.
It uses a completely experimental approach – that involves injecting part of the virus’s genetic code – in order to train the immune system.
Previous trials have shown the vaccine trains the body to make both antibodies – and another part of the immune system called T-cells to fight the coronavirus.
Two doses, three weeks apart, are needed. The trials – in US, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and Turkey – show 90% protection is achieved seven days after the second dose.
Pfizer believes it will be able to supply 50 million doses by the end of this year, and around 1.3 billion by the end of 2021.
The UK should get 10 million doses by the end of the year, with a further 30 million doses already ordered.
However there are logistical challenges, as the vaccine has to be kept in ultra-cold storage at below minus 80C.
It has been an astounding feat to get this far so soon.
No vaccine has gone from the drawing board to being proven highly effective in such a short period of time.
And this vaccine seems to be even more effective than people were hoping.
There are still questions – how long does immunity last, does the vaccine work as well in high-risk elderly people, does it stop you spreading the virus or just from developing symptoms?
And the journey ahead is long and complicated.
Manufacturing enough doses and then actually immunising hundreds of millions of people around the world is a monumental challenge.
Hospital and care home staff will be prioritised along with those at highest risk from Covid-19.
So face masks and social distancing are likely to feature of our lives for some time to come.
But at last, the gloom of Covid is starting to give way to the hope that it might one day be over.
Dr Albert Bourla, the chairman of Pfizer, said: “We are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis.”
Prof Ugur Sahin, one of the founders of BioNTech, described the results as a “milestone”.
The data presented is not the final analysis. It is based on the first 94 volunteers to develop Covid – the precise effectiveness of the vaccine may change when the full results are analysed.
Pfizer and BioNTech say they will have enough safety data by the third week of November to take their vaccine to regulators. Until then it is not possible for countries to begin their vaccination campaigns.
But the companies’ announcement was welcomed as a significant development.
“This news made me smile from ear to ear,” Prof Peter Horby, from the University of Oxford.
“It is a relief… there is a long long way to go before vaccines will start to make a real difference, but this feels to me like a watershed moment.”
The UK Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the results were “promising” and that “the NHS stands ready to begin a vaccination programme for those most at risk once a Covid-19 vaccine is available
Indonesia has fallen into its first recession in 22 years as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take it toll.
South East Asia’s biggest economy saw growth fall 3.49% in the third quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2019.
Following a fall of 5.32% in the second quarter of 2020, this has pushed Indonesia into a recession.
The last time this happened was during the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
Authorities in Indonesia have predicted that 3.5m people could lose their jobs due to the coronavirus downturn.
Indonesia has the highest infection rate in the region.
While agriculture is a major component of its economy, Indonesia relies heavily on tourist dollars.
Millions of foreigners fly to Bali each year in search of deserted beaches, terraced rice fields and sprawling Hindu temples.
But their numbers have dropped sharply since Indonesia closed its borders to non-residents, like other countries battling with the pandemic.
The 3.49% fall in economic growth during July to September is slightly worse than the 3% that economists had predicted.
The capital city Jakarta went into a second semi-lockdown for four weeks starting in mid-September with rising cases straining its health system.
“All in all, Indonesia’s economy is past its weakest point, but with the domestic outbreak not under control yet, economic activity is likely to remain under pressure,” wrote ANZ bank.
Government officials have pledged to accelerate spending to counter the pandemic’s impact and push Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) back into growth.
Covid-19: Nearly 100,000 catching virus every day – study
Nearly 100,000 people are catching coronavirus every day in England, a major analysis suggests.
The study, by Imperial College London, says the pace of the epidemic is accelerating and estimates the number of people infected is now doubling every nine days.
The authors say we are at a “critical stage” and “something has to change”.
The UK government is sticking to its regional strategy in England.
Experts are warning that we are fast approaching the peak in infections seen in the spring.
The React-1 study is highly influential because it is the most up-to-date assessment of Covid-19 in the country, with the last swabs taken only on Sunday and nearly 86,000 volunteers taking part.
It shows cases are rising in every age group and in every region of England.
While cases are currently highest in the North, infections are surging more rapidly in the South.
The study compared the latest swabs collected between 16 and 25 October with the last round of swabs, between 18 September and 5 October.
It suggests:
The number of people infected has more than doubled since the last round, with one in every 78 people now testing positive.
The hardest hit area is Yorkshire and the Humber, where one every 37 people has the virus, followed by the North West region.
Three times as many people aged 55-64 are infected and twice as many over 65s.
Overall, the number of people infected is doubling every nine days.
The South East, South West, east of England and London all have an R above 2.0. London has an estimated R of 2.86.
Cases are spiking in young people in the South West in a repeat of the pattern seen in northern England just over a month ago.
96,000 people are now catching the virus every day.
Prof Steven Riley, one of the authors, said he was “really disappointed” when the data started coming in and said it meant the “current measures are not sufficient”.
“There has to be a change, the rate of growth is really quite rapid, one way or another there has to be a change before Christmas,” he said.
He argued this could be either the general public following the rules more closely or government imposing tougher restrictions on our lives.
“If we are going to consider at some point over the winter something much more stringent it becomes a question of timing. I think these results do argue for something sooner rather than later,” Prof Riley said.
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
