Prof. Tomori urges assessment, maintenance of COVID-19 facilities

Nigerian virologist, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, has called for the assessment and maintenance of COVID-19 infrastructures across the country.

Mr Tomori, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Biovaccines Nigeria Limited, said this during an interview on Monday in Abuja.

The professor of virologist emphasised the need to take stock of the investments made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

He stressed the importance of assessing the current state of COVID-19 investments – specially equipped isolation wards, laboratories, oxygen production factories, etc to determine their functionality across the country.

He highlighted the need for regular provision of funds to ensure the maintenance and continued operation of the facilities.

Furthermore, he proposed integrating the Emergency Operations Centres with existing epidemiology divisions and departments in each state of the federation.

He emphasised the necessity of providing funds needed for the basic activities of these divisions, including transportation and funds for field investigation, sample shipment, and laboratory reagents and diagnostics.

He said, “These are sine qua non for effective epidemiological surveillance, early disease detection, reliable laboratory confirmation, and rapid institution of effective response.’’

He underscored that adequate recurrent funding was essential for sustained and effective disease surveillance in the country.

He also emphasised the importance of prevention over outbreak control, stating that it was more cost-effective to invest in preventive measures.

He urged all the tiers of government to recognise that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom from disease outbreaks.

“We cannot afford to take our eyes off the surveillance ball, therefore, we must regularly and timely allocate sufficient funds accordingly,” he advised.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline healthcare workers received training and infrastructure for managing suspected cases while following safety protocols.

Capacity development targeted isolation facilities, COVID-19 testing, and training, resulting in 131 accredited treatment centres with 7,040 beds in six months.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention decentralised testing, leading to 98 operational laboratories by December 31, 2020.

Over 35,500 healthcare workers were trained on infection prevention, and protocols for case management were established.

The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, in collaboration with various partners, played a crucial role in the efforts, conducting regular national case reviews.

The surveillance and epidemiology pillar, led by the NCDC, focused on early case detection, reporting, and coordinated outbreak response through three phases: prevention and preparedness, containment, and control and mitigation.

In the prevention and preparedness phase, the NCDC trained and deployed staff, identified entry points, developed guidelines, and conducted simulation exercises.

Federal Government announces plans to start screening passengers arriving Nigeria

The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) says plans have been concluded for all passengers arriving the country to be screened for COVID-19 using Rapid Diagnostic Test (RTD).

The Director, Port Health Services, Dr Geoffrey Okatubo, , disclosed this while speaking at the Ministerial bi-weekly meeting on the update of COVID-19 response and developments in the country’s health sector on Monday, January 9.

Okatubo said positive cases would be quarantined and all negative cases would be monitored.

He stated that the federal government was undertaking other measures as well to keep the coronavirus situation under control in the country.

“COVID-19 self-tests (RTD) will be handed out at all our international airports, land and sea borders, while travellers will also be informed on the importance of measures that they can take to prevent being infected,” he said.

He acknowledged that some people had experienced difficulties with the travel portal, noting that the health declaration certificate could also be filled out on arrival.

Okatubo stated that the health certificate form was also available at the country’s land borders, and that it was compulsory as it serves as a measure used to help protect everyone from the virus.

FG suspends COVID-19 tests for travellers

The immediate relaxation of the COVID-19 safety measures and travel advisory, including the suspension of all pre-departure, pre-boarding, and post-arrival PCR test requirements has been approved by the federal government.

The announcement was made in a statement released by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC), Boss Mustapha.

Mustapha said the approval granted by President Muhammadu Buhari follows the recommendations of the PSC based on clinical and laboratory evidence of a sustained reduction in COVID-19 infection/transmission across the country.

The statement read;

“All pre-departure and post-arrival PCR test requirements for all persons who are not fully vaccinated have been suspended.

“With the suspension of both the preboarding and post-arrival PCR tests, passengers will no longer be required to upload evidence of vaccination on the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP). All unvaccinated and partially vaccinated passengers are strongly encouraged to get fully vaccinated.

“Health Declaration Form. A simplified Health Declaration (non-covid-19 specific) shall be completed by all passengers arriving in Nigeria on the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP); while provision will be made on arrival for those who were unable to complete this form before departure.

“Finally, the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC) passionately appeals to Nigerians to ensure that they take their COVID-19 vaccinations as well as booster doses.”

End Of Covid Pandemic In Sight – WHO

The World Health Organisation, on Wednesday, said the number of newly reported Covid-19 cases has dropped dramatically, urging the world to seize the opportunity to end the pandemic.

The disease which has killed millions since being identified in late 2019, last week fell to the lowest level since March 2020. According to AFP, the WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the world needs to seize the opportunity.

“We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic. We are not there yet, but the end is in sight,” he said.

Urging the world to seize the opportunity, Ghebreyesus said, “If we don’t take this opportunity now, we run the risk of more variants, more deaths, more disruption and more uncertainty.”

UK surpasses 150,000 COVID-19 deaths

More than 150,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom since the pandemic began more than two years ago, the government said on Saturday.

Six other countries – the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico, and Peru – have exceeded the 150,000 mark on COVID-19 fatalities since the pandemic first hit the world through Wuhan, China, in 2019.

The victims, according to the UK Office of National Statistics, died within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test since the pandemic began.

A further 313 deaths were reported by the government on Saturday, taking the toll to 150,057.

In his address to the journalists, Prime Minister Boris Johnson described every death recorded during the pandemic as a profound loss to friends and affected communities.

He said: “The COVID-19 had taken a terrible toll on our country and our way out of this pandemic is for everyone to get their booster or their first or second dose if they haven’t yet.

The UK has also recorded 146,390 new cases, with the more transmissible variant, Omicron, driving the surge in infections.

Australia confirms two cases of new COVID-19 variant

Australian health officials on Sunday confirmed two cases of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron.

The Eastern State of New South Wales’ Health Authority said in a statement its officials conducted urgent genomic testing and confirmed the new strain was present in two passengers who arrived in Sydney from Southern Africa on Saturday.

The statement read: “Both passengers came from southern Africa and arrived in Australia on a Qatar Airways flight via Doha.

“They tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after arriving, leading to an urgent analysis for possible infection by the heavily mutated Omicron strain.

The two positive cases, who were asymptomatic, are in isolation in the special health accommodation. Both people are fully vaccinated .

Another 12 passengers from Southern Africa in the same flight did not test positive for COVID-19 but have been placed in quarantine.

“About 260 passengers and crew on the plane have also been told to isolate.”

Delta variant of COVID-19 dominant in Nigeria – Health minister

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Monday, urged Nigerians to continue adhering to all the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the Federal Government.

He added that the Delta variant of the COVID-19 is now the dominant strain in the country.

The minister, who stated these during the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 media briefing in Abuja, warned that the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was still much around though the number of confirmed cases had reduced in recent times.

Ehanire said all points of entry in the country are under strict supervision in other to prevent the influx of the other variants of the virus from other countries.

He said: “The dreaded third wave of COVID-19 may appear to be levelling out because there had been no catastrophic increases in infections and fatalities.

“But, it is not wise to assume that the threat is gone, especially as cases are fluctuating and have to be identified by genomic sequencing.

“Evidence so far, however, is that the Delta strain is already the dominant one in Nigeria. We must keep our protective measures in place and increase testing to determine our situation.

“There are reports of new COVID-19 mutations circulating in other countries, a development we shall monitor with all the tools available to us to ensure we respond appropriately.

“We also remain on alert at Points of Entry, including land and sea borders, to confront importation of COVID-19. Several cases have indeed been identified by rapid diagnostic tests and taken care of accordingly.

“All states have received doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for the ongoing second phase of the vaccination exercise in all states while the Federal Government has done due diligence to ensure vaccine quality and safety.

“Available data shows that there have been no serious adverse effects so far following vaccinations so that confidence in vaccines we are using is upheld. We have a good mix and quantity of vaccines and do not envisage shortages despite news reports that vaccines allocated to Africa will be reduced by 25 percent soon.”

Pregnant woman, 15 others die from COVID-19 in Edo

The Edo State government on Monday confirmed the death of a 33-year-old pregnant woman and 15 other COVID-19 cases in the state.

The Head of the state’s COVID-19 Case Management, Dr. Ebomwonyi Osagie, who disclosed this at a media briefing in Benin, said the woman died at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital in the state capital.

He said the victims were not vaccinated.

Osagie said: “This particular patient came in and died about three hours after presentation at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital. Late presentation is a major issue in managing crises.

“She was about 28 weeks pregnant, already having pre-eclampsia, so, the debate is actually if it is the pre-eclampsia that killed her or COVID-19.

The woman has COVID-19 which pushed her more toward developing pre-eclampsia and then death. Some other women have pre-eclampsia and are successfully managed.

“Late presentation was an issue because the patient died three hours after the presentation. This means that there was little that would have been done to manage the situation. So, we are appealing to private hospitals to let patients go very early for treatment.

“So far we have collected 537 samples with a total of 1,004 confirmed cases. 103 patients recovered and were discharged and 16 deaths recorded within 48 hours.

“We have 70 people in admission, 296 people in-home care, 344 discharged, and 50 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic.”

COVID-19 third wave stabilising in Africa – WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday the third wave of COVID-19 was stabilising in Africa.

The WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, disclosed this to journalists at a media briefing in Abuja.

He, however, added that the number of new cases was still very high with 248, 000 reported in the past week.

The WHO official stressed that trend in Africa was that each new wave struck the continent “faster and harder, reaching a higher number of new cases, more rapidly than the previous wave.”

He said: “This puts an increasing strain on already stretched health facilities and health workers.

The good news is that, increasing vaccine supplies raises hope that the continent will meet the target of vaccinating 10 percent of the population by the end of September.”

He noted that equitable access to safe and effective vaccines was critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

Mulombo added: “However, to understand the recent upward trend that Nigeria is experiencing, we must remind ourselves that weak observance of preventive measures, increased population movement and interaction had heightened the risk of COVID-19 resurgence in many states.

These factors can contribute to increased case numbers. This ebb and flow in the pandemic’s transmission dynamics is expected and is likely to continue until a sizeable proportion of the Nigerian population is vaccinated.

“We have also been asked, at what point would WHO reconsider its position on booster doses”?

“The answer is, first, WHO is looking carefully at the outcome, which is of most relevance from a public health perspective, that is the severe disease, hospitalization and death outcomes.

“The second consideration is the consistency of the findings. Acting on a single study is just not a sound policy basis. So, we are including the entirety of the evidence.

The third consideration is around the issue of the risk groups. Recommendations around the use of booster doses will very much be tailored to risk groups which may experience some change in the performance of the vaccines over a period.”

India hits milestone, vaccinates 10m people against covid-19 in one day

For the first time ever, India had increased its total number of Covid -19 vaccination in a day as the country vaccinated 10 million in a day.

This is to show their commitment to fighting this pandemic despite their large population and by achieving a 10 million a day milestone on Friday 27th August, 2021, they have been able to beat their previous record of 9.2 million daily.

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi praised this achievement and tagged it a “Momentous Feat” as the country had really faced lots of death as over 200,000 people lost their lives in May and June due to covid -19 alone and the increased fear of another surge in infections.

Kudos to those getting vaccinated and those making the vaccination drive a success” Modi said on Twitter.

This is indeed a great proof that despite the challenges such as shortages and the people’s hesitation to get the vaccine, the country stands a chance at meeting their target of vaccinating 1.1 billion persons by end of the year.

Bill Gates also hailed India for the “tremendous milestone” as he commended everyone involved in achieving the success.

“Congratulations, India, on reaching this tremendous milestone, the collective effort of the government, vaccine manufacturers, health workers and the research and development community made this feet possible,” he said in his tweet where he tagged India Prime minister and the union of ministry of health and family welfare.

How COVID-19 caused devaluation of Naira – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday explained how the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the recent devaluation of Naira against the United States Dollar.

The Deputy Governor of CBN, Corporate Services, Edward Adamu, who addressed members of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance during an interactive session on 2022-2024 MTEF/FSP organised by the House in Abuja, said the pandemic was responsible for the devaluation of the Nigerian currency and the indirect shortage of foreign exchange supply.

Adamu stressed that the COVID-19 had devastating effects on the nation’s economy.

He said: “There are three major ways that we get forex. These are proceeds from the sale of crude oil, foreign portfolio inflows, and remittances.

“Crude oil sale has not been as high as we all want it to be and obviously in the aftermath of COVID-19, the global economy was grounded to a halt and the use of crude oil also was reduced.

“Sometimes in April last year, we had crude oil selling at negative, which means that people were being paid to store what they bought. Therefore, the avenue for forex inflows was significantly reduced.”

Osun records seven fresh COVID-19 deaths, 73 cases

Osun State government on Friday confirmed seven new COVID-19 deaths in the state.

The state’s Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Funke Egbemode, who disclosed this in a statement in Osogbo, said the state had recorded 73 new cases in the last two weeks.

She urged the people of Osun to play a key role in the ongoing efforts to check the spread of the pandemic in the state.

Egbemode said: “It has become imperative for citizens to consciously take personal responsibility for their own safety because the third wave of this dreaded disease has berthed in Osun.

“In the last two weeks, the state has recorded 73 cases with seven mortality. We can no longer afford to treat our protection with levity. We must wear masks religiously and avoid crowded spaces like a plague. It is becoming more obvious that our lives depend on how well we adhere to safety protocols.

“Osun’s daily COVID-19 case tallies and mortality rate are becoming alarming. The effects of the virus are getting worse by the day because our compliance level is deplorable and alarming.

“Our people need to take responsibility for their own safety by ensuring that they take the COVID-19 tests to be sure of their status, especially when they feel ill. Let us leave no chance for costly assumptions and be deliberate about boosting our immunity.

Partying and appearances at densely populated locations have become dangerous all over the world. We are back to ground zero with the virus, and we cannot continue to pretend like it doesn’t exist.

“The current statistics signal a precarious situation. With 73 positive cases in the last two weeks, from which 10 percent mortality was recorded, continued disregard for safety guidelines and protocols by citizens may result in more frightening statistics with time.

“While the government continues to upscale efforts in combating the pandemic and its effect on the state, citizens should ensure adherence to the safety protocols outlined by the different layers of government. Wear your mask always, keep clean surfaces at home and in workspaces, wash or sanitise your hands and avoid crowded spaces always.

The more nonchalant and careless we become this season, the more we open ourselves up to the dangerous effects of the pandemic.”

Nigerian govt postpones phase two of COVID-19 vaccination

The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC) has postponed the second phase of COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria.

The committee’s Director of Press, Mr. Willie Bassey, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday night in Abuja.

The exercise was earlier slated to commence at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday.

Bassey said the exercise was postponed due to some unforeseen circumstances.

The United States donated four million doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to Nigeria on August 1.

The statement read: “This is to announce the postponement of the national flag-off of phase 11 vaccination programme earlier scheduled for Tuesday this week due to unforeseen circumstances.

“A new date will be communicated.”

Nigeria to get 4m doses of COVID-19 vaccine from U.S

In the next few days, the US government will supply 10 million vaccines to South Africa and Nigeria.

5.6 million Pfizer doses will be going to South Africa and 4 million Moderna doses will be heading Nigeria’s way.

This was revealed by Dana L. Banks, US Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Africa at the National Security Council, at a virtual press conference for African journalists on Wednesday.

According to banks, the deliveries are part of a pledge by President Biden to share 80 million doses globally–with about 25 million doses expected to arrive in 49 African states.

We have been, over the past three weeks, working through the African Union and COVAX delivering first rounds, in some cases second rounds, of doses to our African partners. And just today, we are happy to announce that we will be sending over 5 million doses to South Africa as well as 4 million – 5 million doses – over 5 million doses to South Africa of Pfizer vaccines as well as 4 million doses of Moderna vaccine to Nigeria.

So we’re very excited about that and we hope that these will go a long way in helping to provide safety and health security for the people of Nigeria and South Africa, which will then enable them to get back to their regular activities, their economic activities, and help them to build back better,” She said.

The United States is ramping up vaccine deliveries to Africa as a third wave of the pandemic continues to accelerate across the continent.

Vaccine availability in Africa has been hampered by a factor called ‘vaccine nationalism’, which has seen wealthy nations snapping up excess doses of available vaccines for their own populations.

So far, only less than 1 percent of Nigerians have so far received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), as of June 15, 2021, a total number of 1,978,808 targeted eligible Nigerians had partaken in vaccination against the Virus.

This represents 1.9 doses of vaccines per 100 people.

COVID-19 still around in Nigeria –NCDC

The Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. ChIkwe Ihekweazu, on Saturday, warned Nigeria against a false sense of COVID-19 eradication in the country.

Ihekweazu spoke on the COVID-19 pandemic at a webinar for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) 2021 Batch B members in Abuja.

He called for collaboration with corps members to ensure sustenance of the measures aimed at checking the spread of the virus across the country.

The NCDC chief said: “The mistake we can all make is to think the COVID-19 virus has gone away.

“Corps members have to work collaboratively with us to sustain the goals we have made in mitigating the risk of transmission in orientation camps.”

Covid-19 death toll increases in Peru

Peru has more than doubled its Covid death toll following a review, making it the country with the world’s highest death rate per capita, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The official death toll is now more than 180,000, up from 69,342, in a country of about 33 million people.

Prime Minister Violeta Bermudez said the number was increased on the advice of Peruvian and international experts.

This was in line with so-called excess deaths figures.

Excess deaths are a measure of how many more people are dying than would be expected based on the previous few years.

“We think it is our duty to make public this updated information,” Ms Bermudez said.

The news, released on Monday, came just six days before Peru is set to hold a presidential run-off election between leftist Pedro Castillo and right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori.

Peru has been one of the worst-hit countries in Latin America, resulting in an overstretched healthcare system and a lack of oxygen tanks. It has registered 1.9 million infections in total.

Some of the reasons for it being so badly hit include an absence of fridges in people’s homes – forcing many households to make frequent trips to markets to shop for food rather than stocking up – and overcrowding in homes and public places.

image captionVaccinations have been slow in Peru, as in many parts of South America

The president of the Peruvian Medical Federation, Godofredo Talavera, said the increased toll was not a surprise.

“We believe this occurs because our health system does not have the necessary conditions to care for patients.

“There has been no government support with oxygen, with intensive care beds. We do not have enough vaccines at the moment. The first line of care has not been reactivated. All this makes us the first country in the world in mortality,” he said.

But experts say Peru has also had problems with its testing regime, as it lacks the resources to carry out widespread molecular tests, the most reliable type.

In the early days of the pandemic, Peru bought millions of cheap tests from China, most of which were designed to detect virus antibodies, not active cases, the Associated Press reported.

Some of these tests have been found by independent analysis to be sub-standard, the agency said.

The criteria for recording Covid deaths has now been broadened beyond people who tested positive for the virus to include “probable” cases – those with “an epidemiological link to a confirmed case” or who present “a clinical picture compatible with the disease”.

FG sanctions 27 foreigners, 62 Nigerians for violating COVID-19 protocols

The Federal Government has sanctioned 27 foreigners for violating COVID-19 protocols put in place for returnees from Brazil and other countries with a high incidence of the pandemic.

The Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday night in Abuja, said the affected foreigners were 26 Indians and a Dane.

He added that 62 Nigerians were also sanctioned for the same reason.

The PSC had early this month issued a Travel Advisory for passengers arriving in Nigeria from Brazil, India, and Turkey to check the importation of new variants of COVID-19 into the country.

Mustapha said: “The Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) has however observed that while most of the arriving passengers dutifully observed the guidelines, some (Nigerians and foreigners) have violated them in contravention of the provisions of the Coronavirus Health Protection Regulations 2021.

All the affected persons arrived in Nigeria between 8th May 2021 and 15th May 2021 through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

They have been declared Persons of Interest (POI) on account of posing considerable danger to overall public health and for the violation of Nigeria COVID-19 travel protocol by evading the mandatory seven-day quarantine for persons arriving from restricted countries.

“Members of the public are by this notice advised that these persons of interest constitute an immediate health hazard to society. They must therefore transport themselves safely, to the nearest state public health departments within 48 hours of this notice for immediate evaluation and call the Port Health Services, Federal Ministry of Health on 08036134672 or 08032461990 for further directions.

The PSC shall in addition, take further steps to sanction these violators. These steps include:

– Disabling their travel passports for a period not less than one year;

– Cancelation of visas/ permits of foreigners that have abused our hospitality; and prosecution under the 2021 Health Protection Regulations.

– Additional list of Batch II defaulters shall be published in subsequent announcement by the PSC.”

COVID-19: FG re-imposes curfew, restriction on mass gathering

The Federal Government has re-introduced a nationwide curfew to curtail further spread of COVID-19.

National Incident Manager, Mukhtar Mohammed, disclosed this at the briefing of the Presidential Committee on COVID-19 in Abuja.

He said the curfew would take effect from midnight on Monday, May 10, and it will be from 12am to 4am.

Mohammed also said with effect from Tuesday, night clubs, gyms and other social spaces would remain closed till further notice.

He said gatherings of religious groups and weddings among others have been reduced to 50 percent attendance while official engagements, meetings and conferences should continue to hold virtually.

people aged under 50 should get the Pfizer vaccine-jab over AstraZeneca’s.

Australia’s vaccine rollout is to be further delayed after local regulators advised limiting use of the AstraZeneca shot – the country’s main vaccine.

On Thursday, the government said it now recommended that people aged under 50 get the Pfizer jab over AstraZeneca’s.

It follows restrictions in other nations, after Europe’s drug regulator found a rare blood clot risk linked to the vaccine.

The move is likely to delay a goal to vaccinate all Australians this year.

The country is already running about 85% behind schedule – it has inoculated about one million of its almost 26 million people so far.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia could afford the delay because it had almost no community transmission of Covid-19.

On Friday, he announced that Australia had doubled its Pfizer contract to 40 million doses.

But Australia so far has only received about one million Pfizer shots – with the rest to arrive “by the end of the year”, the government has said.

Australia also has a contract for 51 million Novovax vaccines, but it is yet to be approved by regulators.

Mr Morrison strongly urged people aged over 50 to continue with their vaccine, saying any risk was very rare.

“If an outbreak were to happen again… you would be putting yourself at risk if you didn’t get the vaccine, because you would be exposing yourself to the more likely event of a Covid-contracted condition that could result in serious illness,” he said.

Critics of Australia’s rollout have condemned the government for “putting all their eggs in one basket” with AstraZeneca.

The setback upends timelines for potential border reopenings, overseas travel and economic recovery.

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