Lagos Releases New Guidelines For Market To Open Monday

It's confirmed. Markets will open from tomorrow, Monday morning across Lagos. Amid efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, the state Government has issued new guidelines for the reopening of markets and shopping malls across the state.

Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Dr Wale Ahmed, said that all markets and stores across the State would be allowed to open from 9am till 3pm on selected days.



In a statement he issued yesterday in Lagos, the Commissioner said the guidelines were necessary.

He said that issuance of the guidelines followed Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s announcement on the gradual easing of the lockdown in Lagos from Monday.

He said that everyone going to the markets and stores would be mandated to observe precautionary measures, such as physical distancing and high level of personal and respiratory hygiene.

Ahmed said that malls would also be allowed to open with the proviso that they would maintain a 60 per cent occupancy capacity at any point in time.

He added that there should be a two-metre physical distancing between a shopper and the next person in the store.

The commissioner said that food handlers must wear masks and hand gloves in markets at all times.

According to him, shop owners must provide hand sanitisers and ensure hand washing with soap and running water at all entry points.

He said that they should also conduct temperature checks on customers and ensure that nobody would be exempted from the process.

"The guidelines are proactive measures put in place by the government to curtail a possible spread of the deadly virus among traders in markets places and malls when the gradual ease of the lockdown commences on Monday,” he said.

Ahmed said that food sellers and other traders would operate on alternate days in all markets across the state.

"In essence, those trading in other items and wares apart from food will only be allowed to trade on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while all food and farm produce sellers will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,” the commissioner said.

He said that there would be zero tolerance for all forms of street-trading, urging market association leaders to ensure that their members would abide by the guidelines.

Ahmed also called on the chairmen of local councils and the Office of Iyaloja-General and the State enforcement agencies to ensure strict compliance with the directives.

4 Persons Die Of Coronavirus In Lagos, 22 Recover & Return Home

Getting help on time is the best way to survive the novel Coronavirus. Lagos State gas recorded four more deaths in the last 24 hours.

Confirming the sad development, the state ministry of health tweeted;
'Unfortunately, 4 #COVID19 deaths were recorded. This brings total number of #COVID19 related deaths in Lagos to 25.'

Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu also confirmed the discharge of 22 more patients from the Isolation centres.

He said, "8 females and 14 males were discharged from our Isolation facilities to reunite with the society... Total discharged now 247."

Dangote Donates Lab Capable Of 400 Tests A Day To Kano

Aliko Dangote has donated a mobile laboratory able to handle 400 samples daily to augment the testing capacity in Kano state.

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje revealed this on Saturday during a press briefing organised by the state taskforce on covid-19 which took place at the Africa House in Kano.

The test centre, with daily capacity of taking 400 samples, is expected to arrive Kano Monday.

According to Ganduje, “As we are targeting more Testing Centres in the state, the richest man in Africa, Alhaji Aliko Dangote is donating Mobile Testing Centre with the capacity of testing 400 people daily. The facility is coming to Kano in the next two days, by Monday.”

He lamented about the rising cases of positive COVID-19 patients in the state, describing it as “a thing of great concern.”

He said, “Though we are aware that the bouncing back of the Aminu Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Testing Centre with the capacity of 88 samples per day, and the coming up of another Testing Centre at Bayero University, Kano, with the capacity of 20 samples per day, would mean another rise in the identified positive cases.”

Kano UNICEF Boss Dies After Showing COVID19 Symptoms

Malam Rabiu Musa, Head of Communications in the Kano Field Office of UNICEF, is dead.

His son, Musa Rabiu, who confirmed the death to NAN in Kano, said that the UNICEF official died on Saturday at the age of 60.

“My dad died at about 3 a.m on Saturday, after battling with a sickness for a few days. Although, we noticed symptoms we suspect to be of Coronavirus, but the result of the test conducted is not yet out.

“A week ago, he complained of sore throat and malaria, but after few days of medication, he became normal.

“Few days later, he complained that he was finding it difficult to breath.

“He also complained that no matter how short he walked, he loses breath. So, he was taken to the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Dala, on Friday where he gave up,” the son said.

At about 2p.m. when NAN contacted the son, he said: “we are now at the hospital with the officials of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for his burial”.

Access Bank To Shut Down 346 Branches Nationwide (See List)

Access Bank is set to close more than 300 of its branches nationwide in a bid cut down running costs as a result of the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

This move comes in the wake of a statement made by the group managing director/CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe who explained the reasons behind a planned mass retrenchment of its workforce, stating that some of its branches will be closed up until December of this year.



Wigwe made this disclosure via video conferencing in a town hall meeting with the bank’s staff that later leaked on social media platforms.

He noted that those to be affected by the mass retrenchment are mostly outsourced staff and workers offering nonessential services. This group makes for about 75% of the Organisation’s staff strength in its branches nationwide.

Industry observers have the notion that Wigwe’s retrenchment strategy and closure of its branches affects the most vulnerable of his employees. They also believe the move will be counter-productive for many families; especially the poor if the financial records of the bank truly show it has the capacity to cushion the effect of the pandemic.

List of branches to be shut down:
ACCESS BANK RET SHOP – OSISIOMA (001)
UMUAHIA BRANCH
15 AZIKWE ROAD
FAULKS ROAD BRANCH ABA
UMUDIKE BRANCH
ACCESS BANK, UMUAHIA, IKOT – EKPENE ROAD)
ABA, ASA ROAD
RET SHOP – UMUAHIA (039)
GIBBS STREET BRANCH
ACCESS BANK, IKOT EKPENE BRANCH
ABAK, IKOT – EKPENE ROAD
32 AKA ROAD BRANCH
UYO, BANK LAYOUT
ONITSHA BRANCH
NNEWI BRANCH
UP IWEKA and OGIDI BRANCHES
ONITSHA, SOKOTO ROAD.
ONITSHA, OGBARU ENAMEL WARE MARKET
NNEWI, OLD NKWO MARKET ROAD
ACCESS BANK, OBOSI, CITY BISCUIT ROAD
OKIJA, OLD OKIJA IHIALA OGUTA RD
BRIDGE HEAD BRANCH
AWKA, AZIKIWE STREET AND ACESS BANK, UNIZIK BRANCHES
RET SHOP-NIGER DELTA UNI. MINI(082)
GBOKO BRANCH
ZAKI IBIAM BRANCH
MAKURDI, NEW BRIDGE ROAD
RET SHOP – N/BANK MAKURDI (034)
GBOKO BRANCH
MAIDUGURI, BURGA ROAD
RET SHOP – UNIV. OF MAIDUGURI (020)
RET SHOP – SHEHU LAMINU WAY (020)
IKOM, OKIMI OSABOR STREET
CALABAR, NDIDEM USANG ISO ROAD
CALABAR, MAYNE AVENUE
ASABA, 163 NNEBISI ROAD
DECO ROAD BRANCH
UGHELLI, MARKET ROAD
RET SHOP – WARRI (005)
AGBOR BRANCH
ASABA, NNEBISI ROAD
OKPANAM ROAD BRANCH
WARRI OKUMAGBA AVENUE
ABAKALIKI, OGOJA ROAD
RET SHOP – EBONYI STATE UNIV (035)
EKENWA-BENIN BRANCH
USELU BRANCH
23 AIRPORT ROAD BRANCH
BENIN, SAPELE ROAD
BENIN, UGBOWO ROAD
BENIN, 123 BENIN-AGBOR ROAD
TEXTILE MILL ROAD BRANCH
OKADA BRANCH
IHAMA BRANCH
BENIN, MISSION ROAD
BENIN BRANCH
UNIBEN BRANCH
IJERO EKITI CASH CENTRE
AJILOSUN, ADO EKITI BRANCH
EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY BRANCH
ENUGU STATE UNIVERSITY BRANCH
AGBANI ROAD BRANCH
ENUGU,GARDEN AVENUE
ENUGU, OKPARA AVENUE
ENUGU, 9TH MILE
ENUGU, NIKE LAKE ROAD
UNN NSUKKA BRANCH
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA ENUGU BRANCH
OKPARA AVENUE BRANCH
WUSE 2 BRANCH
FEDERAL SECRETARIAT ABUJA BRANCH
UTAKO BRANCH
ABUJA NNPC TOWERS BRANCH
DURUMI BRANCH
DEI DEI ABUJA, BUILDING MATERIALS MARKET
NYANYA ABUJA, OPP. NYANYA SHOPPING COMPLEX
GWAGWALADA ABUJA, PARK LANE
WUSE 2 ABUJA, AMINU KANO CRESCENT
GWARINPA
ABUJA,LADOKE AKINTOLA BOLVD
LIFE CAMP ABUJA, JABI-KARMO ROAD
ADETOKUNBO ADEMOLA, ABUJA BRANCH
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BRANCH
GARKI BRANCH
BANK OF INDUSTRY (BOI),ABUJA
GARKI AREA 11 BRANCH
NASDA BRANCH
DEI DEI BRANCH
FED MIN OF JUSTICE BRANCH
FEDERAL MORTGAGE BANK BRANCH
GARKI ABUJA, CENTRAL BUSINESS AREA
HERBERT MACAULAY, ABUJA BRANCH
RET SHOP -FED. SECRETARIAT ABJ(061)
ZONE 5 ABUJA, MICHAEL OKPARA STREET
RET SHOP- SAVANNAH SUITES, ABJ(013)
RET SHOP -AREA 1 COMPLEX ABUJA(077)
GOMBE, BIU RD.
BANK ROAD OWERRI BRANCH
NEKEDE BRANCH
OWERRI, ORLU ROAD
MBAISE, AHIARA JUNCTION MBAISE
RET SHOP – FUTO (017)
OWERRI, DOUGLAS ROAD
OKIGWE, WESLEY QUARTERS OKIGWE RD
RET SHOP – NAZE MARKET (090)
RET SHOP – IMO STATE SECTARIAT(090)
HADEJIA BRANCH
KADUNA BRANCH
A2 AHMADU BELLO WAY BRANCH
UNGWAN RIMI BRANCH
NNPC REFINERY KADUNA BRANCH
GUMI MAIN MARKET
JAJI, COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE
ALI AKILU ROAD BRANCH
ZARIA BRANCH
KACHIA ROAD KADUNA
KADUNA, ISA KAITA ROAD
RET SHOP – ZARIA (127)
ANCHAU BRANCH
KANO BRANCH
BELLO ROAD BRANCH KANO
KATIN KWARI BRANCH
BAYERO UNIVERSITY BRANCH
RET SHOP – DAWANUA, KANO (058)
BICHI BRANCH
AMINU KANO TEACHING HOSPITAL BRANCH
KANO, FRANCE ROAD, SABON GARI
RET SHOP – BAYERO UNI. KANO (007)
KATSINA, NAGODO ROAD
KATSINA BRANCH
KAFUR BRANCH
DANJA BRANCH
BIRNIN KEBBI, SANI ABACHA ROAD
OBAJANA CASH CENTRE
LOKOJA, MURTALA MUHAMMED WAY
FOLAWIYO STREET BRANCH
ILORIN, IBRAHIM TAIWO ROAD
KWARA STATE POLYTECHNIC
IBEJU LEKKI
VICTORIA ISLAND BRANCH
IDEJO BRANCH
IKOTA BRANCH
LEKKI CHEVRON BRANCH
AJOSE ADEOGUN BRANCH
IKOYI, AWOLOWO ROAD
AJAH, LEKKI – EPE EXPRESSWAY
AJAH, ADDO ROAD
LEKKI PHASE I, ADMIRALTY WAY
RET SHOP – IKOTA, VGC LAGOS (095)
LAGOS ISLAND, KING GEORGE V BRANCH
BROAD STREET 2 BRANCH
BBA LAGOS, ATIKU ABUBAKAR PLAZA
TRADE FAIR COMPLEX, ASPAMDA, HALL 2
ALABA, DENSINE PLAZA OLOJO DRIVE
ALABA INTERNATIONAL, DOBBILL PLAZA AVENUE
MAZA MAZA BRANCH
ALABA INTERNATIONAL, OLD GARAGE
OLD OJO BRANCH
LIGALI AYORINDE
ADEYEMO ALAKIJA BRANCH
ADEOLA ODEKU BRANCH
ADEOLA HOPEWELL BRANCH
AWOLOWO ROAD 2 BRANCH
SAKA TINUBU BRANCH
RET SHOP – PALMS MALL, LAGOS (026)
BURMA ROAD APAPA BRANCH
BROAD STREET BRANCH
CREEK ROAD APAPA BRANCH
TINCAN ISLAND BRANCH
APONGBON BRANCH
IBAFON BRANCH
POINT ROAD BRANCH
MARINA BOI BRANCH
48 MARINA BRANCH
LAGOS ISLAND, MARINA
LAGOS ISLAND, BALOGUN STREET
APAPA, LIVERPOOL ROAD
APAPA, BURMA ROAD
TRADE FAIR BRANCH
ASPAMDA BRANCH
FESTAC 2 BRANCH
AGUDOSI BRANCH
MAZA MAZA, OLD OJO ROAD
RET SHOP – SATELLITE TOWN (028)
OLD ALABA MOTOR PARK
OJUELEGBA BRANCH
GBAGADA, GBAGADA EXPRESSWAY
IDI-ARABA BRANCH
LAWANSON/ITIRE RD BRANCH
RET SHOP – ALUMINUM VILLAGE (011)
RET SHOP – IYANA IPAJA (110)
TOYIN STREET BRANCH
IKEJA, 60 OPEBI ROAD
MARYLAND,MOBOLAJI BANK ANTHONY WAY
RET SHOP – ISHERI, BERGER)
IDDO BRANCH
KOSOKO STREET BRCH
NNAMDI AZIKWE STREET IDUMOTA BRANCH
OYINGBO BRANCH
LAGOS ISLAND, OKE ARIN
YABA, HERBERT MACAULAY ROAD BRANCH
SURULERE, ENITAN STREET AGUDA
RET SHOP – JANKARA , LAGOS ISD(002)
RET SHOP – OGUNLANA DRIVE (051)
RET SHOP – BARIGA AKOKA (087)
LASU CAMPUS BRANCH
AMUWO ODOFIN BRANCH
SEME BORDER, BADAGRY EXPRESS WAY
FESTAC TOWN, SECOND AVENUE
COKER, LAGOS/BADAGRY EXPRESSWAY
TRADE FAIR COMPLEX, ASPAMDA OFFICE BLOCK 2
BBA LAGOS, BANK PLAZA
PALM AVENUE BRANCH
ILUPEJU BRANCH
MATORI BRANCH
IKORODU 2 BRANCH
TEJUOSHO BRANCH
ILUPEJU 2 BRANCH
GBAGADA BRANCH
OJOTA BRANCH
ODOGUNYAN BRANCH
OSHODI BRANCH
MATORI, LADIPO STREET
OJUELEGBA, SHIFAWU STREET
OSHODI, OSHODI-APAPA EXPRESSWAY
RET SHOP – TEJUOSHO MKT, LAG (050)
RET SHOP – KETU (088)
RET SHOP – DALEKO (099)
RET SHOP – OJUWOYE MARKET (099)
OSOLO WAY BRANCH
NAHCO BRANCH
EGBEDA BRANCH
EJIGBO BRANCH
IJU BRANCH
DOPEMU BRANCH
IYANA IPAJA, LAGOS ABEOKUTA EXPRESS WAY
ISOLO, MUSHIN ROAD
IDIMU, IDIMU ROAD IKOTUN
OKOTA, 56 AGO PALACE WAY
AKOWONJO, SHASHA ROAD
MAFOLUKU, INTL AIRPORT ROAD
RET SHOP – OKOTA, ISOLO LAGOS (004)
ADENIYI JONES IKEJA BRANCH
OJODU BERGER BRANCH
OPEBI BRANCH
IKEJA, AWOLOWO WAY
OREGUN BRANCH
IKEJA, LADIPO OLUWOLE STREET
OGBA, IJAIYE ROAD
ALAUSA BRANCH
OREGUN, ZIATECH ROAD OREGUN
IKEJA GRA, JOEL OGUNNAIKE STREET
MAGODO, CMD ROAD IKOSI
RET SHOP – IFAKO AGEGE (080)
RET SHOP – IFAKO GBAGADA (087)
IDUMOTA BRANCH
OGUNLANA DRIVE BRANCH
67 ST FINBARRS RD-BARIGA
IJESHATEDO BRANCH
UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS BRANCH
SABO YABA BRANCH
ADENIJI ADELE BRANCH
EBUTE METTA BRANCH
EBUTE METTA, MARKET STREET OYINGBO
APONGBON, ISSA WILLIAMS/OFFIN RD
RET SHOP – IDDO, EBUTE METTA)
ARTICLE MARKET BRANCH
RET SHOP-NASS. STATE UNI.KEFFI(073)
LAFIA, DOMA ROAD
KEFFI, ABUBAKAR BURGA STREET
MINNA, PAIKO ROAD
SULEJA DEPOT CASH CENTRE
MINNA 2 BRANCH
SULEJA, IBB MARKET
OOU BRANCH
ABEOKUTA, UACN COMPLEX IBARA
SAGAMU, AKARIGBO STREET
IJEBU ODE, 35 IBADAN ROAD
COVENANT BRANCH
RCCG CAMP BRANCH
OKE ILEWO BRANCH
ILARO BRANCH
OTTA, OTTA INDUSTRIAL LAYOUT
OWODE YEWA MARKET BRANCH
IDI IROKO BORDER BRANCH
OTTA, IDIROKO ROAD
RET SHOP – BABCOCK UNIVERSITY (137)
AKURE BRANCH
ADEKUNLE AJASIN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS BRANCH
AKURE, OYEMEKUN STREET
ONDO, YABA ROAD
ADEYEMI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
IREE BRANCH
ILESHA, ITA BALOGUN STREET
ILE IFE BRANCH
IPETU IJESHA BRANCH
OAU ILE IFE BRANCH
REDEEMER UNIVERSITY EDE BRANCH
SAKI BRANCH
APOMU BRANCH
LAUTECH BRANCH
BODIJA BRANCH 2
IWO ROAD 2 BRANCH
UCH IBADAN BRANCH
IBADAN, OKE – ADO
IBADAN, AGODI UCH SECOND GATE
OYO BRANCH
OJOO BRANCH
OGBOMOSO BRANCH
OGBOMOSHO, ILORIN ROAD
BODIJA BRANCH 1
NEW COURT ROAD BRANCH
EKOTEDO BRANCH IBADAN
JOS BRANCH
JOS, COMMERCIAL AREA
JOS, CLUB ROAD
RET SHOP – KATAKO (015)
BUKURU BRANCH
RET SHOP – UNIVERSITY OF JOS (055)
IKOKWU BRANCH
RET SHOP – OLD ABA ROAD, PH (086)
BONNY CASH CENTRE
ELEME BRANCH
EASTERN BULKCEMENT BRANCH
PH, TRANS AMADI
PH, FOT ONNE
OBIGBO PH, LOCATION ROAD
RET SHOP – ODUA ROAD, PHC (003)
BORI BRANCH
UNIPORT BRANCH
RSUST BRANCH
PH, 50 IKWERRE ROAD
PLOT105 OLU OBASANJO PH BRANCH
GARRISON BRANCH
GADA MARKET BRANCH
USMAN DANFODIO UNIVERSITY BRANCH
SOKOTO, MAIDUGURI ROAD
GUSAU, CANTEEN ROAD

el-Rufai Reveals: I Infected Four Persons With Coronavirus

Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, has said that he infected four persons in the state with Coronavirus, all of whom have since recovered.

El-Rufai, who doubles as the index case in Kaduna, made the disclosure at the 24th edition of The Platform hosted by Pastor Poju Oyemade.

The governor said Kaduna State had tested about 400 people and now has three testing centres.



He said, “As I announced some days back, we received 169 almajiris from Kano and so far 21 of them have tested positive. We expect more to test positive; the spike in our numbers have largely been the almajiris and other people that have come in.

“We have been successful in closing down our state, in reducing the traffic into our state, every case in the state has been imported.

“I was the first case, fortunately, I’d say, because it served to scare everyone about reality. COVID is real, it’s not a joke. I was the first case, I got it in Abuja and infected four other people, all of us are okay now.”

Beautiful UNIPORT Student R*ped & Murdered By Kidnappers (Photos)

This is sad. A Twitter user, King Tunde has shared more photos of the young lady identified as Joy Adoki, a UNIPORT student who was murdered alongside other two guys. He wrote;

'This young lady, Adoki Joy, 400L student of Mgr dept UNIPORT, who was declared missing last month, was found dead.



The suspect, Friday Akpan confessed to the killing. He confessed to the police that he r*ped and killed her alongside two others. He then buried them in a shallow grave.'

Kano Emir Tafida Abibakar Dies Hours After Hospitalisation

The Emir of Rano, one of the new emirates created by Governor Ganduje in Kano, Dr Tafida Abubakar Ila II, is dead.

He died on Saturday at Nassarwa Specialist Hospital at about 4:45pm after a brief illness.



Rano is one of four new emirates created in Kano in the wake of the balkanisation of the Kano emirate.

He was reported to have been hospitalised on Friday though details of his ailment were uncertain.

Confirming the death to Daily Trust, Turakin Rano, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, said the late emir was admitted at the hospital on Friday.

Rurum, who is a former speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, said the emir would be buried according to Islamic injunctions.

15yrs Old Only Son Marries 22yrs Old Lady In Abia State (Photos)

It was a dramatic moment on Sunday 26 April, 2020, in Amaiyi Igbere in Bende L.G.A of Abia State when a 15 year old boy by name Abraham Samuel Onuoha got married to a 22 year old Anurika John from Akeze from Ebonyi State.

Samuel is the only son of late Mr. Abraham Onuoha of Ndi-Ekpere in Amaiyi Igbere, who died in 2010. According to the mother, Mrs. Peace Abraham, Samuel was born in 2005 after many years of marriage without a child.



In an interview, one of the villagers revealed that they were in amazing surprise that Sunday morning whilst the minister in charge of Assemblies of God Church Amaiyi Igbere announced the wedding and that they are still thinking the reason for that marriage, saying that the boy is just too tender to be involved in that kind of relationship for now, also considering that the woman in query is older than him.

His mother also revealed in an interview that she was forced to accept due to the condition of her husband's family.

The minister in charge of Assemblies of God Church Amaiyi Igbere, Rev. Okoro Ogbu said people shouldn't be amazed about the marriage, adding that his own family experienced such in the past. He said this was a case where a someone needs to take up a undertaking to rebuild the family, and there's no other aside from Samuel in the family so his age should in no way be a barrier in reaching the cause.

2388 Cases Of Coronavirus Confirmed In Nigeria, With 220 New Patients

In the last 24 hours, 220 new cases of COVID19 have been reported in Nigeria; 62-Lagos, 52-FCT, 31-Kaduna, 13-Sokoto, 10-Kebbi, 9-Yobe, 6-Borno, 5-Edo, 5-Bauchi, 4-Gombe, 4-Enugu, 4-Oyo, 3-Zamfara, 2-Nasarawa, 2-Osun, 2-Ebonyi, 2-Kwara, 2-Kano, 2-Plateau.

A total of 2388 confirmed cases of COVID19 in Nigeria. The breakdown;

Pregnant woman who died of COVID-19 infected 3 others – EKSG

Ekiti State Government on Saturday officially confirmed record of three new Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the state, as announced Friday night by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The government said the three new COVID-19 cases were among those infected with the virus by the now late 29-year old pregnant woman.

The pregnant woman was earlier reported to have sneaked into the state from Lagos, but later died of the complications arising from the virus after she was delivered of her baby.

The State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Mojisola Yahaya-Kolade, disclosed this in a statement in Ado Ekiti.

“We can confirm that three of the samples sent to the NCDC accredited laboratory for testing returned positive results of the COVID-19 virus infection.

“The samples were from three of the primary contacts of our third case – the late 29-year-old mother who died of complications from childbirth on April 22, 2020,” she said.

According to her, the new positive cases are all females, with ages ranging from 26-50 years and who had been in self isolation for 14 days now.

“This brings the total confirmed cases in Ekiti State to 11 out of which eight are active, two discharged, with one death recorded, ” she said.

It would be recalled that the government had, in the previous weeks, announced that the late 29-year-old woman came in contact with over 70 persons during the course of her visits to about three hospitals before the delivery of her baby through Casarean.

She later died at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti and was subsequently buried under strict supervision of state government officials.

Among COVID-19 victims traced to her case is a 45-year-old medical doctor from a private hospital in the state.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/pregnant-woman-who-died-of-covid-19.html

‘Dead’ coronavirus particles may cause recovered patients to test positive

South Korean health officials said recovered coronavirus patients who later tested positive again only did so because “dead” virus particles remained in their bodies — not because they became reinfected.

A total of 292 people in the country who were cleared of the deadly bug later tested positive for COVID-19 again — a phenomenon that initially puzzled officials, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, according to a report in Newsweek.

But they’ve now determined that residual fragments of the virus are likely responsible.

“RNA fragments still can exist in a cell even if the virus is inactivated,” said Oh Myoung-don, who heads the KCDC’s clinical committee for emerging disease control, Newsweek said.

“It is more likely that those who tested positive again picked up virus RNA that has already been inactivated.”

Still, there are some concerns about South Korea’s positive retests as the number of second-time diagnoses has steadily risen. Two weeks ago, repeat diagnoses accounted for about 2 percent of the country’s recovered patients. By Wednesday, the number had risen to 2.7 percent, and 3.4 percent among children.

Preliminary tests released by the KCDC on April 17 determined that those patients re-tested positive an average of 13.5 days after being cleared and discharged from isolation — although the time spanned as long as 35 days, the report said.

Scientists studied 137 of the initial cases and reported that 61 of the patients showed mild symptoms, 72 were asymptomatic and four others were still being studied.

“Contact tracing on these re-positive cases is also underway to identify the possibility of secondary infection,” the center said in an April 26 report. “No new case has yet been confirmed that resulted from exposure to the re-positive cases. The contracts are still under monitoring.”

As of Thursday morning, South Korea had 10,765 reported cases of COVID-19, with 247 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the global pandemic.

However, health officials said there was no indication yet that those patients had spread the virus to others.





source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/dead-coronavirus-particles-may-cause.html

The moment Brazilian president says ‘so what?’ in response to over 5000 Covid-19 death in his country

Rarely have two words ignited such a firestorm of controversy. “So what?” said Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday when a journalist asked him about the fact that more than 5,000 Brazilians had died of the coronavirus.

The far-right leader’s off-the-cuff comment has been sparking anger ever since, with governors, politicians, healthcare professionals and media figures all weighing in to express their outrage at his lack of empathy.

Bolsonaro is no stranger to controversy. But his latest remark sparked such a fury because Brazil is facing a seemingly uncontrollable outbreak of the disease and is still several weeks away from the peak of the pandemic, with a death toll that threatens to surpass even the most dire predictions.

There have been more than 91,000 officially confirmed cases so far but scientists warn the real figure could be 15 to 20 times higher.

With a death toll that has already topped 6,300, the giant South American country is facing as grim a scenario as Italy or the United States.

“So what? I’m sorry. What do you want me to do?” Bolsonaro said on Tuesday when questioned about his country passing the 5,000-death mark, more than China. He joked that even though his middle name is Messias, or Messiah, “I don’t do miracles.”

Wilson Witzel, the governor of Rio de Janeiro state, called the president’s remarks “absolutely unacceptable.”

With his own state on the verge of a public health meltdown, Witzel slammed the president for “being ironic about the deaths” rather than “being a leader at such a moment.”

“Do your job,” he said on Twitter Wednesday, the day when the pro-gun president was training at a target range, far from the woes of Brazil’s 210 million citizens.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/the-moment-brazil-president-says-so.html

COVID-19: 4-year-old tests positive in Bauchi

Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BASPHCDA) on Saturday said that a four years old child tested positive to the novel Coronavirus in the state.

Mohammed disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi.

He also said that out of 38 repatriated Quranic Education pupils (Almajiris) from Kano state, seven confirmed positive to the virus.

“The four-year-old child that tested positive for the virus is a contact of another person who returned from Lagos.

“Also, out of the 38 repatriated Quranic Education pupils (Almajiris), seven were confirmed positive of COVID-19.

“So far, all the repatriated Almajiris that tested positive for the disease in Bauchi are from Kano state,” he said.

The PHCDA boss also told NAN that out of the 48 confirmed cases in the state, five medical personnel tested positive to the deadly disease.

He said that the state would embark on a massive contact tracing, urging residents to report anybody coming into the state from any of the high-risk states.

Mohammed said this was necessary in order to conduct a test or isolate such a person as soon as possible.

He added that most of the cases recorded in the state were returnees from either Kano, Lagos, Portharcourt and Enugu states.

“Apart from the index case, who is the governor of Bauchi state, all our cases are returnees who might have traveled to either Lagos, Portharcourt, Kano or Enugu states,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bauchi state recorded 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 48.

Six have been discharged so far with zero death recorded in the state.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/covid-19-4-year-old-tests-positive-in.html

Davido set to drop a new track "Barbz" featuring Nicki Minaj

Popular Nigerian hip-hop star, David Adeleke popularly known as Davido is set to drop a new track featuring Nicki Minaj, Titled Barbz.

Davido who is obviously one of the most hardworking artist in Africa announced this on his twitter page few hours after announcing he will be dropping a new album "A better time". LLB recalls that Davido dropped  "A good time" album just few months ago which he is still receiving recognitions for.

He is yet to disclose the release date of the track, the track is produced by one of his best producer Speroach

See his tweet below:

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/davido-set-to-drop-new-track-barbz.html

Nigeria confirms 220 new cases of coronavirus, making it 2388 in total

The NDDC  just confirmed 220 fresh cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

This has catapulted the reported cases in Nigeria 2388 cases in total as of 2nd May 2020.

62-Lagos
52-FCT

31-Kaduna
13-Sokoto
10-Kebbi
9-Yobe
6-Borno
5-Edo
5-Bauchi
4-Gombe
4-Enugu
4-Oyo
3-Zamfara
2-Nasarawa
2-Osun
2-Ebonyi
2-Kwara
2-Kano
2-Plateau

2388 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria
Discharged: 385
Deaths: 85

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/nigeria-confirms-220-new-cases-of.html

Robot helps Tunisia medics avoid infection from coronavirus patients [photo]

Medics have deployed a robot in a Tunisia’s hospital caring for coronavirus victims to limit contact between staff and infected patients, in a first for the North African country.

The tall, single-limbed machine is mounted on wheels and is capable of taking pulses and checking temperatures and blood oxygen levels.

It enables nurses, doctors and patients’ relatives to make virtual bedside visits.

“It allows a reduction in contact with the sick and therefore the risk of contaminating personnel,” said Nawel Besbes Chaouch, a doctor leading the pulmonary department at the Abderrahmane Memmi hospital in Ariana, near the capital Tunis.

A screen mounted at the top of the robot enables audiovisual communication with patients, who in turn can see and recognise the faces of those caring for them — an impossibility when medics otherwise have to use full protective gear.

A website allows families to reserve a time slot for a virtual visit, where the robot is remote-controlled into the patient’s room to allow a video conversation.

The robot was designed and made in Tunisia, by Enova, a start-up based in Sousse.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/robot-helps-tunisia-medics-avoid.html

Lockdown relaxation: BRT scraps short-distance tickets, to commute 20 passengers per bus

Primero Transport Services Ltd., operator of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Lagos, says it will only be carrying 20 commuters with face masks per bus as from Monday to contain further spread of COVID-19.

The Managing Director of the firm, Mr Fola Tinubu, told newsmen in Lagos on Saturday that the 21st person on board would be the driver.

Tinubu, however, said that the company would not issue short-distance tickets as from Monday, saying short-distance commuters that wished to use the service must be ready to pay for the longest distance tickets on their route.

The BRT boss explained that the firm had scrapped N100 and N150 tickets for short distances in the main time and asked commuters to be ready to pay for the N200, N250 or 300 tickets, depending on their routes.

“We are going to carry only 20 passengers per bus, the 21st person on the bus will be the driver starting from Monday.

“We will space them zigzaggy; we will show them how to sit. We don’t want anybody to sit next to each other. There will be no air conditioner; we are going to open the windows to allow enough ventilation.

“We will only be doing long distance; we will only be selling N200, N250 and N300 tickets. We will not be doing short distance of N100 or N150 stuff. So, anybody that wants to do short distance will have to pay for the long-distance.

“We want to concentrate on the buses on the long-distance since we can only carry 20 people. We will not sell a ticket for a short distance at all,” he told NAN.

According to him, all the passengers must wear masks and sanitise their hands before they will be allowed to board buses.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/lockdown-relaxation-brt-scraps-short.html

Schools in New York to stay closed for rest of academic year

Schools in America’s coronavirus epicentre of New York state will stay closed for the rest of the academic year, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Friday.

The decision comes as the state remains cautious about reopening over fears that getting people back to work too soon could spark a surge of infections.

“We don’t think it’s possible to (open schools)… in a way that would keep our children and students and educators safe,” Cuomo told reporters.

The confirmation came after Mayor Bill de Blasio said on April 11 that pupils would not return to New York City’s 1,700 public schools this academic year.

The Big Apple is the United States’ largest public school district, with 1.1 million students.

The city closed its public schools on March 15 as the deadly virus spread rapidly, pushing classes online and leaving families scrambling to arrange homeschooling.

Schools would normally end their final term in June. Cuomo said it was too early to rule on whether children could return for the next academic year in September.

He announced that 289 New Yorkers had died from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, pushing the state’s confirmed death toll near 19,000, as infections continue to decline.

More than 700 people were dying a day at the peak of the state’s outbreak in early-to-mid April.

Cuomo said the number of hospitalizations was dropping every day and are currently in the 900s.

“That’s still too high a number,” he said.

Several US states are starting to ease lockdown measures, including Texas on Friday, but New York’s shutdown is due to run until at least May 15.

Cuomo said he would announce a few days before that date whether he would prolong it.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/schools-in-new-york-to-stay-closed-for.html

Panic as Emir of Rano is 'critically' sick, taken to hospital

The Emir of Rano, Dr Tafida Abubakar Ila ll, one of the four emirs of the newly created emirates in Kano State, was taken to hospital yesterday, Daily Trust learnt.

It was not certain whether the illness was related to COVID-19, but a source at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) said Dr Ila ll was brought in critical condition early yesterday.

He said the emir was referred to the Nassarawa Specialist Hospital for further medical attention. “The vehicle conveying the emir to Nassarawa hospital just left the premises of AKTH, the condition of the emir was critical at the time they departed AKTH,” he said.


A traditional title holder in Rano emirate who pleaded anonymity said the emir was first rushed to AKTH but for lack of oxygen he was referred to Nassarawa hospital.

“The emir is in critical condition and from the look of things, the situation is alarming, may Allah protect us all,” he said.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/05/panic-as-emir-of-rano-is-critically.html