Television Nigerian

Athletes already qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will need to be picked again by their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to compete at the postponed Games in 2021.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced this on Thursday.

The IOC and Japanese government had succumbed to intense pressure from athletes and sports bodies around the world last week by agreeing to postpone the Games by a year to 2021.

READ ALSO:Jigawa gov, Badaru, urges fervent prayers against spread of coronavirus

This was because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some 57 percent of the expected 11,000 athletes had already qualified for the Tokyo Games this year before qualification tournaments were scrapped as the virus spread in recent months.

Those athletes, the IOC said, would keep their qualification, but they have to be re-selected for next year by their NOCs again as they represented a country and not themselves.

“All of the qualifications that have been achieved by NOCs and individual athletes remain in place.

“Any athlete needs to be individually selected because they represent their NOC. In all sports, the NOC retains the right to select the athletes,” IOC sports director, Kit McConnell, said during a conference call.

McConnell said the IOC was also in talks with world football governing body FIFA.

He said this was to decide on the tournament next year, as only players aged under 23 are allowed to compete apart from a limited number of over-age players per team.

In many cases, several footballers will be above the age limit next year despite having qualified this year.

In several sports, there are specific age regulations, minimum or maximum, for health safety or to provide an age group as in men’s football with under-23.”

“We are in discussions with FIFA… We have to finalise that in the coming weeks.”

The IOC is also making efforts to make the athletes’ village available again after it was planned to be sold off as apartments after this year’s Games.

“The village is part of the priority.

“The village is the home away from home, a fantastic development. It is one of the very first tasks to re-secure this fantastic property.

“Yes, it is absolutely on that urgency list,” the IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director Christopher Dubi said.

Dubi said those priority venues, including the dozens of sports venues, convention sites and thousands of hotel rooms, would need to be re-secured quickly.

“All of this has to be re-secured for one year later. It is a massive undertaking to get back to fundamentals,” he said.


Dubi added that the IOC planned to have finalised talks for those “priority” locations in a matter of weeks.

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The Nigerian Private Sectors under the umbrella body of the Coalition Against Coronavirus (CACOVID), on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, confirmed their joint efforts to fight the virus and minimise its negative socio-economic consequences.  The initiative is led by industry giants, such as Access Bank Group, Dangote Aliko Dangote Group, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, MTN, KPMG and many others.

According to a statement released earlier by the group, it’s mission and objectives were born out of its collective desire to protect and preserve humanity and to fight the spread of coronavirus in Nigeria. These will be achieved by raising public awareness, supporting healthcare professionals, institutions and governments, and by mobilizing private-sector leadership and resources. Also, as part of the measures they’ve put in place to flatten the curve, CACOVID will continue to build fully-equipped medical tents as testing, isolation, treatment and training centres. These centres are equipped with medical equipment, supplies and trained personnel to support sick patients. Work has since commenced in ensuring the facilities are completed in time to serve the growing need of the population during this critical period.

Also read: COVID-19: Carry us along, Nurses urge Edo government

In addition to the safety measures they have put in place, they are also extending support to complement the Nigerian government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19. They have created CACOVID, tasked with the responsibility of mobilizing the private sector through leadership and resources, creating public awareness, and directing support to private and public healthcare institutions. They are pulling together resources across industries to provide technical and operational support while providing funding and building advocacy through aggressive awareness drives.

As widely reported, the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading like a wild-fire worldwide. However, with the commitment and efforts from the Nigerian Private Sectors alongside the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and our individual co-operation to stay at home and observe all the necessary prevention measures, the end might just be near for COVID-19.

To play your part in the support of this worthy cause, please contact CACOVID via phone on 09045531044 or email at supportcacovid@actrustfoundation.org and also follow on Twitter, Instagram and  Facebook for daily updates.

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…Recalls suspended council boss

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike

By Egufe Yafugborhi – Port Harcourt

Governor Nyesom Wike has lifted the curfew he imposed on parts of Port Harcourt metropolis in sustained Rivers state’s aggressive measures to check the spread of coronavirus in the state.

Wike had 30 March imposed the 24hr curfew from Education Bus Stop to Agip Junction along Ikwerre Road and Obiri Ikwerre Junction to Ozuoba, Rumualogu and Choba localities of Port Harcourt metropolis in anger over perceived residents’ violation of his order on closure of markets.

The Governor in a Thursday evening broadcast said the lifting of the curfew takes effect on Friday, April 3, 2020, following widespread residents outcry on alleged abuses and brutality on perceived defaulters by security operatives including court arraignment and remand in correctional center of over 200 suspected violators.

ALSO READ: COVID-19: Wike imposes selective curfew in Rivers

Wike also lifted the suspension of Solomon Eke, Chairman Obio/Akpor Local Government Area along with his deputy whose locality much of the defaulting residents’ were found.

He said the recall of Eke should, however, “Serve as a warning to Local Government Chairmen and Traditional Rulers who will allow markets to be open in their areas.”

He further said, “All borders and markets in the state remain closed. Residents of Mgbuosimini-Rumueme in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area are hereby warned to desist from flouting Government directive on closure of markets or be prepared to face unpleasant consequences.”

“Commercial vehicle operators will soon get appropriate directives on their operations in order to maintain social distancing”

On widespread calls for palliative over the pandemic, he said, “Implementation of palliatives to cushion the effect of recent directives on the citizens will soon take effect. International Oil Companies operating in the state should support government by donating towards containment of the virus.”

To Rivers’ populace, he said, “The sacrifices we are all making have greatly helped us not to record any positive case since the index case was reported. As we continue to put in our best as humanly possible, we expect Almighty God will intervene and wipe away this plague from our midst.”

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* Recalls suspended council boss

Wike

By Egufe Yafugborhi

PORT HARCOURT – GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike has lifted the punitive curfew he imposed on parts of Port Harcourt metropolis in sustained Rivers state’s aggressive measures to check spread of Coronavirus in the state.

Wike had on 30 March imposed the 24hr curfew from Education Bus Stop to Agip Junction along Ikwerre Road and Obiri Ikwerre Junction to Ozuoba, Rumualogu and Choba localities of Port Harcourt metropolis in anger over perceived residents’ violation of his order on closure of markets.

The Governor in a Thursday evening broadcast said the lifting or the curfew takes effect on Friday, April 3, 2020, following widespread residents outcry on alleged abuses and brutality on perceived defaulters by security operatives including court arraignment and remand in correctional center of over 200 suspected violators.

Wike also lifted the suspension of Solomon Eke, Chairman Obio/Akpor Local Government Area along with his deputy whose locality much of the defaulting residents’ were found.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Wike imposes 24hrs curfew in identified areas

He said the recall of Eke should however, “Serve as a warning to Local Government Chairmen and Traditional Rulers who will allow markets to be open in their areas.”

He further said, “All Borders and Markets in the state remain closed. Residents of Mgbuosimini-Rumueme in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area are hereby warned to desist from flouting Government directive on closure of markets or be prepared to face unpleasant consequences.”

“Commercial vehicle operators will soon get appropriate directives on their operations in order to maintain social distancing”

On widespread calls for palliative over the pandemic, he said, “Implementation of palliatives to cushion the effect of recent directives on the citizens will soon take effect. International Oil Companies operating in the state should support government by donating towards containment of the virus.”

To Rivers populace, he said, “The sacrifices we are all making have greatly helped us not to record any positive case since the index case was reported. As we continue to put in our best as humanly possible, we expect Almighty God will intervene and wipe away this plague from our midst.”

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Jigawa State Governor, Muhammad Abubakar Badaru

Gov. Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa, on Thursday urged residents to pray fervently against the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) to the state.

Badaru made the call after inspecting the state’s Isolation Centre in Dutse.

He also urged residents to comply with experts’ and government’s directives on what they should do in order not to contract the disease.

The governor said that prayers and compliance with experts’ directives would go a long way toward preventing the spread of the virus to the state.

“Even though Jigawa has zero status of the virus, there is the need for all of us to pray to Allah to prevent the outbreak of the disease in the state.

ALSO READ: Jigawa: Gov Badaru presents N152.92bn budget estimate for 2020

“For this, we call on everyone to fervently pray for the virus not to get to the state,” the governor said.

According to him, the state government is doing its best to prevent an outbreak in the state by taking precautionary measures.

Badaru said that some of the measures were the provision of a well-equipped 20-bed-capacity isolation centre with trained manpower and the setting up of a task force on COVID-19.

Another measure, he said, was the inauguration of local implementation committees in  the 27 local government areas of the state to implement the decisions of the task force at the grassroots.

“Also, disinfecting contact areas and scaling up public awareness, limiting public gatherings, border closure, and suspension of weekly markets are parts of the measures.

“These measures were taken in order to protect the public and to prevent the spread of the disease,” he said.

The governor further urged residents to exercise patience, assuring them that all the measures would be lifted once the situation improved.

“The measures were not taken to inconvenience people but to protect (them).

“So, we urge you to exercise more patience, as all these measure are temporary and will be lifted as soon as the situation improves,” the governor said.

According to him, in case of the outbreak of the virus in the state, the government will provide more isolation centres, as well as convert some of its properties to isolation centres.

He said the centres (10-bed-capacity), could be sited in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area and at the 20-bed-capacity Rasheed Shekoni Specialist Hospital in Dutse.

“And if we become overwhelmed with the situation, we will convert Three Star Hotel in Dutse and the NYSC Camp to isolation centres (120-bed-capacity each),” he said.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor later inspected some of the proposed isolation centres.

[NAN]

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*Cases rise to 6,940; death 278; recoveries 567

*Malawi records 3 cases

AFRICA

By Clifford Ndujihe

With Malawi hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, on Thursday, only four of the 55 countries and sovereign states of Africa are still safe from the spreading scourge.

The coronavirus-free African states are South Sudan, Comoros Island, Lesotho, Sao Tome & Principe.

ALSO READ: Zimbabwe, Lesotho begin three weeks COVID-19 lockdown

Malawi recorded three cases, on Thursday, as the number of cases in Africa struck 6,940 with 278 deaths and 567 recoveries as of 8.30p.m.

The most affected countries in Africa are South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.

As of 8.45p.m., the global death toll was 1,000,959 with 51,375 deaths and 210,244 recoveries.

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