APR EXCLUSIVE Brief History of Coronavirus
Coronavirus: Nigeria records 14 new cases, hits 65
By Toby Prince The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 14 new cases of COVID-19. In a Twitter post on Thursday, the NCDC revealed that 12 of theses cases are in Lagos while two are in the Federal Capital Territory. This takes the number of infected persons to 65.
Coronavirus: Nigeria records 14 new cases, hits 65
TheNigerian News
All copyrights for this article are reserved to TheNigerian News
COVID-19: ‘Men are running away from us’ – Sex workers in Delta lament
Commercial sex workers in Delta State have cried out over low patronage because of the coronavirus.
Already, economic and commercial activities have been grounded in not only the state but the country at large as the deadly virus has infected about 51 people and killed the former Managing Director of the Petroleum and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Suleiman Achimugu.
Low patronage has forced hotel and shopping mall owners to place their workers on compulsory leave in Asaba, the state capital, until the tension surrounding the disease subsides.
This came as markets, schools, club houses, playgrounds and recreational centres are set to shut down across the state.
Sex workers said they were facing hard times within the metropolis as patronage has dropped for fear of having contact with unsuspecting carrier of the disease.
An Assistant Manager of one of the five-star hotels on Mariam Babangida Way in Asaba, Mr. Godwin Johnson, yesterday said the disease had put his job on the line.
A club attendant on the popular DBS Road in Asaba, who identified herself simply as Vidal, said 10 out the 22 workers at their “Rock and Roll” organisation, had been placed on standby, owing to low patronage.
She said: “Since the disease hit Nigeria through Lagos State and Abuja, and government emphasised restricted access at air and seaports, and banned mass gathering, offering of social amenities and playing of danceable music at clubs drastically dropped within Asaba metropolis. The aftermath is the job insecurity we have been plunged into.”
Vidal said sex workers had recorded low patronage since the outbreak of the disease as customers suddenly lost interest.
A proprietor of an establishment that provides accommodation, foods and drinks on DBS Road, who pleaded anonymity, was optimistic that the disease would be a blessing in disguise.
She said: “We overcame Ebola, Monkey-pox, and Lassa fever as a nation. Coronavirus will not be an exception. The spread has seriously affected nightlife. Male customers have stayed away, female counterparts are lonely. There is low patronage now.”
Mourinho wouldn’t let Spurs sell Kane to Man Utd – Ferdinand
Harry Kane is unlikely to join Manchester United because Jose Mourinho would not allow Tottenham to sell their star striker to the Red Devils, says Rio Ferdinand.
There has been growing speculation England captain Kane will be open to the idea of departing Spurs if the club do not realise his ambition of winning major trophies.
It is thought Spurs would want at least £150million for their talisman, with United having been touted as a possible destination for Kane.
But Ferdinand doubts former Red Devils boss Mourinho, now in charge at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, would allow a deal to happen.
“Would I take Harry Kane now? Of course you would,” former United centre-back Ferdinand said on Instagram Live.
“If he’s fit and he’s raring to go, you take Harry Kane at Man Utd, 100 per cent.
“Top player, you’re guaranteeing goals, in the Premier League you’re guaranteeing goals.
“This geezer scores goals but I don’t see Tottenham letting Harry Kane go.
“And with Mourinho there, I don’t see Mourinho letting him go to Man Utd.”
United are also thought to be among the clubs chasing a big-money deal for Kane’s England team-mate Jadon Sancho.
The former Manchester City forward has been a sensation for Borussia Dortmund and Ferdinand would love to see Sancho gracing the Old Trafford turf.
“I would take Sancho all day, to Man Utd,” Ferdinand said. “Whether we’ll get him, though [who knows?].
“Great player, great potential, English, he’s brilliant. I would take Sancho now.”
While Sanco is being tipped to leave Signal Iduna Park, Birmingham City’s highly sought-after teenager midfielder Jude Bellingham could be on his way to Dortmund.
United are another club said to be in the hunt for Bellingham, who turns 17 in June, and Ferdinand says while a reported price tag of £30million appears excessive, the club should take a gamble on the prodigious talent.
“Jude Bellingham, huge talent, huge talent, really good-looking footballer in the way he plays, the balance he’s got, the maturity at such a young age,” Ferdinand said.
“I want to see more but the price tag is phenomenal. £30million odd for a kid, for a 16-year-old boy, it’s unbelievable.
“But it’s the way of the world now and the way you’ve got to think about it, if you’re paying £30m, if we keep him for 10 years it’s money well spent.
“It’s a gamble, it’s an expensive gamble, but for the kid to be playing in the Championship and doing what he’s doing and looking the player he is, it’s a gamble but a calculated one.
“I think he’s someone I would 100 per cent take. If I’m Man United now, go in and get him.”
Tacha returns to Nigeria despite ban on international flights
Ex-Big Brother Naija housemate, Natacha Akide, popularly known as Tacha, has returned to Nigeria after vowing never to return to the country from the United Kingdom (UK).
The Federal Government had placed a ban on non-Nigerian travellers from some 13 countries.
Tacha, though, made this known on Instagram on Thursday when she posted a video of herself on the aircraft.
“So stressful 10hrs stop in Dubai. 8 hours to Lagos. Anyways, I’m back! Deliberating between sharing hand sanitisers, foodstuffs or just sending money,” she wrote.
Prev Post
Coronavirus: Buhari is well, not coughing – Lai Mohammed
All copyrights for this article are reserved to TheNigerian News
Fears over outbreak of coronavirus in Gaza
…Seven people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Gaza
According to health officials in the besieged Gaza Strip, at least seven people have tested positive for COVID-19 the disease caused by the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the enclave to nine.
In a statement released on Wednesday night, Gaza’s Health Ministry said the new patients had been in contact with the first two who tested positive earlier this week.
The new cases were security guards who were guarding the quarantine facility in southern Gaza, the ministry added.
The security guards “have not left and remain in the quarantine centre, and have not mixed with anyone outside the facility … near the Rafah border crossing”, local media reported the ministry as saying.
Gaza’s nearly two million residents have been urged to take precautionary measures and to practise social distancing by staying home in a bid to halt the spread of the virus.
Shadi al-Tabatibi is the grandson of Mohammed al-Tabatibi – the 79-year-old man who was one of the first two to test positive for the virus earlier this week.
Shadi al-Tabatibi told Al Jazeera he and his family members were shocked to learn that the new patients had contracted the virus from his grandfather.
“My grandfather suffers from diabetes and blood pressure … and we’re worried about the possibility of his health deteriorating,” the 26-year-old said.
His grandfather is among dozens of others who are currently in quarantine centres in the southern Gaza Strip, where many have raised concern about the lack of hygiene and medical care available.
Shadi al-Tabatibi’s grandfather has said there is not enough “equipment to deal with the disease” and “there is no appropriate medical care” in the facility, according to his grandson.
“The people here are afraid, the streets are empty … it is like the days of the war in Gaza.”
Scarce resources
The potential outbreak of the disease in the densely populated Gaza could be catastrophic, doctors and NGOs have warned.
Earlier this week, authorities shut down restaurants, cafes and reception halls. Friday prayers at mosques have also been suspended until further notice.
Rami al-Abadleh, director of the infections prevention department in Gaza’s Health Ministry, said it is likely that new cases of the virus will be detected.
“We took new samples for PCR testing, and we will expand our efforts to test 150 samples a day,” al-Abadleh said, referring to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test – the test of choice utilised to diagnose COVID-19.
“We have repeatedly called for medical devices that are needed to cover the huge shortage in the health sector,” he said, noting that the Health Ministry’s capabilities are “very limited”.
Gaza’s healthcare system is severely depleted and its war-affected residents are especially vulnerable as they have lived under an Israeli-Egyptian siege for nearly 13 years.
The air, land and sea blockade has restricted the entry of essential resources such as healthcare equipment, medication and building materials, among others.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned Gaza’s healthcare system would not be able to deal with an outbreak, given that the strip’s hospitals are overstretched and under-resourced.
“Our ventilators are hardly sufficient and would only be able to accommodate a maximum of 100 patients across the strip,” al-Abadleh said.
“Currently, there are 45 intensive care beds in all of Gaza’s public hospitals, and they are often occupied by other patients with heart and lung diseases,” al-Abadleh added. “This is why the spread of the virus in Gaza would constitute a real catastrophe.”
COVID-19: ‘Build hospital una no hear. Now you cannot go abroad again’ – Don Jazzy blasts Nigerian leaders
Ace music producer Don Jazzy has taken a swipe on Nigerian leaders amid the Coronavirus outbreak which has now affected some top Nigerian government officials like Abba Kyari, President Buhari’s Chief of Staff and Bauchi state governor, Bala Mohammed.
Don Jazzy in a tweet via his verified Twitter account said:
Purported Boko Haram Ambush is Fake News, Military Source Confirms
Contrary to claims by pro-terrorist groups, a military source has confirmed that there was no successful Boko Haram ambush of government troops with the explanation that the reported attack was on a truck loaded with bombs that exploded after it took a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) hit.
The source who declined being identified because he does not have clearance to speak on the matter revealed that over 120 Boko Haram terrorists were killed when they launched the RPG attack on the truck without knowing that it was loaded with bombs.
There have been reports that an artillery brigade was wiped out in a Boko Haram ambush on them in Goniri area in Yobe but details provided by the military source indicated that the terrorists took on more casualty than they were able to inflict on the government troops.
He disclosed that, “Our soldiers were successfully neutralizing the Boko Haram terrorists until a RPG round struck the truck carrying bombs. Even the terrorists must have regretted their choice of target because even when the unexpected explosion caused damage that wounded and killed some of our people the destruction on the part of the terrorists only got worse. They lost no less than 120 of their members in that incident.
“I am surprised to be reading the fake news that it was a successful ambush. It cannot be called successful when the enemy took that much loss,” the sourced argued.
Breaking: Abuja National Mosque locked down amid Coronavirus threats.
Following the increasing number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the country, the management of the Abuja National Mosque has suspended the five daily congregational prayers, gatherings as well as Juma’at prayers and other activities in the mosque and its environs.
This is contained in a press statement signed by the management of the Mosque.
Consequently, the open space market and restaurants attached to the mosque are also closed from Monday 23rd March till further notice.
Already The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria has risen to 35.
The figure rose after the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced on Monday that five new cases had been confirmed.
According to the health agency, this is the latest update on the disease as of 9:45am on March 23, 2020.