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Daily Coronavirus Updates: IMF Approves $3.4bn Emergency Support for Nigeria
Lagos COVID-19 cases rise to 844 with 80 new infections
Lagos State has recorded 80 new coronavirus infections which brings the total number of cases confirmed in the state to 844 while the total confirmed infections in the country are now 1532.
This was contained in a daily update by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Tuesday night.
195 new cases of #COVID19 reported;
80-Lagos
38-Kano
15-Ogun
15-Bauchi
11-Borno
10-Gombe
9-Sokoto
5-Edo
5-Jigawa
2-Zamfara
1-Rivers
1-Enugu
1-Delta
1-FCT
1-NasarawaAs at 11:50pm 28th April- 1532 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria.
Discharged: 255
Deaths: 44 pic.twitter.com/oPyG4xfoa3— NCDC (@NCDCgov) April 28, 2020
IMF approves $3.4bn emergency support for Nigeria
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday approved $3.4 billion in emergency financial assistance to support the Federal Government in addressing the severe economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The financial assistance, approved under the Rapid Financing Instrument, is also to enable Nigeria to address the sharp fall in oil prices. The financial support is expected to limit the decline in international reserves and provide funds for targeted and temporary spending increases aimed at containing and mitigating the impact of the pandemic.
The IMF Executive Board today approved US$3.4 billion to help #Nigeria address the severe economic impact of the #COVID19 pandemic and the sharp fall of oil prices. https://t.co/BmFoajYR6q #IMFAfrica pic.twitter.com/XIRYgS2CGC
— IMF (@IMFNews) April 28, 2020
We support #Nigeria’s efforts to limit the effect of #COVID19 and the sharp fall of oil prices. The US$3.4 billion approved by our Board is the largest IMF COVID-19 emergency financing provided to-date. It will help Nigeria free up more resources to protect lives and livelihoods. https://t.co/kc3U0uVO7J
— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) April 28, 2020
Donald Trump
President Trump promises to send ventilators to Nigeria during phone conversation with Buhari
The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, has promised to send ventilators to support Nigeria in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the information minister, Lai Mohammed, has disclosed.
He said Trump also assured that the United States stands in solidarity with Nigeria in this difficult time. Speaking at the daily Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday, Lai Mohammed said Trump made these promises on Tuesday in a phone conversation with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The phone conversation which was said to be at the request of President Trump centered on Nigeria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENTS BUHARI, TRUMP IN PHONE CONVERSATION
President Buhari Tuesday afternoon received a telephone call from American President, Donald Trump, during which the two leaders commiserated with each other on fatalities in their countries, …
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) April 28, 2020
… caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
They also shared ideas on how to successfully combat the health emergency.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) April 28, 2020
President Buhari expressed condolences to the government and people of the United States over the fatalities recorded, and equally expressed worry at the high rate of deaths recorded across the world.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) April 28, 2020
The associated negative impacts of the pandemic on the world’s economy also came up for discussion.
President Buhari lauded President Trump for the various initiatives adopted by his government to contain the further spread of the virus across the United States.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) April 28, 2020
He indicated Nigeria’s readiness to cooperate with the United States to fight this common unseen enemy.
President Buhari informed that Nigeria had taken a number of proactive measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 across the country.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) April 28, 2020
The President welcomed the valuable friendship and expressed appreciation to President Trump for reaching out at this time. //
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) April 28, 2020
Germany donates an additional €5.5m to Nigeria
In a new development, Germany has announced another financial intervention to assist Nigeria in its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The German mission in Nigeria announced that it is providing €5.5 million this time to support vulnerable people in Nigeria’s North-Eastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe. Recall that some weeks ago, the European country donated the same amount to Nigeria to aid the fight against COVID-19.
Read more on the specific German support to #Nigeria and #ECOWAS in fighting the effects of #COVID-19 below and on Facebook @GermanMissionsNigeria pic.twitter.com/BOLzzFg32I
— Germany in Nigeria (@GERinNigeria) April 28, 2020
US coronavirus cases surpass 1 million
The US became the first country to surpass 1 million reported coronavirus cases Tuesday, just three months after the first case was detected stateside, the latest data shows.
The grim tally stateside accounted for nearly one-third of the 3 million cases that have been recorded across the globe, according to a real-time tracker from John Hopkins University. More than 57,000 Americans have been killed by the virus throughout the country, which leads the world with the highest reported death toll from the pandemic, according to the latest figures.
Reacting to the figures, President Trump said the only reason the US has the highest confirmed cases is that the testing is better than any other country in the world.
The only reason the U.S. has reported one million cases of CoronaVirus is that our Testing is sooo much better than any other country in the World. Other countries are way behind us in Testing, and therefore show far fewer cases!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 29, 2020
Spain Aims for End-June Return to Normality, to Phase Out Coronavirus Lockdown
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday a four-phase plan to lift the lockdown enforced on the nation to control one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the coronavirus with an aim to return to normality by the end of June.
According to BBC, the lifting of the strict measures will begin on May 4 and vary from region to region depending on factors such as how the rate of infection evolves, the number of intensive care beds available locally, and how regions comply with distancing rules.
Malawi organizes emergency cash transfer program for citizens
Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika has announced an emergency cash transfer program for the people worst affected by Covid-19. Eligible households will receive a monthly payment of 35,000 Malawian Kwacha ($47; £38) through mobile cash transfer starting in May.
The announcement came after the High Court in Malawi extended an order preventing the government from implementing a three-week lockdown, BBC reports. Human rights groups had complained that there was no safety net for the poorest people whose livelihoods would be affected.
The cash transfer program will target just under one million people and small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic, President Mutharika said on Tuesday.
13 doctors test positive for COVID-19 in Ghana
At least 13 doctors have tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ghana, an official of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) said on Tuesday.
According to Punch, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GMA, Paa Baidoo, disclosed this to the media in Accra. Baidoo blamed the development on the poor distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to health facilities across the country in the fight against COVID-19.
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