Nigeria Records 663 New Coronavirus Cases + Other Updates

663 more persons have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of infected people to 13464. This is officially the highest number of cases that have been recorded in a day.

4206 people have so far recovered from the virus, while 365 others have died.

According to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), 170 cases were recorded in Lagos, 108 in Ogun, 69 in Bauchi, 49 in Ebonyi, 33 in Edo, 30 in Rivers, 26 in FCT, 26 in Jigawa, 20 in Delta, 17 in Anambra, 16 in Gombe, 16 in Kano, 15 in Imo, 14 in Abia, 11 in Borno, 11 in Oyo, 8 in Plateau, 6 in Kebbi, 6 in Kaduna, 4 in Ondo, 2 in Niger, 2 in Katsina, 1 in Osun, 1 in Ekiti, 1 in Kwara and 1 in Nasarawa State.

13464 cases of #COVID19Nigeria
Discharged: 4206
Deaths: 365

A breakdown of cases by state can be found via https://t.co/A0NkMvZqE5#TakeResponsibility pic.twitter.com/toGrZ6v2AD

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) June 9, 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic Just Beginning In Nigeria – PTF

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has said the country may just be starting to experience the epidemic. The PTF lamented that Nigerians were avoiding being tested, a situation he said was responsible for the low testing ratio to the population, Punch reports.

This was made known at the House of Representatives on Monday when members of the PTF appeared before a joint committee of the House to account for the funds allocated and donated to the fight against the pandemic.

Chairman of the PTF, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, expressed uncertainties over the pandemic, urging the lawmakers to help extend the campaign to the grassroots.

He said:

I must say that the virus is still very dangerous. We have not peaked; we have to meticulously plan. There is no timeline; that is why money is not being thrown at it just because it has been released. We don’t know how long this will take us. Even the budget that the National Coordinator mentioned is for a period of six months. We do not know how long it will take us. But by the grace of God, we shall overcome.

There is no medicine or vaccine for this. The humanity is simply overwhelmed by it. Everything has been turned upside down. Today, we are all masked up. We never used to know it like this. Please, honourable members, there is a lot you can do for us; a lot of legislative actions that can be taken, looking into the future. We are dealing with it today; the next pandemic must not catch us unawares. We must prepare for it.

Germany Donates €26m to Nigeria

Germany on Monday announced the donation of €26m to support Nigeria’s COVID-19 response, Punch reports.

The German Missions in Nigeria in a statement said the donation was in demonstration of its solidarity and cooperation with Nigeria amid the pandemic. It noted that the funds would provide humanitarian assistance in the North East, especially in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

The statement read in part”

Germany continues to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa aiming to support the Nigerian Government with a view to protecting the most vulnerable groups and meeting the humanitarian needs. The German Government is providing additional financial support of €26m for humanitarian assistance in North-East Nigeria and bordering regions in Chad, Niger, and Cameroon.

The Missions explained that €8m would go to the UN World Food Programme in Nigeria, €7 to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Nigeria, €5m to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in Nigeria, €3.5 to Caritas International, and €2.5m to the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund.

WHO says the COVID-19 Situation is Worsening Worldwide

The World Health Organization said Monday that the coronavirus pandemic situation was worsening around the globe, as it warned against complacency.

According to Punch, the WHO said it had recorded its highest daily tally of new infections, with COVID-19 raging in the Americas. And as mass protests for racial justice sweep across the United States and beyond, the United Nations’ health agency urged anyone demonstrating to do so safely.

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 403,000 people out of at least seven million infected since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

After East Asia, Europe became the epicentre of the disease, but has now been overtaken by the Americas.

“Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference in Geneva.

“More than 100,000 cases have been reported on nine of the past 10 days. Yesterday, more than 136,000 cases were reported — the most in a single day so far.

He said that almost 75 percent of Sunday’s cases came from 10 countries — mostly in the Americas and South Asia.

Churches & Mosques Reopen As Kaduna Lifts Lockdown

Kaduna State has lifted the partial lockdown in the state. Governor Nasir El-Rufai made this known during a televised broadcast in the state. He also announced the reopening of worship centres in the state.

El-Rufai also directed supermarkets, hotels, providers of personal services such as hairdressing and barbing salons to reopen, Punch reports.

He said:

From tomorrow, Wednesday, 10 June 2020, the Quarantine Order is amended to permit a significant reopening of the state. The restriction of intra-state movement is lifted, subject to a night-time curfew of 8pm to 5am.

Subject to compliance with safe reopening protocols, businesses can reopen, with the provision of thermometers for temperature checks, sanitizers or handwashing equipment and physical distancing measures within all facilities. Working hours will be from 9am to 3 pm daily.

Church services are allowed only on Sundays and Mosques are allowed to conduct only Friday Jumat services, for the time being, subject to compliance with the safety stipulations in the guidelines.

Supermarkets and providers of personal services such as hairdressing and barbing salons can reopen; hotels can fully open, but with their restaurants and bars offering only room service. Restaurants may all reopen after decontamination, but are still restricted to takeaways.

Reps Beg Doctors Not To Go On Strike

The House of Representatives has asked the National Association of Resident Doctors not to go on their planned strike amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Punch, Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Tuesday in Abuja, specifically begged the doctors not to stop work in the middle of COVID -19 pandemic when he met with officials of the government and the NARD on how to address the issues that led to the planned industrial action.

At a meeting that lasted about three hours were the Minister of Health, Professor Osagie Ehanire; Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora; the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze; President, NARD, Sokomba Aliyu; and the Secretary-General, Nigeria Medical Association, Ekpe Philips, among others.

Gbajabiamila said,

As a House, we will keep taking steps to avoid strikes. This meeting will give us the opportunity to holistically address the issues at stake. Let us agree on one thing: that at this time, we can’t afford to allow our doctors go on strike. Let us agree that their welfare is a priority.

I want to appeal to the President of NARD and the association itself: my appeal is on humanitarian basis. You’re dealing with lives, so I appeal to you to suspend the strike. I’m making this appeal because of your professional calling. You’re dealing with lives. I want you to understand that government is doing its best to meet your entitlement.

The NARD had on Saturday issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government to immediately implement all the agreements it had with the association or its members would embark on an indefinite strike.

Manchester United Cancels Friendly After Player Contracts COVID-19

Manchester United were forced to cancel their friendly with Stoke City at the last minute after the Championship side had a player test positive for coronavirus.

The sides met at United’s Carrington training centre but the match was immediately abandoned without kicking a ball when an unnamed Stoke player tested positive, with United insisting none of their squad came into contact with him.

According to Punch, United had been stepping up their preparations for the return of the Premier League on June 17, with their first match back against Tottenham in 10 days time, and it appears the squad still trained after Stoke left Carrington.

Brazil Records over 32,000 Coronavirus Cases in a Day

According to CNN, Brazil recorded 32,091 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases to 739,503, according to the Brazilian Health Ministry.

This is the fourth day Brazil’s Health Ministry has recorded more than 30,000 new cases in a 24-hour period since the outbreak started.

The ministry also reported 1,272 new Covid-19 deaths Tuesday, bringing the country’s death toll from the virus to 38,406.

Brazil’s new total comes after the Pan American Health Organization said COVID-19 “continues to spread aggressively” in Brazil, Peru and Chile in a news briefing Tuesday.

The Americas have reported more than 3.3 million cases of COVID-19 as of June 8 — more than any other region in the world, according to Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization.