WHO sending team to China to Better Understand the Virus + more COVID-19 updates

Coronavirus cases exceed 25,000 as Nigeria records 566 more cases

Coronavirus cases in Nigeria have risen to 25,133 following the announcement of 566 new cases on Monday. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the new cases were confirmed in 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Out of the 566 new cases, 166 were recorded in Lagos, 66 in Oyo, 53 in Delta, 43 in Ebonyi, 34 in Plateau, 32 in Ondo, 26 in FCT, 25 in Ogun, 24 in Edo, 15 in Imo, 13 in Bayelsa, 12 in Benue, 11 in Gombe, 11 in Kano, 11 in Kaduna, 8 in Osun, 7 in Nasarawa, 5 in Borno, 2 in Katsina and 2 in Anambra State.

In total, Nigeria has now discharged 9,402 patients from various isolation centres across the country, while 573 deaths have been recorded.

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

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) June 29, 2020

Wike orders compulsory COVID-19 tests for Government house staff

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Monday, ordered compulsory COVID-19 tests for all staff of the Rivers State Government House.

According to a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, the governor insisted that more testing be done to reveal more cases that were yet symptomatic to enable the government promptly provide the medical attention needed by such individuals in the state, The Punch reports.

He said,

“The more we test, the more the numbers will increase and we are willing to continue to test. Let our people know that this is not the kind of sickness to be ashamed of, nobody knows who you have shaken hands with. I’m sure in Rivers State, we have lost not less than 38 lives on the record. Nobody will be happy that each day you wake up, you hear that somebody, probably a breadwinner of the family, is no longer there because of COVID-19 pandemic.In fact, I have given a directive that all staff of government House must go for testing. Nobody knows who is a carrier and we must save everybody as much as we can.”

WHO sends team to China next week

The World Health Organization is sending a team to China to better understand how the novel coronavirus started, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a briefing on Monday, The Punch reports.

The UN health agency lamented the “very tragic” milestones of 500,000 deaths and 10 million confirmed infections being reached, just as it marks on Tuesday six months since it was first informed of the outbreak in Wuhan.

“Knowing the source of the virus is very, very important, We can find the virus better when we know everything about the virus, including how it started. We will be sending a team next week to China to prepare for that,” Tedros said.

Tedros said he hopes the visit will lead to “understanding how the virus started and what we can do for the future to prepare.”

Tedros said the team will head to China next week.

Senegal to lift curfew

According to The Punch, Senegal president, Macky Sall, announced Monday that the country’s state of emergency and curfew, imposed as a result of the coronavirus, will be lifted on Tuesday and international flights will resume from next month.

In a televised speech, Sall pointed to the economic fallout of the pandemic, saying that growth in the impoverished country would slow “from to 6.8 percent to 1.1 percent or even less”.

The President said,  “All our productive activity must be resumed in order to get our economy going again. Just as we cannot let the virus take our lives and our health, we cannot let it take our economic health and life, given this double necessity, I have decided to lift the state of emergency and the curfew” starting from 2300 GMT on Tuesday.

Senegal will reopen its borders to international air travel from July 15, but its land and sea borders will remain closed.

Face masks will remain mandatory in public and markets will be closed for one day per week for cleaning.

The restrictions were imposed when the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the country on March 2, but some measures have already been eased in recent weeks.

Senegal has officially declared 6,698 cases of coronavirus so far and 108 deaths, but the disease appears to be spreading and recent media reports have suggested that medical centres are reaching their capacity limits.

Mexico records over 220,000 Coronavirus cases

Mexico reported 3,805 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total number of infections to 220,657, CNN reports.

The Mexican health ministry also reported 473 new deaths, bringing the country’s coronavirus-related death toll to 27,121.

Mexico City began a gradual reopening process Monday. Sports clubs and outdoor physical activities, the use of domestic workers and retail are among the activities now permitted.