President Buhari Commends Muslims & Christians for Patience over COVID-19 Guidelines + Other More Updates

481 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in Nigeria on Thursday, July 30, as confirmed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

A breakdown of the new cases across states is as follows; FCT-96, Lagos-89, Plateau-68, Ogun-49, Edo-44, Rivers-43, Oyo-25, Osun-23, Delta-15, Enugu-11, Kano-7, Kaduna-7, Bauchi-2, Bayelsa-1, Yobe-1.

There are now 42,689 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country and 878 deaths has been recorded. 19,270 patients who recovered from the disease have been discharged.

A breakdown of cases by state can be found via https://t.co/zQrpNeOfet#TakeResponsibility pic.twitter.com/z9IkAkYnlm

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) July 30, 2020

************************************************

President Muhammadu Buhari has commended Nigerians for their patience and understanding over the inconveniences created by precautionary measures put in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19.

He also reiterated his call on citizens to continue to exercise patience and understanding over the inconveniences, especially the regulations on places of worship.

In his Sallah message to Muslims on Thursday, ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, the President said the outbreak of the coronavirus has made it difficult for people to gather in places of worship as they are used to, urging worshipers to abide by the guidelines for the safety of their lives, and loved ones.

He said:

I wish all Muslims a happy and fulfilling Eid El Kabir celebration. We can create the greatest impact by putting into practice the noble teachings of our religion. We must put the fear of God in our daily activities in order to make our society better.

I would like to call on Muslims and other faithful to continue to show more understanding with the government as we take steps to protect our people through social distancing and other guidelines.

The guidelines are dictated by necessity in order to safeguard public health, and should not be perceived as an infringement on people’s right to worship. These are challenging times for the entire world; COVID-19 has had a devastating adverse impact on every aspect of our lives.

The preventive guidelines we have introduced to contain the spread of the Coronavirus have unfortunately limited people’s freedom to gather & worship in large numbers in Mosques and Churches. I call for continued patience & understanding from all. We will overcome this pandemic.

Eid Mubarak!

I wish all Muslims a happy and fulfilling Eid El Kabir celebration. We can create the greatest impact by putting into practice the noble teachings of our religion. We must put the fear of God in our daily activities in order to make our society better.

— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) July 30, 2020

The guidelines are dictated by necessity in order to safeguard public health, and should not be perceived as an infringement on people's right to worship. These are challenging times for the entire world; COVID-19 has had devastating adverse impact on every aspect of our lives.

— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) July 30, 2020

Eid Mubarak!

— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) July 30, 2020

************************************************

US reports more than 67,000 new COVID-19 cases

A total of 67,619 new coronavirus cases and 1,233 deaths were recorded across the United States on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The number of confirmed cases in the US now stands at 4,494,601, including at least 152,055 virus-related fatalities. The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.

************************************************

Japan sees the highest daily increase in Covid-19 cases for the third day in a row

Japan’s Ministry of Health reported 1,305 new coronavirus cases for Thursday — the third consecutive day the country has seen new highs in daily infections since the pandemic began. The ministry also recorded two virus-related deaths for Thursday, CNN reports.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Friday morning that even though the case numbers are high, the government does not intend to enact a state of emergency.

Instead, the government would focus on preventing further infections and continue with an economic stimulus strategy to deal with the fallout from the pandemic, Suga said.

The capital city of Tokyo recorded 367 cases on Thursday. Health authorities have earlier linked the majority of cases in the city to young people who gathered in bars and restaurants. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike has asked restaurants and karaoke bars in the city to reduce their opening hours.

The southern prefecture of Fukuoka recorded 121 cases on Thursday, while Osaka confirmed 190 infections.

************************************************

China reports more than 100 new Covid-19 cases for third day in a row

China recorded 127 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the National Health Commission said on Friday morning. That marks the third consecutive day that the country has reported over 100 new infections.

Among the new cases, 123 were locally transmitted, with 112 confirmed in the far western region of Xinjiang and the rest in the northeastern province of Liaoning. The country also recorded a further 11 asymptomatic infections on Thursday.

************************************************

New restrictions issued in Northern England

The UK government on Thursday announced new restrictions in Northern England “to stop the spread of Covid-19.”

According to CNN, “This is in response to an increasing trend in the number of cases per 100,000 people in the area,” a release from the government read on Thursday.

People in the following areas will not be allowed to “mix with other households (apart from those in their support bubbles) in private homes or gardens” after data showed that “transmission among households is a key infection pathway in the area,” the government said.

The new measures apply to the areas of, Greater Manchester, Pendle, Hyndburn, Burnley, Rossendale, Blackburn and Darwen, Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees. The new rules, which also apply to the city of Leicester in the East Midlands, allow people from these neighbourhoods to still go to bars and pubs, but “two households should not go to hospitality together.”

“The spread is largely due to households meeting and not abiding by social distancing. So from midnight tonight, people from different households will not be allowed to meet each other indoors in these areas,” UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in the release.

The UK recorded its highest daily rise in Covid-19 cases in more than a month Thursday, according to data from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).