Covid-19 – Page 6

COVID-19: Plateau State To Get Testing Centre

Published on March 30, 2020 by faveguyLeave a comment

In continuation of efforts to contain the COVID-19 disease and ensure it does not spread in Plateau State, Governor Simon Lalong has disclosed plans are almost concluded to get a centre for the test of disease in the State rather than travel elsewhere for the test.

The Governor who met in Jos with critical stakeholders to fashion ways of mitigate the impacts of the pandemic noted that drastic measures are needed to contain the disease.

It would be recalled that last week Thursday, residents of Gangare community of Jos North local government area drew the attention of the Management Committee Chairman of the Area, Shehu Usman to a suspected case involving one Hassan Saleh, an ally of the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed but the test result returned negative.

Both the State Government and the Council Chairman are appealing to citizens not to panic but continue to adhere to the directives on safety measures as so far, there is no confirmed case in the State.

Governor Lalong who chairs the State COVID-19 Emergency Response Task Force, explained that the meeting became necessary so as to carry everyone along in the fight against the disease stressing, “We are dealing with an abnormal situation and so we need to take drastic measures in order to protect the lives of the citizens. We have already put in place various measures to ensure that the disease does not come into Plateau.

Thankfully, there is no recorded case yet and we pray that it remains so. However, we must work hard to keep things this way.”

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nimkong Lar briefed the stakeholders on the effectiveness of the preventive measures already taken such as contact tracing, closure of markets, monitoring and checks at entry points to the State, as well as public enlightenment, adding the people of the State are being sensitized and are cooperating with measures put in place.

He explained that the old site of the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH has been earmarked as an isolation centre while the State is purchasing more ventilators, drugs and other essentials that are needed.

Chairman of the Plateau State Economic Team Mr. Ezekiel Gomos also briefed the stakeholders where he said the revenue of the State has been hugely impacted and will make execution of programmes and projects very difficult.

This he said necessitated the recommendation of the Economic Team that the 2020 budget be cut by 40 percent while all non essential expenditure be equally reduced drastically. Some of the measures already announced by the Governor in his statewide broadcast according to him are in line with the recommendations of the Committee.

However, Jos North Chair, Shehu Usman has engaged religious leaders in the Area to enable them sensitized the citizens on the need to give absolute cooperation in the fight against the disease.

He told Vanguard that, “Religious leaders are involved in this fight to ensure their followers adhere strictly to the directives of government because they are advice from professionals to see how we can contain the disease.”

He frowned at religious leaders who are misleading the people saying, “There is this issue about belief in religion but we want people to know that coronavirus is not an issue of religion, it is something that is all over the world. We should all pray, commit this thing to God and obey the directives given. Religious leaders should collaborate with government so that we can all come out of this collectively.”

COVID-19: Coronavirus Hits NYPD, 3 Officers Dead, 868 Infected

Published on March 30, 2020 by faveguyLeave a comment

The coronavirus pandemic is taking its toll on the New York Police Department (NYPD), according to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Dermot Shea.

Shea told newsmen that the virus had claimed the lives of three officers and infected 868 others, including 88 civilian staff members who have been quarantined.

He disclosed that 4,342 uniformed officers, representing 13 per cent of the force, had called out sick as of Sunday.

He stated that the number of infected officers was projected to rise to 900 by the end of Monday.

New York is the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States where the disease has infected no fewer than 141,000 persons and killed 2,300 others.

According to data compiled by the New York Times, the state had no fewer than 59,568 cases and 965 deaths as of Monday morning.

The three NYPD members killed by the virus include a 23-year veteran identified as Detective Cedric Dixon, who died on Saturday morning.
A police plaza custodian and an administrative aide died within a 24-hour period, according to local media.

Shea said although the number of officers falling sick continued to grow, some of those infected had light effects and were “nearly ready to return to work”.

Meanwhile, officers continue to visit restaurants, bars, supermarkets, salons and public spaces to remind individuals of the ban on congregating in public spaces, according to AM New York.

The newspaper quoted unidentified police officials as saying officers had visited 2,620 supermarkets of which 1,284 were closed for business.
Police also checked on 7,200 bars and restaurants of which 4,814 were closed for business.

Officers also visited 1,264 public places of which 761 were closed, it reported.

Other places visited were 3,140 personal care facilities, including nail

COVID-19: APC Govs Forum To PDP- “Don’t Politicize FG’s Containment Measures”

Published on March 30, 2020 by faveguyLeave a comment

ABUJA: Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum PGF, Salihu Moh. Lukman has slammed the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP for attempting to politicize the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to lock down the nation’s capital, Abuja as well as Lagos and Ogun states for two weeks as part of emergency control measures against the Covid-19.

The President had in a nationwide broadcast on Sunday evening announced that the Federal Capital Territory and the two states would be completely shut down to allow health personnel to effectively contain the deadly Covid-19.

However, the PDP had immediately berated the president, describing his address as empty and manifestly lacking in content especially with regards to proffering new solutions different from what the states are already doing.

He said; “President Muhammadu Buhari, while addressing Nigerians on the Covid-19 pandemic on Sunday, March 29, 2020, declared: ‘As individuals, we remain the greatest weapon to fight this pandemic.’

Interestingly, immediately following the address, on the same day, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiya described the President’s speech as ’empty and failed to address the salient demands of the impact of the scourge (of Covid-19) on the nation.’

“The statement of the PDP was complimented, perhaps inadvertently, by another statement from a private lawyer, Mr. Ebun-olu Adegboruwa SAN who condemned some of the measures announced by the President, which include restriction of movements in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun as illegal, arguing that the President ‘has not invoked his powers under the Constitution to declare any state of emergency, which must be approved by the National Assembly.’

“These responses completely ignore the gravity of the challenges and imagine that the problems can be reduced to politics and legal arguments. They all miss the point, very conveniently, that the world, including Nigeria, is fighting a war that is a threat to human life in a manner that the world has never experienced before. It is an unconventional challenge such that the enemy, Covid-19, doesn’t respect politics, legality or recurse to any form of interest. It was in fact in recognition of this that the President declared that we are all as individuals the ‘greatest weapon to fight’ the war.

“After all the hue and cry, before the President’s broadcast, lamenting the slow responses from the government in taking measures to protect citizens against the spread of the virus in the country, one would have expected some attempts to direct attention in the country to strengthen the capacity of the government to succeed in containing the spread of the virus. Or could PDP be arguing that there are other more effective measures to contain the spread of the virus, which the President has failed to take? Or could Mr. Adegboruwa be implying that there are legal provisions that could be invoked that would ensure containment of the spread of the virus while at the same time respecting the rights of citizens to move freely?

“We deceive ourselves to imagine that some of us are free from the virus, on account of which we could be tempted to politicise the problem or indulge in legal arguments. Besides, one will be tempted to ask what legal process did we invoke either as pro-democracy activists or as unionists when we declared sit-at-home under Campaign for Democracy (CD) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in 1993, 2000 and all the cases of our protest campaigns against the military and increases in petroleum prices? If the law gives us the right to protest, did we follow the processes provided under the law to prosecute all our sit-at-home campaigns? Mr. Adegboruwa, being an active participant and leader in some of those campaigns may want to humbly reflect on some of those realities and candidly reassess his position about the so-called legal requirement for restriction of movement in Abuja, Lagos, and Abeokuta.

“As for PDP, we can argue with some confidence that the position of Mr. Ologbondiya is not shared by the PDP leadership especially Alh. Atiku Abubakar and PDP Governors. This is because of Alh. Abubakar has already demonstrated his commitment to support the Federal Government to win the fight against Covid-19 for which he has already contributed N50 million. In the same vein, PDP Governors are working in partnership with the Federal Government and all Governors in the country, irrespective of party affiliations to role out uniform initiatives in all our states under the coordination of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). Without any hesitation, it could be argued that PDP Governors are not playing politics with the challenge of fighting Covid-19 in the country. We are all very encouraged for the inspiring leadership of Alh. Atiku Abubakar and PDP Governors for rising to the national challenge of teaming up with all Nigerians irrespective of party lines”, he added.

COVID-19: Wole Soyinka- “Buhari’s Lockdown Of States Is A Political Virus”

Published on March 30, 2020 by faveguyLeave a comment

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has described movement restriction imposed on two states of the federation by President Muhammadu Buhari as “unconstitutional and a political virus for the future.”

Soyinka said this in a statement issued on Monday and titled: “Between COVID-19 and constitutional encroachment.”

The statement, which he signed off as “Wole Soyinka from Self-Quarantine, ” read: “Constitutional lawyers and our elected representatives should kindly step into this and educate us, mere lay minds. The worst development I can conceive of us is to have a situation where rational measures for the containment of the coronavirus pandemic are rejected on account of their questionable genesis.

“This is a time for unity of purpose, not nitpicking dissensions. So, before this becomes a habit, a question: does President Buhari have the powers to close down state borders? We want clear answers.

“We are not in a war emergency. Appropriately focussed on measures for the saving lives, and committed to making sacrifices for the preservation of our communities, we should nonetheless remain alert to any encroachment on constitutionally demarcated powers.

“We need to exercise collective vigilance, and not compromise the future by submitting to interventions that are not backed by law and constitution.

“A President who has been conspicuously AWOL, the Rip van Winkle of Nigerian history, is now alleged to have woken up after a prolonged siesta, and begun to issue orders.

“Who actually instigates these orders anyway? From where do they really emerge? What happens when the orders conflict with state measures, the product of a systematic containment strategy – `including even trial-and-error and hiccups – undertaken without let or leave of the centre.

“So far, the anti-COVID-19 measures have proceeded along the rails of decentralised thinking, multilateral collaboration and technical exchanges between states.

“The centre is obviously part of the entire process, and one expects this to be the norm, even without the epidemic’s frontal assault on the Presidency itself.

“Indeed, the Centre is expected to drive the overall effort, but in collaboration, with extraordinary budgeting and refurbishing of facilities. The universal imperative and urgency of this affliction should not become an opportunistic launch pad for a sneak recentralisation no matter how seemingly insignificant its appearance.

“I urge governors and legislators to be especially watchful. No epidemic is ever cured with constitutional piracy. It only lays down new political viruses for the future.”

President Buhari had on Sunday directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja for an initial period of 14 days in a bid to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

COVID-19: Banks, ATMs Will Be Functioning During Lockdown- Minister Of Finance

Published on March 30, 2020 by faveguyLeave a comment

The Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, on Monday, stated that President Muhammadu Buhari has allowed skeletal operations in the financial system and money markets during the lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun.

In a statement on Monday titled, “Notice to affected stakeholders and general public regarding COVID-19 and restrictions in movement of persons”, bankers are expected to be handed new directives.

The minister said in light of the devastating effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on many countries around the world, President Muhammadu Buhari is highly applauded and appreciated for the appropriate and proactive restrictions in personal and vehicular movements.

According to her, these restrictions are critical to significantly reduce the transmission rate of the disease and make it easier for health professional to trace, test and isolate patients.

“To ensure that Nigerians can still perform online transactions and use of ATMs whilst observing these restrictions, we will like to inform the general public and all affected stakeholders that we have obtained exemptions from the President to allow very skeletal operations in the financial system and money markets in order to keep the system in light operations during the time.

“To this end, all relevant staff of affected outfits and agencies should look out for further instructions from their immediate bosses.

“We are mindful of the difficulties these restrictions would bring on ordinary Nigerians and are grateful to the President for approving these exemptions, which should help ease some of these burdens. We urge all Nigerians to be patient, cooperative and united as all hands are on deck to defeat this virus.