By Abujah Racheal

The Ministry of Finance has released N10 billion to support domestic vaccines production to tackle COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, made the disclosure at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) COVID-19 briefing on Monday in Abuja.
Ehanire said: “The Ministry of Finance has released N10 billion to support domestic vaccine production.

“While we are working to develop our own vaccines, Nigeria is exploring options for licensed production, in collaboration with recognised institutions. We are also exploring the option of local production of the vaccines in the country.”

He urged Nigerians to ignore claims by some people that they had COVID-19 vaccines for sale in the country.

“I advise all citizens to disregard these claims, as they are criminal. There are procedures for vaccine acquisition and use, which include appropriate regulations and certification by National Agency for Food and Drug and Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

“I advise against fake vaccines, as there is no one approved for use in the country. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) is the only authorised vaccine administrator in Nigeria,” he said.

Ehanire stated that the number of new COVID-19 cases had continued to rise in the country, such that 10,300 confirmed cases were reported from just 50,750 samples tested in one week, translating into 20 percent positivity rate.

“It means one out of every five persons tested in the last one week turned out positive, compared with the previous week which recorded a positivity rate of 14 percent.

“Nigeria’s total number of confirmed cases is 110,387 out of a total of 1,172,234 samples tested, with a cumulative positivity rate of 9.4 percent. 1,444 cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, with sadly 77 deaths in the past week and total fatality of 1,435.

“It is instructive of the second wave that all cases recorded so far this January is more than 20 percent of all confirmed cases in Nigeria, more than the whole of December, barely halfway through the month.

“There is no doubting the fact that we are deeply into the second wave of the pandemic which requires that PTF and FMoH review our strategies to respond to the challenge.

“The federal ministry of health has outlined three approaches to confront the pandemic. These are: infection mitigation, therapeutics and vaccines,” he said.

Ehanire reiterated that reducing infection rate for COVID-19 remained the easiest and cheapest objective of the government.

According to him, government’s main effort is to ensure social mobilisation for testing, strengthening surveillance activities for early detection, active contact tracing, isolation and treatment.

He, however, added that implementation of critical non-pharmaceutical measures required the cooperation of the public.

“This includes much more adherence to wearing masks, social distancing, use of sanitiser, etc. than we are seeing today. Of special concern are the so-called “super spreader activities” that involve congregational settings, which must be reduced, restricted or prohibited in the interest of the common good.

“With regards to therapeutics, we must strive to reduce mortality from this disease by ensuring adequate stock of supplies and strengthening our case management capacity.

“In this regard, the ministry of health is working to expand oxygen availability across the country to address shortages, which have been a challenge globally, and also to review the value of various pharmaceuticals and protocols proposed for COVID-19 treatment.

“Clinicians are also urged to work out guidelines for participating in clinical studies,” the minister said. (NAN)

By Abujah Racheal

The Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) on Monday called on the private-owned laboratories in Nigeria to support the country’s testing capacity for the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The NCDC Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, made the call  at the Presidential Tasks Force (PTF) on COVID-19 national briefing in Abuja.

Ihekweazu said Nigeria, unlike other countries, places more burdens on the public laboratories.

He said: “From January 2020 to January 2021, we have activated 112 laboratories with the capacity to test for COVID-19 in the country.

“Seventy-four are public sector laboratories, 33 for private of which Lagos alone has 18 laboratories; Abuja has nine and five in other states, while the rest are corporate laboratories, serving the community around them.

“Unfortunately, we have not fully optimised the capacity of the private laboratories yet.

“If you look at South Africa, 60 per cent of all the tests done are from the private laboratories.

“In Nigeria, 30 per cent of the over one million tests that had been done is by the private sector. The public sector still bears the burden of being tested.”

Ihekweazu said that the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and the need for testing provides an opportunity for the private sector to get more involved.

He said a framework had been developed for the private sector participation.

The NCDC director-general promised to send a team of supporters for the activation of private laboratory in any part of the country.

He said that in spite of the drive for vaccines in the country, testing remain relevant even, in times to come.

On schools resumption, the NCDC director-general urged both the parents and teachers to take collective responsibility in ensuring compliance to safety protocols.

He also said that the agency had published a new guidance for State Governments, public and private institutions on the use of approved Antigen (Ag) based Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) for Coronavirus disease.

“In September 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) of two Ag RDTs, manufactured by SD Biosensor and Abbott for COVID-19 testing.

“Following this, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, in collaboration with other stakeholders, carried out a national validation of these RDTs.

“The validation, which was carried out during the screening held at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps, showed that the RDTs meet minimal standards for sensitivity and specificity of COVID 19 diagnostic tests.

“As more Ag RDTs gain EUA from WHO, we will consider their use in Nigeria.

“This new guidance published by NCDC is to guide the use of RDTs in Nigeria. We are recommending its use, primarily in congregate settings.

“These include settings such as schools, hospitals for the testing of patients with symptoms of COVID-19 presenting in hospital triage areas and periodic testing of health care workers, as well as prisons, among others.

“While RDTs provide a faster turnaround time compared to the molecular Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method, there are limitations with this test.

“For example, the currently available Ag-RDTs have a lower sensitivity compared to PCR tests.

“The test can, therefore, present false negative results in people who have been infected with the virus.

“This is why the molecular PCR method remains the gold standard for testing.

“An algorithm has been included in the guidance to ensure that cases such as this are not missed,” he explained.

The NCDC boss said the agency was introducing the use of these rapid antigen tests to contribute to Nigeria’s overall COVID-19 testing capacity.

He said: “The Ag-RDTs provide significant advantages over other available testing methods, especially in terms of shorter turnaround times and reduced costs.

“The correct use of Ag-RDTs will also enable the Government of Nigeria to increase the pace of testing, tracing and providing care for people with COVID-19.

“The Ag-RDTs developed by Abbott and SD Biosensor are highly portable and easy to administer.

“However, infection prevention and control measures must be adhered to by trained health workers administering the test.

“Further information on this is contained in the guidance published by NCDC.

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, NCDC has continued to lead Nigeria’s public health response activities.

“As part of this, the agency has been leading the expansion of testing capacity across the country. Till date, 112 public and private testing laboratories have been activated across all states and the Federal Capital Territory,” he said. (NAN)

By Abujah Racheal
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 1,444 new cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country

The NCDC disclosed this on its official website late on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country has tested 1,154,138 people since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was recorded on Feb. 27, 2020.

According to the public health agency, the new infections has taken the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 110,387, which includes 89,317 discharged cases and 1,435 deaths.

The agency said the 1,444 new cases were registered from 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the past 24 hours.

The health agency reported 15 COVID-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours.

According to it, Lagos, Plateau, and Kaduna recorded the highest number of COVID-19 infections on Sunday, with 901, 136, and 57 cases respectively.

Other states with new cases were, FCT-54, Ebonyi-53, Akwa Ibom-52, Nasarawa-32, Osun-29, Ogun-28, Imo-16, Oyo-16, Edo-15, Kano-14, Rivers-10, Ekiti-7, Borno-6, Abia-f5, Benue-4, Yobe-4, Kebbi-3, and Anambra-2.

The NCDC disclosed that 3,950 patients were discharged from isolation centres across the country after the second test result returned negative.

It added that the discharge included 717 community recoveries in Lagos State and a backlog of 2,825 community recoveries in FCT managed in line with guidelines.

NCDC said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, was coordinating response activities nationwide.

By Abujah Racheal

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday reported 1,598 new cases of COVID-19 with seven deaths.

The NCDC said on its official Twitter handle that the total infection in the country is now 108,943 with 22,156 active cases and 1,420 fatalities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country has so far tested 1,147, 523 people since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 on Feb. 27, 2020.

The Nigeria’s public health institute said that the new infections were reported from 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

It stated that Lagos state topped the list with 461 infections, FCT 206, Plateau 197, Rivers 167, Kaduna state-116, Anambra-53, Ogun-49, Ebonyi-47, Edo-42, Sokoto state-32 and Imo-31 cases.

Katsina state-31, Oyo state-30, Akwa Ibom-27, Delta-16, Kano state-16, Abia-15, Niger-15, Ondo-11, Bayelsa-10, Borno-9, Kebbi-8, Ekiti-7 and Jigawa-1 cases.

The agency further disclosed that 832 patients recovered and had been discharged from various isolation centres across the country.

It added that this indicated 85,367 recoveries from the total 108,943 infections.

According to it, discharges for Saturday includes 430 community recoveries in Lagos State managed in line with guidelines.

NAN recalls that there is a drop in infections compared with Friday’s 1,867 cases, which is the highest so far in a single day.

Lagos state also recorded substantial drop in cases with 461 new infections far lesser than 713 cases reported on Friday.

The FCT’s 206 new cases represent a slight increase compared to the 199 cases on Friday.

Plateau state recorded a drop in infections with 197 cases against its Friday’s 273. (NAN)

By Abujah Racheal

 Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) registered 1,867 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in Nigeria to 107,345.

The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday.

It noted that eight people also died from the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,413.

The centre added that the new cases were reported from 23 states of the federation and the  Federal  Capital Territory (FCT).

The public health agency said that Lagos State reported 713 infections, Plateau, 273; FCT, 199; Kaduna, 117; and Oyo, 79.

Other were Enugu-58, Ondo-53, Kano-49, Sokoto-43, Ogun-37, Osun-37, Nasarawa-36, Rivers-28, Benue-24, Delta-24, Niger-24, Gombe-18, Edo-15, Taraba-12, Bayelsa-10, Ekiti-9, Borno-6, Zamfara-2 and Jigawa-1.

It stated that 705 patients across the nation had been treated successfully and recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours, adding that the number of recovered patients had risen to 84,535.

It noted that “our discharges today include 277 community recoveries in Lagos State, 150 in Kaduna and 78 in Plateau,  managed in line with guidelines.”

The centre said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, is coordinating response activities nationwide.

Meanwhile, it declared that the new highly transmittable variant of the COVID-19 had not been detected in the country.

It explained that the centre was able to determine the absence of the new COVID-19 variant in the country through genomic sequencing it conducted in partnership with African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases and the Reedemer’s University, Ede, Osun State.

“Viruses mutate, emergence of new variant strains of COVID-19 isn’t news.

“Genomic sequencing in Nigeria shows no evidence yet of variants associated with increased transmission, but we’re looking,” it said.

The NCDC, however, said it would not relent in its disease surveillance efforts.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 1,867 new infections recorded in the last 24 hours was the highest single day rise since the index case was confirmed on Feb. 27, 2020.

Last week, the country surpassed its existing highest weekly record of COVID-19 infections by recording over 9,800 cases in seven days.

An analysis showed that between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9, the country recorded 9,833 cases, a sharp increase from the 5,681 cases recorded in the previous week — Dec. 27, 2020 to Jan. 2, 2021. (NAN)

By Harrisson Arubu

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says while science is succeeding against COVID-19 lack of global solidarity is worsening the pandemic.

Guterres stated this in a video message as the global death toll from the pandemic crossed a new milestone of two million on Friday.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, total global cases and fatalities stood at 93.5 million and 2,002,468 refectory as of Friday.

The UN chief noted that although safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines were being rolled out, disparity continued between nations.

“Our world has reached a heart-wrenching milestone:  the COVID-19 pandemic has now claimed two million lives. 

“Sadly, the deadly impact of the pandemic has been made worse by the absence of a global coordinated effort.

“Vaccines are reaching high income countries quickly, while the world’s poorest have none at all.

“Science is succeeding, but solidarity is failing. Some countries are pursuing side deals, even procuring beyond need. 

“Governments have a responsibility to protect their populations, but “vaccinationalism” is self-defeating and will delay a global recovery.

“COVID-19 cannot be beaten one country at a time,” the UN chief said.

According to him, the world must act in greater solidarity and coordination in memory of the over two million souls now lost to the virus.

He said the UN was assisting countries to “mobilise the largest global immunisation effort in history” in line with its commitment to ensure vaccines were seen as global public goods.

To this end, he called for full funding of the UN-led Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and its COVAX facility, both aimed at making vaccines available and affordable to all.  

Guterres urged the world’s leading economies to be alive to their “special responsibility” in this regard.

He also called for more commitment from vaccine manufacturers to the organisation’s efforts at ensuring fair supply and distribution of vaccines worldwide.

“We need countries to commit now to sharing excess doses of vaccines.

“This will help vaccinate all health care workers around the world on an urgent basis and protect health systems from collapse.

“Others on the frontline, including humanitarian workers and high-risk populations must be prioritised.

“To gain public trust, we must boost vaccine confidence and knowledge with effective communication grounded in facts,” Guterres said.

While science continues to record gains against the pandemic, people must remember and practice the “simple and proven” steps to keep each other safe.

“Our world can only get ahead of this virus one way: together.

“Global solidarity will save lives, protect people and help defeat this vicious virus,”  he noted.

By Abujah Racheal
Nigeria recorded 23 fresh COVID-19 related deaths and 1,479 new infections on Jan. 14, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said.

The NCDC made this known on its official website on Thursday night.

The agency said that the 23 new deaths brought the nation’s death toll to 1,405.

It said the 1,479 newly registered infections were reported in the last 24 hours across the country, adding that the nation’s confirmed cases now stand at 105,478.

NCDC said the 1, 479 COVID-19 new infections were reported from 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to NCDC, Lagos takes the lead with 697 new infections, followed by FCT with 201, Nasarawa- 80 and Plateau recorded 74 cases.

Other states with new cases are: Rivers- 72, Edo- 46, Adamawa- 43, Osun- 39, Akwa Ibom- 35, Delta- 31, Anambra- 27, Oyo- 24, Kano- 21, Abia- 19, Enugu-19, Ogun-18, Sokoto-12, Bauchi-seven, Taraba- seven, Ekiti- four, Gombe- four, Imo- four, Bayelsa- two, Jigawa- two and Zamfara- one.

“As at 14th January 2021, there are 105, 478 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria, 83, 830 discharged and 1,405 dead.

“Our discharges today include 642 community recoveries in Lagos State, 312 in Oyo State and 99 in Plateau State managed in line with guidelines.

“A breakdown of cases by state can be found via http://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng,” it said.

NCDC said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) activated at Level 3, was coordinating response activities nationwide.

Meanwhile, the NCDC with support from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), have activated a short code– “6232”.

“This number has been introduced as a means for the public to contact NCDC’s Connect Centre and access verified information on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

“The short code is a toll free and easy-to-remember number, which means that all calls to NCDC through ‘6232’ are free of charge.

“This is to ensure all Nigerians have access to verified information on infectious diseases.

“In 2016, NCDC established its Connect Centre as a critical aspect of its event-based surveillance and risk communications strategy.

“Over the years, this has been used for the response to infectious disease outbreaks such as Lassa fever, monkeypox, yellow fever, cerebrospinal meningitis etc,” it said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in week one of 2021, the number of new confirmed cases increased to 9,940 from 5,733 in week 53 of 2020, these were reported in 34 states and the FCT.

The number of discharged cases increased to 4,986 from 4,010 in week 53. These were reported in 27 states and FCT.

Cumulatively, since the outbreak began in week 9, 2020, there have been 1,358 deaths reported with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.5%.

The number of reported deaths in the last one week were from 16 states and the FCT were 47.

The numbers of inbound international travellers at Nigerian airports were 18,632 compared with 19,018 in week 53.

While in week one, numbers of international travellers with a positive result were 817 compared to 62 from Week 53, and Lagos inbound cases were not included in Week one.

By Cecilia Ologunagba

The World Health Organisation (WHO) through COVAX facility and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) are expected to deliver close to 900 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa by 2021.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, disclosed this at WHO first online press briefing for 2021 on Thursday from its regional office for Africa, based in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

The director said WHO Regional Office for Africa through COVAX facility would deliver 600 million doses, while Africa CDC would secure 270 million doses of the vaccines.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. It aims at accelerating the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

The regional director said: “the COVAX facility, which is coordinated by GAVI, WHO and CEPI, aims to provide around 600 million doses for Africa in 2021.

“We expect the first doses to arrive by the end of March with large roll out by June.

“However, COVAX facility can only cover 20 per cent of Africa population so it is really wonderful to see the Africa Union efforts to secure provisional 270 million doses by the end of 2021 are achieving success.

“Together we will deliver 900 million doses this year and we know still more is needed,” Moeti said.

He said top priority for the Africa was to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccine, saying “it is unfortunate that so far, vaccine distribution has been inequitable but this a massive undertaking that will take time.”

According to her, as COVID-19 cumulative cases in Africa top three million and daily case numbers exceed the first wave peak, the continent is now confronted with emerging variants of the virus.

She said revamped public health measures were ever more critical to avert a runaway surge in infections that could stretch health facilities to the breaking point.

“An average of 25, 223 cases were reported each day between 28 December 2020 and 10 January 2021 in Africa, which is nearly 39 per cent higher than the July 2020 two-week peak of 18, 104 daily average cases.

“Yet numbers may rise further in the coming days in the wake of travelling, gathering and festivities over Christmas and New Year holidays.

“Overall cases in the region have risen steadily since mid-September 2020, with a steeper rise from late November.”

In addition, the regional director said a new variant of the virus called `501Y.V2’ was circulating widely in South Africa, accounting for most of the new infections during the second wave.

According to her, mutations of the virus are unsurprising as the more the pandemic spreads the higher the likelihood of changes.

“However, preliminary analysis finds the 501Y.V2 variation to be more transmissible. Genomic sequencing has found the variant present in Botswana, the Gambia and Zambia.

“Deeper investigations are underway to fully understand the epidemiological implications, but at present there are no indications the new variant increases the severity of the disease.

“Even if the new variant is not more virulent, a virus that can spread more easily will put further strain on hospitals and health workers, who are in many cases already overstretched,” continued Moeti.

She, however, said the development was a stark reminder that the virus was relentless, that it still presented a manifest threat, and that the war was far from won.

In addition, she said Nigeria was also carrying out more investigations on a variant identified in samples collected between August and October.

She added: “while for now there are no reports of the COVID-19 variant circulating in the United Kingdom cropping up in the African region, further investigation is needed.

“With WHO support, African countries are reinforcing genome sequencing efforts, which are key to finding and understanding new variants as they emerge and to help blunt their impact.

“WHO and the Africa network of genome sequencing laboratories in Africa is supporting governments with training and data analysis on genome sequencing, bioinformatics and technical expertise.”

The regional director said WHO had also developed guidance on containing new variants and was assisting countries to manage and safely transport samples for sequencing and analysis.

Moeti said while much progress was being made in building genome sequencing capacity, the more than 5,000 sequences which had been conducted so far in the region accounted for just two per cent of global sequencing data.

“We call on all countries to increase testing and sequencing of the virus to swiftly spot, track and tackle new COVID-19 variants as soon as they appear.

“To defeat an agile, adaptive and relentless enemy, we must know and understand its every move, and double down on what we know works best against all variants of the virus.

“We must not become complacent. We must persist with the proven public health measures that helped stop the spread of the virus during the first wave – that’s physical distancing, constant handwashing and wearing masks in public spaces,” she said. (NAN)

COVID-19

By Rabiu Sani-Ali

Kano, Jan. 14, 2021 (NAN) The Kano State Government has recorded 26 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total active cases in the state to 276.

The state Ministry of Health made this known via its verified Twitter handle @KNSMOH in Kano on Thursday.

“Twenty-six new cases were recorded from 118 results received on Wednesday from the laboratories, and 52 additional COVID-19 patients were discharged,’’ it said.

The ministry said that the state had so far conducted 60,254 COVID-19 sample tests since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.

“Total confirmed cases 2,491 and 276 active cases,” it said.

The ministry said 2,145 patients had been discharged and 70 deaths recorded in the state.

The ministry urged residents of the state to observe safety protocols by maintaining personal hygiene, hand washing, use face mask, as well as social distancing to stem the spread of the pandemic.

It also provided toll free numbers: 0909 399 5333; 0909 399 5444, 0800 268 4356. (NAN)

RSA/IKU/EEE

===========

Edited by Tayo Ikujuni/Ese E. Ekama