By Oluwafunke Ishola

A registered nurse, Ms Edith Declan, has appealed to both the Federal and state governments to improve on educating the public on measures to curtail COVID-19 transmission and thus  strengthen Nigeria in fighting the second wave.

Declan, also an Adjunct Nursing Professor at Houston Community College, Texas, United States, said this during a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

She said that her visit to Lagos and Owerri revealed that compliance to COVID-19 safety measures of wearing face masks, hand washing and observing social distancing were absent in most places, except the airport.

“I feel that lots of education is required at this point, especially with the second wave that has   new variants of COVID-19 which is believed to be more virulent than the first.

“As funny as it seems, we still have a lot of people who don’t believe that COVID-19 exists, if you don’t believe something exists, you are not going to fight it.

“We, as Africans, don’t believe things till we see it. We don’t have this proactive mindset to things, we wait until the disaster happens before we address it.

“Some believe that COVID-19 is malaria or typhoid or other respiratory illnesses, and that it goes away after a while.

“Because the healthcare system and data collection are very poor, it is very difficult to ascertain who has COVID-19, what the numbers are, and how they can be assisted,” she said.

The professor noted that non-compliance to COVID-19 safety measures could be devastating to the country’s income.

Declan stressed that appropriate hand washing with soap and water, wearing of facemasks, and observing social distancing are still the best non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce the virus spread.

According to Declan, the emergence of the COVID-19 vaccine has brought excitement and trepidation globally.

NAN reports that about 50 countries including the U.S., UK, China, Canada, Germany, Russia, United Arab Emirates, have started vaccinating their citizens against COVID-19.

Declan said that a lot of Americans had taken the vaccine, saying that she was yet to have any personal contact with anybody who reported any adverse effects to the vaccine.

“Of course, like the regular vaccine when people take the vaccine, there could be a little soreness, fever, light headedness or dizziness.

“Some people can have adverse reactions and it is a very minute percentage of the recipient, which is typical.

“Even with the food we eat, some people will eat egg and are very good, and some people will eat egg and will die.

“It’s not because the eggs are bad, it means that their system didn’t accept the eggs appropriately. The same thing applies to the vaccine,” she said.

Declan noted that the vaccines had been proven to be safe thus far, adding that while awaiting the arrival of the vaccine across the globe, everyone should maintain good hand washing, wearing of face masks, and observing social distancing.

She expressed optimism that working together individually and collectively would enhance the fight against the virus and ensure global success. (NAN)

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has tested positive to COVID-19, said the presidential office on Tuesday.

According to the office, Sarkissian went to London on a New Year holiday with his family.

He underwent a successful leg surgery there and then showed symptoms of the novel coronavirus on Sunday.

Later, the result of his test for the coronavirus was positive.

Sarkissian will temporarily work remotely, said the office.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 160,544 on Tuesday, with 145,759 recoveries and 2,878 death in total, according to the Armenian Ministry of Health. (Xinhua/NAN)

By Rabiu Sani-Ali

Kano State has recorded 40 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of active cases in the state to 318.

The State Ministry of Health announced this on Tuesday via its verified Twitter handle @KNSMOH.

It said that 48 patients who recovered from the disease were also discharged in the last 24 hours in the state.

“Forty new cases were recorded from 286 results received on Monday from laboratories, 48 additional COVID-19 patients were also discharged,” it said.

The ministry disclosed that 58,765 samples were tested; out of which 2,364 were confirmed positive with 1,978 discharged.

It added that the state has so far recorded 68 COVID-19 related deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in the state.

The ministry urged residents of the state to observe all COVID-19 protocols to curb spread of the disease.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the state has witnessed upsurge in COVID-19 infections from 30 to 318 following the second wave of the disease in the country. (NAN)

By Felicia Imohimi

The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) sealed 4, 219 pharmaceutical premises and two open drug markets in 2020.

The Registrar of the council, Dr Elijah Mohammed, gave the figures in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mohammed said that the measure was targeted at sanitising pharmaceutical practice in order to protect the health of Nigerians.

Giving update of the council’s regulatory activities in 2020, the registrar said that 353 of the premises sealed were pharmacies, while 3, 866 were patent medicines shops.

He said that the council visited a total of 6, 132 premises, comprising 1,104 pharmacies and 5, 028 patent medicines shops.

“In an effort to achieve a well-ordered drug distribution system in the country, PCN closely monitored the development of the Coordinated Wholesale Centres (CWCs) across various locations in the country.

“An update of the status of various CWCs was recently forwarded to the minister of health.

“Among the premises sealed by the national enforcement team include those situated within the emerging open drug markets in Owerri and Abakaliki, in November and December 2020.

“Compliance directives were issued to 166 premises, comprising 92 pharmacies and 74 patent medicines shops.

The registrar added that 24 arrests were made and some of the  suspects already charged to court while others would  be arraigned at the conclusion of investigations.

Mohammed said that due to the COVID-19-induced restrictions, the council sought the permission of the Nigeria Police to enable its enforcement team to move across states.

“In the course of the restriction of movement, the need to control proliferation of illegal pharmaceutical premises became very obvious.

“This is because  owners of these premises took advantage of the health crisis to sell all kinds of medicines to the general public through unlicensed outlets,’’ he said.

He said that PCN would  step up the enforcement in 2021.

“This is to ensure that medicines sold in premises across the nation remain safe, effective and of good quality,” Mohammed said. (NAN)

By Afusat Agunbiade-Oladipo

Kwara Government says it has recorded 44 more COVID-19 cases, while 101 patients, who tested negative twice have been discharged.

Mr Rafiu Ajakaye, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor and Spokesman for the Technical Committee on COVID-19, made this known in a statement on Monday in Ilorin.

According to him, this brings to 1,459 the total number of confirmed cases, with 1,281 patients discharged and 32 death.

“As at 9:00p.m on Monday, the number of active cases is 146 and 1,281 patients had so far been discharged and 32 deaths recorded,” said Ajakaye.

By Abujah Racheal

Nigeria on Monday recorded 1,204 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, taking the total number of infections to 91,351.

The Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) made this known via its verified website.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria recorded 1,145 cases on Dec. 18, 2020.

The centre also announced seven deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s death toll to 1,318.

It stated that three of the deaths occurred in Lagos, two in Sokoto, while Kebbi and Abia recorded one fatality each.

The NCDC said that the number of recovered COVID-19 patients stood at 75,699, including 655 patients that were discharged on Monday after testing negative from the virus.

It said that Lagos, the epicentre of COVID-19, recorded the highest number of cases with 654, while FCT recorded 200.

Other  states are Plateau-60, Kaduna-54, Kano-40, Rivers-30, Edo-28, Nasarawa-25, Kebbi-19, Bauchi-18, Oyo-13, Akwa Ibom-12, Bayelsa-11, Ogun-11, Delta-nine, Abia-eight, Benue-five, Imo-three, Borno-two, Sokoto-one and Osun-one.

The agency said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been activated at Level III, to coordinate the national response activities.

The agency noted that till date, 91,351 cases had been confirmed, 75,699 cases discharged and 1,318 deaths recorded in 36 states and the FCT.

Meanwhile, the agency called on those who may have been exposed to the virus to quarantine and isolate themselves if they feel ill.

“Remember COVID-19 can spread from people that look and feel well. Don’t let your guard down around friends or relatives just because they look healthy – they may not know they are infected but can unintentionally spread COVID-19,” it advised.

NAN reports the centre has so far tested 958,911 persons since the first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced in Feb.  27  2020.

NAN also reports that the Federal Government on Dec. 22, 2020 imposed new restrictions amid the rising cases of COVID-19 in various parts of the country.

The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, explained that the directives were advisories issued to state authorities for implementation in the next five weeks.

The new restrictions include civil servants from Grade Level 12 and below to stay at home for the next five weeks; the closure of all bars, nightclubs, pubs and event centres, as well as recreational venues in all states and the FCT.

All restaurants were also directed to close, except those providing services to hotel residents, takeaways, home deliveries and drive-ins. (NAN)

By Monday Ajogun

Edo recorded 36 new cases of COVID-19 in the last five days, the state government has said.

The state’s COVID-19 Incident Manager, Dr Andrew Obi, said it has also recorded 198 cases of the virus since it started tracking the second wave of the pandemic on Dec. 1, 2020.

Obi said that of the 36 new cases, 12 were reported at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin, while 24 cases were recorded at the laboratory at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, also in the state.

“From when we started tracking the second wave of the pandemic, we currently have 104 active cases in the state. We have a case positivity of 12.5 per cent,” he said.

He noted that the state government had reactivated its disease surveillance system to manage the spread of the pandemic.

Obi urged residents of the state to take personal responsibility to protect themselves and their loved ones.

“We are prepared to deal with the second wave of the pandemic, but the people must play their roles. They should ensure they abide by the precautionary measures set out by the government to curb the spread of the virus. (NAN)