By Abujah Racheal
The Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 917 new Coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in the country, according to its verified website on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that so far, 955,429 persons have been tested in the country since the first confirmed COVID-19 case was announced in Feb. 27, 2020.

According to the public health agency, the total number of infections in the country now stands at 90,080.

The centre reported nine new deaths in the past 24 hours in the country.

It said 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded the new infections.

In the past 24 hours, 255 recoveries were recorded in the country, It added.

A breakdown of data provided by the health agency shows the FCT recorded the highest number of infections for the day with 222 cases, followed by Lagos, Kaduna, and Plateau states which reported 214, 119, and 92 cases respectively.

The other states affected are Nasarawa, with 50 new infections, Oyo-41, Adamawa-33, Ondo-32, Abia-28, Ogun-19, Rivers-17, Kano-16, Yobe-14, Edo-eight, Anambra-six, Ekiti- five, and Jigawa-one.

It said a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, continued to coordinate the national response activities.

According to it, 917 new confirmed cases and nine deaths were recorded in the country as of Jan. 3.

Till date, 90,080 cases had been confirmed, 75,044 discharged, and 1,311 deaths recorded in 36 states and FCT, NCDC said.

NAN recalls that in week 52, the number of new confirmed cases increased to 5,908 from 5,261 recorded in week 51.

The cases were reported in 36 states and FCT.

Also, number of discharged cases in week 52 increased to 2,731 from 2,213 recorded in week 51.

The cases were reported in 30 states and FCT.

Cumulatively, 1,254 deaths with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.5 per cent have been recorded since the disease first broke out in Week 9 of 2020.

Also, the number of reported deaths in the past one week in 13 states and FCT stands at 33.

In week 52, also the number of in-bound international travellers at Nigerian airports was 19,238 as against 20,209 recorded in Week 51.

The number of international travellers with positive results in week 52 was 84 as against 270 recorded in week 51.

By Oluwafunke Ishola

A female journalist, Mrs Mercy Omoike, has appealed to kindhearted Nigerians, corporate organisations and the three tiers of government for financial assistance for a heart surgery for her nine-week-old baby.

Omoike, who works with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the baby boy, Shalom, was born on Oct. 23, with a heart problem and need N7.5 million for surgery.

She said the boy was discharged from Bee Hess Hospital, Akowonjo, Lagos, on Nov. 3, 2020, where he was born.

According to her, Shalom was an outpatient for two weeks at the private hospital, Bee Hess Hospital, before he was referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, on Nov. 27.

“He has since been an outpatient at the Paediatric Cardiology Unit of LUTH.

“Shalom has been placed on observation until he is three months old to avoid complications during surgery because of his present age,’’ Omoike said.

She said the boy was born with a symptomatic congenital heart disease confirmed by Echocardiography as Transposition of the Great Arteries, large-sized inlet Ventricular Septal Defect (VSDs) and multiple muscular VSDs.

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust described Transposition of the Great Arteries as “a birth defect of the heart’’.

“It is where the two main arteries carrying blood out of the heart – the main pulmonary artery and the aorta – are switched in position or transposed.

“The aorta is attached to the right-sided pumping chamber (ventricle) instead of the left, and the pulmonary artery is attached to the left-sided pumping chamber (ventricle) instead of the right.

“This means that blood flows to the lungs and picks up oxygen but is pumped back to the lungs instead of travelling around the body. Blood flowing round the body is unable to reach the lungs to pick up oxygen and continues circulating.”

Omoike said: “When Shalom was born, he had difficulty in breathing and had to be placed on oxygen for 10 days to stabilise him.

“A scan, chest X-ray and ECG were carried out on him to determine the fast breathing, because he kept breathing very fast, though he was still on oxygen.”

Omoike said that outcome of the various tests showed Shalom’s heart challenge.

The doctors then advised that a corrective surgery be done on him before three months to forestall further complications.

She said that doctors in LUTH contacted some doctors in India and sent Shalom’s medical report and videos to them in preparation for the corrective surgery.

On why the referral to an Indian hospital for the corrective surgery, Omoike said that the doctor’s referral was based on the complexity of Shalom’s heart condition.

She said that financial support was needed for Shalom’s surgery, visa, and travel expenses to India for the surgical intervention.

“I appeal to Nigerians to come to the aid of Shalom and give him the opportunity to grow up normally and have his heart fixed,” she said.

Omoike appealed to kind-hearted Nigerians to donate for the surgery through the account details: Omoike, Omozokpia Shalom, Zenith Bank Account number 2052022603. (NAN)

By Ikenna Osuoha

Save Our Heritage Initiative (SOHI), an Abuja based Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) has urged Nigerians to show more commitment in efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Ms May Ikokwu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NGO made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as part of her new year message in Abuja on Saturday.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has so far  recorded 88,587 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country with 74,373 recovery, while 1,294 had died of complications from the virus.

Ikokwu, also Secretary General, Coalition of Societies for the Rights of Older Persons in Nigeria (COSROPIN), said that only compliant to safety protocols by Nigerians would curb further spread of the pandemic in 2021.

She decried the reckless attitude of some Nigerians to the NCDC safety  protocols on the use of  face masks, physical distancing, regular hand washing among others.

“Even if we had made the mistake of not complying with the safety protocols as prescribed by NCDC in 2020, let us ensure that we comply strictly to it in 2021.

“That we failed to comply in 2020 and luckily did not get infected with the pandemic does not imply the non existence of the pandemic but a sheer luck.

“Please let us all be responsive in fighting this pandemic to avoid a realisation of some unpleasant predictions about Africa by some foreign news agencies,” she said.

Ikokwu who reiterated calls for community responsiveness, commended the Federal Government for rising to the occasion through the Ministry of Health and NCDC.

She said that pandemics of such strain and magnitude could only be contained with collective efforts of all stakeholders irrespective of their ideological differences.

The SOHI boss expressed optimism in the ability of the  President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to make Universal Health Coverage (UHC) accessible to all Nigerians.

According to her, Universal Health Coverage (UHC) can be accessible to all when everyone is ready to work in collaboration with government.

Ikokwu also advised Nigerians to shun behaviours that would undermine the health and wellbeing of the citizens especially older people.

She, however, expressed hope that 2021 would be a better year than 2020 with the collective efforts and support of Nigerians to government’s policies and programmes. (NAN)

Doctors at a hospital in Dilla town in Ethiopia’s Southern regional state have surgically removed 26 kilogrammes of tumor from a female patient, an official said.

The state affiliated media outlet — Fana Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) — reported this on Friday.

FBC reported that the 40-year-old female patient complained of severe stomach swelling, found to be a giant tumor after initial medical examination.

The media outlet also reported that doctors conducted a 30-minute surgery to remove the tumor, adding that the patient was currently recovering in the hospital under stable condition. (Xinhua/NAN)

By Ahmed Ubandoma

The First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, on Friday welcomed baby Aliyu Adamu Abubakar, the first baby of the year 2021, born at 12 a.m. at Karu Primary Healthcare Centre, FCT, Abuja.

The baby boy, weighing 3.3kg, born into the family of Mr and Mrs Adamu Abubakar, an indigene of Biu Local Government Area of Borno, is in a healthy condition.

The president’s wife, who arrived at the Karu Healthcare Centre at about 2:30 p.m. on Friday, urged pregnant women to always go for ante-natal care for safe delivery.

She advised couples to embrace child spacing methods to ensure healthy mothers and babies.

Mrs Buhari, who was represented by Dr Mairo Almakura, the Special Assistant to the President on African First Lady’s Peace Mission, said child spacing was key to sustaining the health and wellbeing of mothers and their babies.

She emphasised the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, saying six months of the process would benefit both mother and child and for babies to acquire the necessary nutrients for healthy growth.

She said “I want to use this opportunity to rejoice with you on this special day and urge you to ensure that your children are exclusively breastfed and immunised at the early stage of their lives.

“I also want to use this medium to appeal to mothers on the need to ensure hygienic environment and register your children during childbirth to assist government to have accurate database for the purpose of planning for the next generation.”

The first lady presented baby kits, including sanitary items to nursing mothers in the medical facility.

Responding, the parents of the baby expressed gratitude to the first lady for visiting them and for the
kind gesture.

The Head of Karu Primary Healthcare Centre, Dr Akila Udoji, who also thanked the first lady for the visit,
said the medical facility required additional manpower to take care of the number of patients that visit it.

The head said there was an increase in the number of patients who go to the hospital, especially from neighbouring communities. (NAN)