The coronavirus pandemic is hitting the United States too hard with a world record 8,149 new cases recorded on Sunday, spiking the national total to 32,356.
The death toll also received a bump with 112 new deaths, making 414 overall.
Sunday must be the worst day to date for the country since the coronavirus epidemic was first noticed in Washington and California in February.
Recovery rate in the world’s biggest economy has been very low: only 178 so far.
Italy remains a bad case with 5,560 new cases. The country now has 59,138 cases.
Total deaths in Italy have also shot up to 5,476, after 651 new deaths were recorded on Sunday.
Coronavirus cases worldwide are now 335,377 with 14,611 deaths.
*The daily figures for U.S. was reviewed downwards by worldometers.info We have done the same here
Veteran Yoruba filmmaker and actor, Gbenga Ajumoko is dead. The actor reportedly died after battling with a chronic ailment.
This is coming weeks after Veteran Nollywood actor, Kayode Odumosu, popularly known as Pa Kasumu died.
Gbenga Ajumoko was reported to be critically down with a chronic ailment since last year.
For over 6 months, the Ijebu, Ogun State-born actor was admitted at a hospital in Sagamu Remo where he was diagnosed with Diabetes and Hypertension which affected his two kidneys.
He solely treated the ailments quietly until things got worsen for him and he was transferred to a private hospital located at Ibadan Garage, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
Last year, he begged Nigerians, the government and his colleagues to rescue him as he needed millions of Naira to recover.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has announced that his son tested positive for coronavirus.
He made his known via his verified Twitter handle on Sunday.
“My son has tested positive to coronavirus,” he tweeted.
According to the former Vice-President of Nigeria, his son has been moved to Gwagwalada Specialist Teaching Hospital in Abuja for treatment.
“The @NCDCGov (Nigeria Centre for Disease Control) has been duly informed, and he has been moved to Gwagwalada Specialist Teaching Hospital in Abuja for treatment and management. I will appreciate it if you have him in your prayers. Stay safe, coronavirus is real,” he added.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Federal Ministry of Health have confirmed the existence of three new cases of COVID-19 in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The NCDC said on Twitter that the patients had been quarantined.
The ministry said seven other cases were recorded in Lagos State.
The statement read in part, “The Federal Ministry of Health has confirmed 10 new cases of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria. Three new cases in the Federal Capital Territory and seven new cases in Lagos State.
“This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Nigeria to 22. All 10 new cases are Nigerian nationals. Nine of them have travel history to Canada, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
“They returned to the country in the last one week. The 10th case is a close contact of a previously confirmed case. The three cases in the FCT are being treated at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, while the seven new cases in Lagos are being treated at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Abuja.
“All 10 new cases have mild to moderate symptoms and are currently receiving treatment.”
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Friday, announced that it has postponed the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, 2020 indefinitely.
This was confirmed in a statement by WAEC Head of National Office, Mr. Patrick Ehidiamen Areghan, on Friday.
He said the examination was postponed because of the deadly coronavirus.
The exam was scheduled to commence on April 6, 2020.
“This is as a result of the impact of the novel and deadly coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the serious implications it has for the conduct of the WASSCE for school candidates, 2020, coupled with the anxieties it has generated among the populace.
“This decision is a demonstration of the organisation’s concern and support for the various protocols being put in place by the Federal and State Governments of Nigeria and the governments of the other member countries to check the spread of the disease.”
Areghan further stated that the timetable for the examination had been suspended and would be reviewed once the health situation improves.
The Central Bank has technically devalued the naira to exchange to the dollar at N380.
The apex bank took this decision after all interventions in the market, such as imposing sanctions on errant operators and use of moral suasion to curb illegal forex operations did not sustain the exchange rate of N360.
In a circular to the operators in the sector, the CBN merged the rates at both the Bureau De Change rate and Import & Export window at N380.
Under the new dispensation, the CBN would make the dollar available to the BDCs at N378, which would be sold at N380.
The President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, said the merger of the different rates became necessary to build confidence in the sector.
He said this would make it impossible for those dealing in illegal operations and speculators to be profitable.
Gwadabe said it was an unacceptable situation for operators to access the dollar below N360 and be selling at between N370 and N375.
“There is a circular on it; we are to be buying at N378 and sell at N380,” he said.
He said the rise in the exchange rate was not due to genuine demand because people were not really travelling or importing goods.
“The situation cannot remain like this; things will improve. If coronavirus goes, we will get over it,” he said.
It would be recalled that in the previous week, the naira exchanged between N405 and N420 to a dollar in the BDC segment of the market.
This was attributed to the crude oil price which fell drastically in the international market and this raised speculations among the BDC operators and Nigerians in general.
ABCON had said the movement was as a result of recklessness on the side of the operators when they wanted to speculate.
It said there was no reason for that because the CBN had continued to maintain support for liquidity to the BDC subsector.
Before then, the CBN had maintained the exchange rate at about N360 for more than three years.
However, the CBN had said it was working with the fiscal authorities to properly ease the impact of the coronavirus and ensure a sound and stable financial system.
Dozens of military vehicles have been pictured carrying coronavirus victims across Italy – with morgues too full to hold corpses.
The trucks were pictured driving through the city of Bergamo in the country’s Lombardy region, one of the worst-hit by the virus.
The city has recorded at least 93 coronavirus-related deaths as cases skyrocket.
Around 70 coffins were placed on 30 trucks and will be transported to creamatoriums in a dozen locations across Italy, foreign media reports.
Jean Pierre Ramponi, the medical director of the Chiari hospital in Brescia – also in Lombardy – said: “We prepared ourselves psychologically by seeing the images of China, but it was unthinkable to imagine such devastation.
The trucks were pictured driving through the city of Bergamo in the country’s Lombardy region(Image: @tancredipalmeri/Twitter)
“The situation with us, on the outskirts of Brescia, is dramatic, we don’t know where to bring patients, hospitals are doing everything, but beyond a certain number they cannot assist.
“There are lines for hours in front of the hospitals.”
The mayor of Bergamo, Giorgio Gori, said the true number of related deaths could be higher as many people with COVID-19 symptoms had died before being tested.
A spokesman for the local authority explained: “The crematorium of Bergamo, working at full capacity, 24 hours a day, can cremate 25 dead.
“It is clear that it could not stand up to the numbers of the past few days.”
Once the bodies have been cremated, the ashes will be brought back to Bergamo.
Coffins have already filled up two hospital mortuaries and a cemetery morgue.
Around 70 coffins were placed on 30 trucks and will be transported to creamatoriums in a dozen locations across Italy(Image: PA Images)
The number of deaths across the country rose by 475 in one day to nearly 3,000, the biggest increase since the outbreak.
It is the world’s worst-affected country after China, where the virus originated last year.
Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, today reported now new cases for the first time since it began there in late December.
Daily Star.
Coronavirus: Tragic picture shows elderly man next to empty Sainsbury’s shelves.
The Federal Government has ordered the closure of all the 104 Unity Schools in the country from March 26 as a proactive step aimed at preventing the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono who gave the order through the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, said all the Principals of the Unity Colleges should fast track the on-going second term examinations and close shop until further notice.
This closure was announced in a statement by Mr Ben Goong Director, Press and Public Relations in Abuja, on Thursday.
The Minister said the management of all the Unity Colleges should immediately activate the necessary emergency procedures and processes such as the provision of alcohol based sanitizers and hand washing facilities among others.
He said that students should strictly adhere to the principles and best practices of good hygiene.
He also directed the Principals to immediately report any suspicious case to the nearest health authorities, emphasising that nothing should be taken for granted at this delicate time of the global pandemic.
