Cases
Coronavirus: Prof. Maurice Iwu restates efficacy of herbal medicine
Bioresources Development Group (BDG) chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu has restated the efficacy of herbal medicine in the treatment of the COVID-19 cases as the virus enters variant stage globally. The former chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and eminent Professor of Pharmacognosy, Iwu, in a chat with Vanguard said that the effectiveness of special herbal drugs produced in the country, stands the chance of combating the disease at an early stage, but noted that the slow pace in acceptance and approval hinders its feasibility. Iwu also pointed that herbal extracts from a plant, “Andrographis Paniculata”, commonly known as green chiretta, already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Thailand is on its way to serve as an alternative treatment to the seve...
Rivers governor threatens to shut jetty over criminal activities
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has threatened to shut down the Bonny-Bille-Nembe Jetty in Port Harcourt which conveys travelers to various riverine communities in the state if cases of criminality or physical violence in the area continued. The governor said the zeal to provide an enabling environment for sea travelers and boost the marine economy of the state spurred his administration to remodel the once dilapidated jetty first built in the 1950s. Wike stated this at the commissioning of the remodeled Bonny-Bille-Nembe Jetty by the Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal on Saturday. The governor in a statement by his media aide, Kelvin Ebiri Wike, said he decided to remodel the once filthy and disused jetty because he firmly believes that the people of the state deserve t...
Manchester United winger tests positive for coronavirus ahead of FA Cup clash with Watford
Manchester United winger Facundo Pellistri has tested positive for Covid-19, ruling him out of making his senior debut against Watford on Saturday. The 19-year-old, who signed in the summer transfer window, has not been displaying symptoms but returned a positive test, his agency confirmed. He must now follow the Government guidelines and isolate for 10 days. “I think we’ve done well to follow the protocols as we have, we’ve had the odd case and Facundo Pellistri got a positive, so he reported that on his Twitter, we don’t normally comment on who they are but Facundo is well and hopefully he’ll be back with us soon,” manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said at his pre-match press conference. “He’s been with the reserves and under-23s and he wasn’t really in our group over Christmas. Apart from th...
Coronavirus: Nigeria now at tipping point – PTF
The Federal Government, yesterday, took stock of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic vis-a-vis the attitude of Nigerians to embracing safety precautions, and concluded that the country was now at a tipping point. This came as government announced its decision to establish oxygen plants in all states of the federation as part of measures to resolve the “oxygen crisis” that had engulfed some of the isolation and treatment centres in the country. Meanwhile, Edo State has recorded 28 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 270, as the state government cautions residents to abide by the precautionary health and safety guidelines. Vanguard, meanwhile, gathered that former vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe and th...
Nigerian government begs residents not to reject coronavirus vaccines
Federal authorities have appealed to Nigerians not to be hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it gets to Nigeria. Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, and head of Nigeria’s primary healthcare agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, made the appeal at the PTF briefing on Thursday in Abuja. Nigeria intends to get 42 million COVID-19 vaccines to cover one fifth of its population through the global COVAX scheme, the PTF had earlier announced. The initial vaccines would come as part of Nigeria’s plan to inoculate 40 percent of the population in 2021 and another 30 per cent in 2022, with 100,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arriving by the end of January 2021. The COVAX scheme was set up to provide vaccines to poorer countries including Nigeria whose 200 million people and poor ...
Atiku Abubakar receives coronavirus vaccine
Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has received Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Thursday. Confirming the news, Publisher of Ovation magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, displayed Atiku’s picture when he was administered the vaccine by a medical practitioner. Though Dele did not mention the place Atiku took the vaccine but information reaching newsmen said it was in Dubai. In one paragraph sentence, Dele wrote: “Former Vice President The Wazirin Adamawa ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR receives Pfizer Covid-19 jab vaccination…” Former Vice President The Wazirin Adamawa ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR receives Pfizer Covid-19 jab vaccination… pic.twitter.com/286BCmBqHD — Dele Momodu Ovation (@DeleMomodu) January 7, 2021 Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has recorded 1,664 new COVID-19 ca...
Russian coronavirus vaccine trials begin in UAE as cases rise
Abu Dhabi has started Phase III clinical trials of Russia’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine, known as Sputnik V, amid a surge in infections in the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi’s media office said on Thursday. The human trial, announced in October before the recent rise in cases, is initially seeking up to 500 volunteers to be vaccinated at a hospital in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Two doses of the vaccine will be given, 20 days apart, to volunteers, the statement said. Participants will have to be 18 years or older, have not previously been infected with COVID-19 or participated in other COVID-19 vaccine trials, it said. The UAE is also conducting Phase III trials of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). The UAE has approved the vaccine and it is a...
FCT chief judge bows out service
The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Usman Bello, on Tuesday bowed out of service on the attainment of 65 years of age. This is even as he declared in his speech at a valedictory court session held in his honour that the greatest strength of the judiciary remained the trust, reliance and faith of the people in it. Bello, who became the FCT CJ on May 28, 2015, said that in a democratic set up like Nigeria’s, the judiciary had to be impartiality. “I solemnly accept as true the saying that the greatest strength of the judiciary is the trust, reliance and faith of the people in it. “In several cases, I have seen the court take decisions against the state as well for the achievement of the ends of justice. I know this well because I have delivered some myself,” ...
British Airways suffers multiple bird strikes at Lagos airport
A Boeing 777-300, registration G-STBE belonging to British Airways, performing flight BA-75 from Heathrow airport, London to Lagos, suffered multiple bird strikes on December 30, 2020. A bird strike is a collision between an airborne animal and a vehicle, usually an aircraft. The flight was on final approach to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos’ runway 18R when the aircraft received a number of bird strikes in the flare causing a hydraulic leak. However, the aircraft touched down safely, rolled out and vacated the runway and was taxing towards the apron when the aircraft lost nose wheel steering, hydraulic C system indicated zero quantity and smoke was seen from the main landing gear. The crew stopped the aircraft on the taxiway. A ground observer reported that the crew dec...
British Airways suffers multiple bird strikes at Lagos airport
A Boeing 777-300, registration G-STBE belonging to British Airways, performing flight BA-75 from Heathrow airport, London to Lagos, suffered multiple bird strikes on December 30, 2020. A bird strike is a collision between an airborne animal and a vehicle, usually an aircraft. The flight was on final approach to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos’ runway 18R when the aircraft received a number of bird strikes in the flare causing a hydraulic leak. However, the aircraft touched down safely, rolled out and vacated the runway and was taxing towards the apron when the aircraft lost nose wheel steering, hydraulic C system indicated zero quantity and smoke was seen from the main landing gear. The crew stopped the aircraft on the taxiway. A ground observer reported that the crew dec...
Egypt to probe four coronavirus deaths due to alleged lack of oxygen
Egyptian prosecutors opened an investigation into the deaths on Sunday of at least four coronavirus patients at a public Egyptian hospital, after a video of nurses struggling to keep the patients alive was shared widely on social media. The governor of Sharqia province denied allegations by a relative of one of the patients that the deaths were caused by a lack of oxygen at the government-run intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients. Governor Mamdouh Ghorab said the patients died because they suffered chronic diseases in addition to the virus. The relative, who also filmed the video, offered no immediate evidence to back up their claim that the hospital ran out of oxygen. Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with more than 100 million people, is facing a surge in confirmed v...
Egypt to probe four coronavirus deaths due to alleged lack of oxygen
Egyptian prosecutors opened an investigation into the deaths on Sunday of at least four coronavirus patients at a public Egyptian hospital, after a video of nurses struggling to keep the patients alive was shared widely on social media. The governor of Sharqia province denied allegations by a relative of one of the patients that the deaths were caused by a lack of oxygen at the government-run intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients. Governor Mamdouh Ghorab said the patients died because they suffered chronic diseases in addition to the virus. The relative, who also filmed the video, offered no immediate evidence to back up their claim that the hospital ran out of oxygen. Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with more than 100 million people, is facing a surge in confirmed v...