COVID-19
Ebonyi coronavirus cases rise to 22 as four patients discharged
Four more COVID-19 patients in Ebonyi state were on Sunday discharged from the state isolation centre at Unity Square, Abakaliki, the state capital, bringing the total number of discharged patients in the pandemic to six. Meanwhile, the number of cases have risen from 13 to 22 in the state. A team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) witnessed the discharge of the four patients. Dr. Majinger Ibeneme, Pillar Head, Case Management of the NCDC in the state, said all the patients at the isolation centre were stable. He observed that the state government has put in place all the necessary facilities to combat the disease. Ibeneme said: “We are here because of the discharge of four patients. It is amazing the amount of work the Governor has committed in the fight against this mons...
Abike Dabiri-Erewa: Communications minister used armed men to evict NIDCOM staff
The Chairman, Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has disclosed that over 40 office equipment, workstations and files belonging to NIDCOM staff were still locked up at the Nigeria Communications Commission building, four months after the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, allegedly ordered the eviction of the diaspora commission. She stated that Pantami used armed security men, including policemen to eject NIDCOM from the offices it was given in the NCC building located at Mbora District, on the Airport Road, Jabi, Abuja. Speaking on an NTA Network programme, The Diaspora, aired on Friday, Dabiri-Erewa noted that she had complained officially about the ill-treatment by the minister. Findings indicate that the eviction of the NIDCOM occurre...
Mining Sector Set to Lead Economic Recovery in Zambia
Sourced from Lusaka Times. Despite a challenging business environment in many sectors across the globe, Zambia’s wealth of natural resources continues to open the door for new investors and opportunities. As the world begins its recovery and gradual reopening in the face of the pandemic, traditional industries require energy, innovation and reinvention. ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc. – the mining conglomerate whose major shareholder is the Government of the Republic of Zambia – is signalling its intention to take on a leadership role in Zambia’s recovery with its announcement this week that they are partnering with a new strategic mining play – Array Metals. This company has an estimated inferred resource by JORC standards of 3 million tonnes of gold ore in Mumbwa, with 2.53.5grams per ton...
Matthew McConaughey Delivers 110,000 Masks to Rural Hospitals in Texas
Texas native Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves have delivered 110,000 medical masks to rural hospitals in the Lone Star State. The personal protective equipment was paid for by automobile company Lincoln, for whom McConaughey is a spokesperson. The Oscar-winning actor made the announcement in a Facebook statement. He posted a photograph of a well-stocked pickup truck, almost overflowing with boxes labelled for Lincoln’s parent company Ford. He captioned the pic, “me and Camila Alves hitting the road to get em to rural hospitals in need across Texas.” The nationwide mask shortage has continued into May, with a recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll finding that two-thirds of health care workers report PPE shortages, with 80% having worn one mask for an entire shift, and 70% re-w...
China reports no new coronavirus cases in 24 hours
China on Saturday reported zero new coronavirus infections for the first time since it started reporting data in January, a day after Communist Party leaders celebrated “major achievements” in the virus fight. The virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, but cases have dwindled dramatically from the peak in mid-February as the country appears to have brought the virus largely under control. The official death toll in the country of 1.4 billion people stands at 4,634, well below the number of fatalities in much smaller countries. However, doubt has been cast on the reliability of China’s numbers and the United States has led the charge in questioning how much information Beijing has shared with the international community. The milestone comes a day after the ...
South Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases top 20,000
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa has reached 20,125, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Friday. The country recorded 988 cases over the past 24 hours, Mkhize said in his daily update. The death toll related with Covid-19 reached 397, up by 28 from Thursday, the minister said. The total number of recoveries to date is 10,104, he said. The Western Cape province, the epicentre of the outbreak in the country, led all other provinces with 12,888 confirmed cases, followed by Gauteng with 2,521, the Eastern Cape with 2,459, and KwaZulu-Natal with 1,735. Nationwide, a total of 543,032 tests have been conducted so far, with 17,599 done in the last 24 hours, said Mkhize. South Africa is preparing to ease the lockdown from level four to level three of a five-level system...
Sudan’s coronavirus cases climb to 3,378
Sudan’s Health Ministry on Friday announced 235 new infections with COVID-19 and 16 more deaths, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 3,378 and the death toll to 137. And 63 more patients have recovered, taking the total recoveries to 372, it said. On April 18, the Sudanese government imposed a three-week curfew on Khartoum State. The curfew had been extended for 10 days from May 9 and again for two weeks from May 18. Sudan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments on Friday said the Eid al-Fitr prayers will not be held at mosques and squares. The minister of religious affairs and endowments Nasr-Eddin Mofarah instructed all Muslims in the country to perform the prayers at home, saying that the decision was made to protect the citizens against the virus. Get more stori...
America’s Dad Tom Hanks Provides 2020 Grads with Special Coronavirus Diploma
Instead of a graduation ceremony, most of the class of 2020 is left with memories of quarantine and isolation. Now Tom Hanks, good actor and even better person, is offering a pandemic diploma to make those scholars feel special. A coronavirus survivor himself, Hanks also posted a photograph of his own 1974 yearbook photo, presumably to help people everywhere feel well-groomed. Check out both images below. The Oscar-winning actor revealed the special certificate on social media. “To all the Grads of 2020, Chosen Ones!” he wrote. “Print this up on a sheepskin!” It includes a seal with the words “Luctor et Emergo Fidens,” which in English seems to mean “I struggle and emerge without fear.” However, Google Translate has a slightly different take. And while it is almost certainly less accurate,...
My Chemical Romance, The Darkness, Gogol Bordello Members and More Cover The Ramones for Charity: Watch
Members of My Chemical Romance, The Darkness, Gogol Bordello, and more have teamed up to cover the Ramones classic “I Believe in Miracles” to raise funds for COVID-19 relief efforts. The socially distant performance was organized by Gogol Bordello guitarist Boris Pelekh, and features his bandmate Eugene Hutz as one of the vocalists. Also singing are Justin Hawkins (The Darkness), Walter Schreifels (Quicksand), Tom Higgenson (Plain White T’s), Brett Anderson (The Donnas), and Frank Turner. The collective, dubbed #rockforhopeproject, is rounded out by Pelekh, guitarist Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), drummer Michael Miley (Rival Sons), bassist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas (MuteMath), and bassist Nathen Maxwell (Flogging Molly). Along with the video of the performance, which premiered today (May 2...
Goodluck Jonathan: Coronavirus could give rise to dictators
YouTube Former President Goodluck Jonathan, Friday advised Africans to be careful the way they handle coronavirus pandemic, noting that the virus could give rise to dictators. Disclosing this while speaking during a webinar organised by the Kofi Annan Foundation, Jonathan said: “This is the time that many continental bodies must come up with their own minimum standards for any country going into election to operate. “Otherwise people who ordinarily would have loved to be dictators will now exploit the problem of the COVID-19 pandemic and do what is not in line with the laws of the land.” Speaking further, Jonathan mentioned one positive thing’ in Nigeria’s COVID-19 response. According to him, “In Nigeria, I have seen one thing about the management of the COVID-19 which is also positive,” h...
Eid-el-Fitri: Oyo governor felicitates Muslims, calls for prayers for state, Nigeria
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has congratulated Muslims in the state and beyond on the successful completion of the month-long Ramadan fasting. The governor expressed gratitude to Muslims and residents of the state for remaining steadfast despite the situation imposed on the state by the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor equally rallied them to use the auspicious occasion of the Eid-el-Fitri to make supplications for themselves, the state and Nigeria. A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, quoted Governor Makinde as saying that it was regrettable that Muslims in the state and across the country cannot observe Eid-el-Fitri prayer this year the usual way, adding that the situation should be seen as “part of the sacrifice we all have to make at thi...
HARD Summer Announces Postponement to 2021, VIP Ticket Upgrades
COVID-19 continues its vicious rampage through the festival circuit, this time stomping on the sandcastles of leading summer festival brand HARD Summer. The fest’s organizers took to their social media channels to post an official statement sharing the morose news, which should come as no surprise considering the impact of the pandemic has effectively quashed the entire live concert industry. “Thank you for your support during these past few months,” the statement reads. “Though the world is moving in a more positive direction we want to have HARD Summer as soon as it’s safe to do so and right now it’s too soon for us to be able to gather at HARD Summer this year.” You can read the statement in full below. All Hard Summer pass-holders, including those who purcha...
