COVID-19
System of Down, Faith No More, and Korn Announce Rescheduled Dates for Joint Shows
System of a Down (photo by Raymond Ahner), Faith No More (publicity), Korn (photo by Jon Hadusek) System of a Down, Faith No More, and Korn were set to join forces for a couple of the most anticipated concerts of the year, but were forced to postpone the shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they’ve just announced rescheduled dates for the concerts. The shows would have taken place tonight (May 22nd) and tomorrow (May 23rd) at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, but now they’ll happen on May 21st and May 22nd of 2021. Original support acts Helmet and Russian Circles will also be on board for the rescheduled concerts, billed as “Five Bands, Two Nights of Galactic Proportions.” A full statement from System of a Down on Instagram reads, “We’re excited to announce that the reschedule...
How Telecoms Can Rebuild Nigeria in the Wake of COVID-19
Sourced from the Guardian Nigeria. The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic has had and could continue to have long-lasting devastating effects on all social and economic sectors. For Nigeria, the pandemic can be seen as an eye-opener and a rude awakening to a new normal-knowledge economy. Apart from certain ingenious initiatives in Lagos and a few other states, Nigeria’s overall response to the pandemic has been less than satisfactory, writes The Guardian Nigeria. New, upcoming phases of recovery and thriving will be defining for the country. Now, in this crisis, it has become clear that telecommunications are playing a large role in retaining any semblance of normalcy in the country. In the recovery stage, telecoms could continue to help manage the transition out of COVID-19 related stagnation as...
South Sudan ministers test positive for coronavirus
Ten cabinet ministers in South Sudan are now confirmed to have contracted Coronavirus. Information Minister Michael Makuei has said that all former members of the high-level task force on Coronavirus – apart from the health minister – have tested positive for Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus. But he has denied reports that President Salva Kiir – who was also a member of the team – had also tested positive. It comes just days after first Vice-President Riek Machar announced he had tested positive alongside his wife, Defence Minister Angelina Teny. They tested positive after coming into contact with a former member of the team, who has Covid-19. All the ministers infected are now in self-isolation and the government says they are in good health. Dozens of bodyguards and ...
Oyo state records 28 new coronavirus cases
Oyo State has recorded 28 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the latest figures released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday night. The 28 cases in the state were among the 339 figures recorded in 18 states on Thursday. The latest figure has increased the total number recorded in the state to 190. The recent daily increase in the number of people who tested positive to COVID-19 has created fear among residents, though the majority of them still go out without the use of face masks against the directive of the government. This nonchalant attitude of some of the residents had prompted the state COVID-19 Task Force to intensified sensitisation programme in the Oke-Ogun area of the state on Thursday, where it threatened to sanction erring members of the publ...
Nigerian government to dispatch experts to re-engage Kogi on coronavirus
The Federal Government on Thursday announced that a ministerial team of experts would soon be dispatched to Kogi on a mission to engage authorities of the state, to determine material and technical needs of the state on COVID-19. The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, made the announcement in Abuja at a news conference by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19. Newsmen report that the Kogi Government had alleged refusal of NCDC officials to observe protocols in line with the containment of the coronavirus when they visited the state. The allegation stirred up drama between the two parties as the NCDC officials left Kogi without adhering to terms and conditions, rolled out by Gov. Yahaya Bello. Following the development, Ehanire said the committee would need to re-engage the governor an...
INEC approves new policy framework for Edo, Ondo states
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday approved a new policy framework known as Policy on Conducting Elections in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic. The commission, in a statement issued by Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, in Abuja said the policy document would be released on May 25. Okoye said that the provisions would be applied to the conduct of governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States scheduled for Sept. 19 and Oct. 10, respectively, as well as other by-elections to be conducted soon in seven states. “The general purpose of the Policy is to enable officials and staff of the Commission to understand and respond adequately to the challenges of conducting elections in the context of the COVI...
Lagos discharges 13 more coronavirus patients
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced the discharge of 13 more Coronavirus patients who recovered from the virus. The governor said those discharged included nine male and four female, all Nigerians. Sanwo-Olu said they were discharged from the Onikan, Eti-Osa (Landmark), Lekki and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Isolation facilities to reunite with the society. In his words: “Good people of Lagos, today, 13 more COVID19Lagos patients; 9 male and 4 female, all Nigerians have been discharged from the Onikan, Eti-Osa (Landmark), Lekki and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Isolation facilities to reunite with the society. “The patients, 1 from the Onikan, 4 from Eti-Osa (Landmark), 3 from Lekki and 5 from LUTH Isolation Centres were discharged having...
Central bank reschedules MPC meeting over holidays
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rescheduled it’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting from Monday and Tuesday May 25 and 26 to Thursday, May 28. The CBN Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday. Okorafor explained that the rescheduling of the meeting was due to the declaration of May 25 and May 26 as public holidays by the Federal Government to commemorate the Eid-el Fitr. He said for the avoidance of doubt, CBN had put necessary machinery in place for the meeting to now hold for only one day on account of the ongoing COVID-19 national lockdown. He added that this step taken was also to align this meeting with the extant rules of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and advisories from other rel...
Nigeria begs to traders not to hike prices
The Federal Government has appealed to traders not to hike prices of food items and transportation as the country battles to contain the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism, made the appeal at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 daily news briefing on Thursday in Abuja. He said it was necessary that market women and men understood the enormity of the time regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that there is a need to show compassion to all Nigerians by not hiking prices of foodstuff and services. The minister said that this period was a time to give back to society while calling on Nigerians not to take the opportunity of COVID-19 to further oppress other Nigerians. “This is a time people are giving back to s...
NCDC lauds Kwara over testing centre
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has commended efforts of the Kwara State Government in the fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the state. The NCDC Team Leader, Dr Okoli Innocent, made the commendation when he led other members of the agency to inspect laboratories in preparation for establishing of Molecular Testing Centre in the state to test for the virus. Okoli explained that the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, was appreciative of the present administration’s strides in the health sector. The team leader pledged NCDC’s support to the state in the fight against COVID-19. He added that NCDC was not surprised that the state was ranked fourth in preparation for health emergency in the country, given the availability of modern medical equipment. Kwa...
Lagos conducts 16,000 coronavirus tests
The Lagos State Government says it has conducted about 16, 000 COVID-19 tests at a cost of N40, 000 to N50, 000 per test. Prof. Akin Abayomi, the state Commissioner for Health, made this known at the Lagos COVID-19 update on Thursday. Abayomi said that there were plans to ramp up testing capacity to about one thousand tests on a daily basis. He said that Lagos had conducted the highest number of COVID-19 tests in Nigeria, with four testing laboratories, and planned to increase the testing sites in the coming weeks. According to him, as the state ramps up its testing capacity, there will be need to subside the cost of the test, either through insurance or donor funds. “For now, the Lagos State Government is providing COVID-19 tests free of charge,” he said. The commissioner said that the st...
Historic Venue The Stud, Oldest Gay Bar In San Francisco, Is Closing Its Doors
COVID-19 has claimed its latest victim, the historic San Francisco gay bar The Stud. The storied venue located at 399 9th Street had stood the test of time as arguably the most popular LGBT club in the Bay Area, operating for over 50 years. Now, for the first time since 1966, The Stud is shutting its doors. Representatives from The Stud took to Facebook to share the heartbreaking news. “The Stud is the country’s only cooperatively owned LGBT venue and has been in operation for 55 years,” said co-owner Honey Mahogany in a press statement obtained by Bay Area Reporter. “Because of a lack of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the historic bar will be announcing that they are permanently closing their location and will be holding a drag funeral to hono...
