COVID-19
Coronavirus: Niger government directs civil servants to resume work March 1
Niger State Government on Thursday directed all civil servants to resume work from March 1. The State Commissioner for Information, Malam Sani Idris, disclosed this during a press conference in Minna. He said the Gov. Abubakar Sani-Bello gave the directives during Thursday’s weekly State Executive Council Meeting. Newsmen report that the state government had on Dec. 21 directed civil servants to stay at home as a result of the upsurge of the second wave of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. Also, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, the State Commissioner for Water Resources said the ministry presented a memo seeking approval to establish Small Towns Water and Sewage Agency. He said the memo was approved by the council which would be translated to the state house of assembly to come up with a bi...
Israel, Bahrain leaders discuss Iran, possible vaccine plant
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain’s Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa on Thursday discussed Iran and the possible involvement of the Gulf state in establishing a vaccine plant in Israel, the two countries said. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates formalised ties with Israel on Sept. 15 in part over shared concerns about Iran, in a deal forged by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, a move praised by Israel which has objected to the accord. His successor, President Joe Biden, wants to rejoin the deal. But in the week since Washington offered to talk with Tehran about reviving the nuclear deal, Iran has curbed U.N. monitoring and threatened to boost its uranium enrichment. Tehran denies...
WAEC registration: Kwara government warns principals against extortion
File Photo The Kwara Government has warned principals in public schools not to extort students during the registration of the upcoming West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) examination. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, gave the warning at a meeting with principals and stakeholders in the education sector of the state. She said it has come to the notice of the government that some schools are in the habit of charging more than the approved charges for WAEC examination. ”Henceforth, any principal found wanting will be dealt with in accordance with the Civil Service rules,” Mrs Adeosun warned. The permanent secretary further charged principals to continue to support the present administration in its efforts to revamp the educatio...
Minister: When Nigeria receives coronavirus vaccines doesn’t lie in our hands
Since the beginning of January 2021, Nigeria has been expecting the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, but nothing has happened to date. The World Health Organisation, WHO and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, CEPI, came up with the COVAX initiative to ensure that low and middle-income countries have access to vaccines. But COVAX has not given a precise date for when it will begin distributing the vaccines. Nigeria has put all its hopes on the COVAX Facility. The federal government is also expecting some vaccines from the Africa Union arrangement, expected to deploy from March. This development has attracted criticisms about the government’s readiness and commitment towards ensuring the timely vaccination of Nigerians against the dreaded pande...
Minister: When Nigeria receives coronavirus vaccines doesn’t lie in our hands
Since the beginning of January 2021, Nigeria has been expecting the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, but nothing has happened to date. The World Health Organisation, WHO and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, CEPI, came up with the COVAX initiative to ensure that low and middle-income countries have access to vaccines. But COVAX has not given a precise date for when it will begin distributing the vaccines. Nigeria has put all its hopes on the COVAX Facility. The federal government is also expecting some vaccines from the Africa Union arrangement, expected to deploy from March. This development has attracted criticisms about the government’s readiness and commitment towards ensuring the timely vaccination of Nigerians against the dreaded pande...
England’s Music Festivals and Nightclubs Given Green Light to Reopen This Summer
At long last, England’s nightclubs and music festivals have been given the green light by the government to resume operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced a roadmap aimed at easing lockdown restrictions, which signals the imminent reopening of venues and clubs starting June 21st, 2021. Mixmag notes that restrictions on such events could be lifted as long as the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospital admissions continue to decline. According to Sky News, Johnson’s plan will unfold in four steps, this first of which goes into effect on March 8th, when all schools and colleges in England will reopen. The second phase of the plan will allow outdoor hospitality to reopen starting on April 12th—including pubs ...
Coronavirus: Nigeria records 18 more deaths, 645 new infections
A total of 1,831 deaths have now been recorded from COVID-19 in Nigeria after 18 more people died on Saturday, health authorities have said. The 18 deaths on Saturday indicated a significant increase from the eight fatalities recorded on Friday. Nigeria also reported 645 new infections on Saturday, increasing the total number of known cases in the country to 151,553. This is according to an update by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Saturday night. Low testing figures in many states has limited Nigeria’s ability to determine the true extent of the spread of COVID-19. A recent general fact sheet published by the NCDC showed that Kogi, Cross River and some other states were not conducting enough tests. More than two-third of the over 151,000 people infected by COVID-19 in Nigeri...
The Concert Business vs. COVID-19: The Road to a 2021 Recovery
The global concert industry has historically been a very healthy business. Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, every major indicator showed that touring was on pace to set a record in terms of economic activity. For instance, a 2019 report titled The Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019–2023—commissioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)—noted that live music ticket sales would increase at a compound annual growth rate of 3.33% from 2018 to 2023, from $21.256 billion in 2018 to $25.036 billion in 2023. These estimated figures became even more realistic after the 2019 touring year closed out with historic ticket movement and gross earnings across a variety of arena tours. According to Billboard’s 2019 Boxscore charts, the best performing tour of 2019 was E...
UK Home Office Publishes New PSA Video Condemning Raving
A new PSA video published by the UK Home Office condemns all gatherings and meet-ups, including raves, as illegal in the wake of current lockdown restrictions throughout the country. The UK is currently under a nationwide lockdown order, but that has seemingly not deterred residents from gathering in masses, including the organization of unauthorized raves. Home Secretary Priti Patel expressed frustration with the actions of what she stated were a small number of individuals in late January. In response, the government additionally quadrupled the financial penalties associated with attending in-person gatherings to £800 per person. Now, the latest correspondence from the UK Home Office shares 2021 video footage of citizens attending various events, including baby showers and...
Edo government warns worship, events centres against violating coronavirus protocols
The Edo State Government has warned owners of event centres, eateries, restaurants, pubs, shopping malls and other places hosting social events in the state against violating the state’s COVID-19 prevention protocols. In a statement signed on Saturday by the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, the government said event centres or business premises that violate regulations on social gatherings would be shut and owners or operators would be prosecuted at designated mobile courts. Ogie noted that the state COVID-19 compliance team had been mandated to ensure strict enforcement of the directives at the weekend, starting from Friday, February 19, 2021, with instructions to ensure full compliance with the protocols. “The Edo State Government hereby warns all event centres, eaterie...
South Park Returning with “South ParQ Vaccination Special”
An alternate spelling suggests an invasion of alternative facts in South Park’s just-announced one-hour episode, the “South ParQ Vaccination Special”. It airs Wednesday, March 10th at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. This isn’t the first time the cartoon denizens have wrestled with COVID-19. Last September, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone kicked off Season 24 with “The Pandemic Special”, in which Cartman flourished in isolation while Randy began to suspect he had personally created the novel coronavirus. Now it’s time for the townspeople to protect themselves, but there’s a catch. According to the official description, “The citizens of South ParQ are clamoring for the COVID-19 vaccine. A hilarious new militant group tries to stop the boys from getting their teacher vaccinated.” Militant grou...
Organizers of Detroit’s Movement Festival Pull Plug on 2021 Event
Memorial Day weekend in Detroit will be a bit dimmer this year after the organizers of Detroit’s Movement Electronic Music Festival decided to pull the plug on its 2021 edition. Citing the impact of COVID-19, representatives took to social media to share the news in a joint statement with Paxahau, which produces the fest in Detroit’s Hart Plaza. “We have been looking forward to reuniting with all of you on Memorial Day weekend, but the ongoing pandemic and state regulations have led us to the painful realization that our beloved Movement Festival will not happen in May 2021,” the statement reads. The announcement adds that organizers are “working hard to provide updates about future dates and ticketing options,” which they say will arrive when ...
