COVID-19
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...
Minister: Nigeria expecting vaccine from China
The Federal Government has opened talks with the Peoples Republic of China to have access to COVID-19 vaccines for the citizens, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said on Tuesday. This is as both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishment of inter-governmental committee to coordinate aspects of cooperation between both countries. The MOU was signed by Onyeama and the Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi in Abuja on Tuesday. The Chinese Foreign Minister is on a two-day working visit to Abuja. Briefing reporters after their bilateral meeting, Onyeama said at this point when countries were discovering vaccines and China being one of them, Nigeria was engaging the country in the area of access to the vaccine. “We have...
2021 Grammy Awards Ceremony Postponed Due to COVID-19 Concerns
The 2021 Grammy Awards have been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, according to a report by Rolling Stone. The Los Angeles Times reports that the Recording Academy has pushed the Grammys to March 21st, 2021. Considering the impact of the virus prior to the announcement, organizers were already planning a restricted and socially distanced show, devoid of an audience and only open to presenters and performers. However, as the state of California struggles to mitigate the spread of the virus, organizers of the Grammys have decided to pull the plug on the event, which was originally slated to take place on January 31st. “The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, where hospital services have been overwhelmed [and] ICUs have reached capacity, and new guidance from...
World Bank predicts 4% global economic growth, 1.1% for Nigeria in 2021
ABS-CBN The World Bank says global economy is expected to grow by 4 per cent in 2021, assuming an initial COVID-19 vaccine rollout becomes widespread throughout the year. It said this in a statement issued in Washington D.C. on Tuesday at the presentation of the January 2021 Global Economic Prospects. It added that the said recovery would likely be subdued unless policy makers moved decisively to tame the pandemic and implement investment-enhancing reforms. The bank also said that growth in Sub-Saharan Africa was forecast to rebound moderately to 2.7 per cent in 2021, while Nigeria’s growth was expected to resume at 1.1 per cent. For the region, it said that while the recovery in private consumption and investment was forecast to be slower than previously envisioned, export growth was expe...
COVID-19 Conspiracy Theorists Thought Guitar Pedal Was a 5G Chip Blueprint
In the latest edition of reality being more absurd than our wildest imaginations, COVID-19 conspiracy theorists tricked themselves into thinking that the electrical schematics of a common guitar pedal were the master plans behind 5G mind control. It’s literally as ridiculous as it sounds, but here’s the context. In case you’re blissfully unaware, there’s a dangerously prevalent theory abound that the new towers for 5G cellphone service are responsible for spreading COVID-19. In fact, federal agents are investigating whether anti-5G sentiments could have been a potential motive for the Christmas Day Nashville bombing, which went down right near an AT&T building. This baseless connection between an airborne disease and a cellphone service obviously has real-world implications, but believ...
BUK: ASUU worries over coronavirus spread as university announces resumption date
File Photo Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday worried over a potential spread of COVID-19 pandemic in schools as the country battles the second wave of disease. ASUU’s concern was announced after the Senate of Bayero university, Kano approved January 18 for resumption and commencement of lectures for the 2020/2021 academic session. Director Public Affairs, BUK, Mal. Ahmad Shehu told newsmen that the decision was reached at the end of the meeting presided over by the university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Sagir Abbas. Ahmad noted that contrary to information making round on the social media, the university did not cancelled the 2019/2020 session but rather adjusted the previous session to be concluded in April, 2021. According to him, the postgraduate program will also ...
Juventus announce coronavirus positive of Alex Sandro
Through an official statement, Juventus informed of the COVID-19 positive of Alex Sandro, who underwent the medical tests after the appearance of some symptoms. The coronavirus pandemic has hit Italian football again. On this occasion, the victim has been Juventus player Alex Sandro. Through an official statement, the Turin club announced his positive after the appearance of some symptoms compatible with the illness. First Team footballer tests positive https://t.co/qkUjqDUPBf pic.twitter.com/RvhphXP2sE — JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 4, 2021 The player, as the health authorities mark, has been placed in isolation and is in a good state of health despite the light symptoms. Alex Sandro, therefore, will miss Juventus’ next match against Milan, key in the fight for the Serie A title, an...
Alibaba: Coronavirus is real, not a scam
Stand-up comedian Atunyota Akpobome, popularly known as “Alibaba”, has urged Nigerians to be cautious and keep safe, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic is real. Alibaba said that having just survived the deadly virus Nigerians should desist from describing the COVID-19 pandemic as a scam. The comedian thanked Govenir Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Prof Akin Abayomi, the Commissioner for Health, and other caregivers who worked tirelessly to keep him alive at the Yaba Isolation Centre where he was quarantined. ‘COVID-19 is real. Don’t let anyone tell you it is a scam. I just came out of isolation, several people died, while I was there. Some of my close friends know and they were very supportive. ‘I thank the Lagos State governor, the Commissioner of Health, Managing Director of the COVID...
What Rona?: Diddy Celebrates Son’s 27th Birthday With Mask-Less Party In Miami
Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz Some folk just have to get their party on, even during a pandemic. The latest, and certainly not the last, to make such a questionable decision is Sean “Diddy” Combs, who threw a birthday bash for his son Justin’s 27th birthday in Miami. Nope, it was not an intimate gathering in the slightest. According to TMZ it went down Wednesday night (Dec. 30) in Miami, Florida, and there wasn’t a mask in sight—besides the servers. Per TMZ: Diddy led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to Justin during the Wednesday night celebration that started at Swan restaurant, and eventually moved to Victory Restaurant & Lounge. Both joints were packed to the gills with folks popping bottles and a custom Dior cake for Justin. It’s 2020, so the first thing that hits y...
Minister: We have spent $570,000 on coronavirus prevention in schools
Sri Lanka has spent around $570,000 on COVID-19 precautionary measures in schools around the country, state media reported on Monday. The Minister of Education, Gamini Peiris, said this in Colombo. Peiris was quoted in state-owned Daily News as saying that sets of equipment have been provided to schools in order to protect the health of children ahead of classes restarting in the New Year. He said that schools would be reopened in isolated areas on Jan. 11 following consultation with health officials. The minister said that teachers and ministry officials would meet between Jan. 4 to 11 to discuss the implementation of health and safety protocols. So far, Sri Lanka had recorded 44,774 cases, 213 deaths and 37,252 recovered. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Ev...
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...