COVID-19
COVID-19 Still Here: Governor Cuomo Slaps 6 More NY, NYC Bars With Liquor License Suspensions
Source: Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is dead serious about keeping NY as COVID-19 free as he possibly can. Bars out here breaking the rules he has put in place to curb the spread are finding that out the hard way. On Saturday (Aug.29), Governor Cuomo announced that 6 more NY, NYC bars will be having their wigs pushed back in the form of their liquor licenses being suspended ABC News reports. New York, which was one of the hardest-hit states in the country when COVID-19 first arrived, has now seen 24 days straight the infection rate staying below 1 percent despite mass testing, which debunks President Donald Trump’s dumb theory. Today’s update on the numbers: Of the 66,241 tests reported yesterday, 656 were positive (0.99% of total). Total hospitalizations fe...
Ministry: All virus-infected WASSCE candidates have recovered
The Ministry of Education announced on Monday, August 31, 2020 that all final year secondary school students who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered. Pulse reported last week that at least 33 students in four states had tested positive for the novel disease two weeks after the commencement of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). In the first week, 11 students in Gombe and one in Kwara tested positive, while 20 tested positive in Bayelsa, and one Akwa Ibom last week. The Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, announced during a media briefing on Monday that all the students have recovered. “We’ve confirmed that all of them are back in class. They have now been tested negative. “We do not have any further cases,” the minister said. Nwajiuba said ...
Björk’s Icelandic Concert Series Pushed Back to 2021
Coronavirus cases have begun to creep back up in Iceland, forcing Björk to push back her planned live concert series. Via Stereogum, the performances at Reykjavík’s Harpa Hall will now take place in January and February of 2021. The original concert announcements were born of unbridled optimism and national pride. Early in the pandemic, Iceland drew rave reviews for their aggressive response to the threat of COVID-19. Through intense social cooperation, and with the protection of their island home, it seemed as if the Scandinavian country had found a recipe for coronavirus success. As the government eased restrictions, the Icelandic Queen herself announced a four-concert run at Harpa Hall, originally set to begin on August 9th. But by the end of July, coronavirus c...
JAMB removes ban on printing admission letters, others
File Photo The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has lifted suspension earlier placed on some processes on its platforms to accommodate more requests from candidates who took the UTME prior to 2020. The board made this known in a statement in Abuja on Sunday by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Dr Fabian Benjamin. According to him, JAMB lifted suspension on processes covering those years to ensure that candidates who took the exams during the period, and who required certain corrections of their processes are accommodated. ”As you may be aware, the need to prevent overcrowding at its Computer-Based Test Centres and other partner facilities, in line with extant COVID -19 protocols issued by relevant agencies, led it to allow candidates to seek corrections and other p...
Nigerian government to inject over N600 billion into agriculture for food security – minister
The Federal Government is set to inject over N600 billion as stimulus response into the agriculture sector. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, made this known in a statement signed by the Director of Information of the ministry, Mr Theodore Ogaziechi, on Sunday in Abuja. The minister according to the statement, made this known while on a tour of Dangote Fertiliser Plant and other fertiliser companies in Lagos State. Nanono said the stimulus package would target small scale farmers, to ensure food security and sustainability. He explained that the package would target farmers nationwide and expected to begin with an initial 2.4 million farmers. He noted that to avoid the abuse of government funds and good intentions, the support would be in form of inputs and no...
How Cyberattacks Mirror the Rate of COVID-19 Infections
Sourced from Getty Images. The number of cyberattacks on frontline healthcare responders have surged at the same time as the global COVID-19 pandemic, trending upwards almost entirely in line with case numbers. By March 2020, phishing emails had spiked by over 600% since February, as cyber-criminals looked to capitalise on the fear and uncertainty generated by the virus. One-third of these attacks used impersonation of a known brand as a tactic to steal money and data or to deploy a virus or ransomware. When comparing the number of phishing attacks and COVID-19 infections globally between January and March of this year, the rate of growth in phishing attacks correlates almost perfectly with the rate of increase in infections. While these attacks have been seen mostly by healthcare institut...
City of Los Angeles Brings Charges Against TikTok Influencers Who Threw Illegal House Parties
The Los Angeles City Attorney has brought charges against two prominent TikTok influencers, Bryce Hall (21) and Blake Gray (19). The young men threw a series of parties — including a massive birthday bash — in defiance of emergency pandemic orders. As TMZ reports, both have been slapped with one misdemeanor for violating a local ordinance. They’ve also each been issued a noise citation. The city described the charges as a “crackdown on party houses.” The biggest of the bashes took place August 14th at “Sway House”, a $50,000-a-month rental in the Hollywood Hills. It’s occupied by a small collective of hard-partying, often shirtless TikTok influencers, including Gray and Hall. The party was thrown in honor of Hall’s 21st birthday and his first legal consumption of alcohol. The resulting bac...
NBA to resume games after player protest, turn stadiums into voting sites
NBA players who boycotted games as part of a protest against racial injustice have agreed to resume the playoffs on Saturday in a deal that includes increased access to voting in the United States presidential election. The league and players association (NBPA) said on Friday. As part of the agreement, the NBA and its players will establish a coalition that will focus on access to voting for the Nov. 3 general election, promoting civic engagement, and advocating for meaningful police and criminal justice reform. “These commitments follow months of close collaboration around designing a safe and healthy environment to restart the NBA season, providing a platform to promote social justice, as well as creating an NBA Foundation focused on economic empowerment in the Black community,” NBA Comm...
NCDC certifies molecular laboratory in Bayelsa
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has activated the newly inaugurated Bayelsa State Molecular Laboratory, Research and Diagnostic Centre for COVID-19 testing. The facility, which was inaugurated by Gov. Douye Diri, brought the number of NCDC accredited laboratories in the country to 66 in 34 states. The Acting Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Daniel Alabrah, announced this in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Yenagoa. He said that the NCDC in a letter by the Laboratory Network Advisor, Celestina Obiekea, to the Bayelsa Commissioner for Health, stated that the laboratory had fulfilled the necessary requirements to test for COVID-19. He quoted the NCDC as saying that the state would be responsible for procurement of consumables, equipment and other mater...
Brazil court fires Rio governor over corruption
Brazil’s High Court of Justice removed Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel from office Friday, as police raided his official residence in a probe into accusations he stole emergency funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The raids also targeted the far-right governor’s wife and inner circle. Among those arrested was Pastor Everaldo, an evangelical preacher and leader of Witzel’s Christian Social Party. Helicopters circled over the stately governor’s residence, Laranjeiras Palace, starting at dawn as federal police executed a sweeping series of search and seizure orders and arrest warrants. The court ruling suspends Witzel, 52, from office for at least 180 days as authorities investigate claims he took a reported 274.2 million reals ($50 million) in kickbacks. “This criminal organizatio...
Pasquale Rotella Confirms 2021 Postponement of Insomniac Festivals Due to COVID-19
Insomniac founder Pasquale Rotella took to social media today to share some devastating—if unsurprising—news about the future of his company’s wildly popular dance music festivals in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Nocturnal Wonderland, Escape Psycho Circus, EDC Orlando, and Dreamstate SoCal have all officially been tabled, biting the bullet amid a relentless pandemic that continues to throttle the music community at large. They will now all be planned for unannounced 2021 dates. “As you might have imagined after we moved EDC Las Vegas to May 2021, we will be shifting Nocturnal Wonderland, Escape Psycho Circus, EDC Orlando & Dreamstate SoCal to 2021 as well,” he wrote via Instagram. “While this year has been full of ups and downs, it’s somethi...
Italy begins delivering new socially distancing desks to schools
Italy on Friday began the delivery of new school desks adapted for COVID-19 safety regulations, part of a large-scale effort to re-open classrooms after a six-month shutdown. A government commissioner ordered more than 2.4 million desks, and the first 799 were delivered to schools in Bergamo province, which was worst hit by the pandemic. Schools are being equipped with one-seat desks to facilitate social-distancing. Students are supposed to sit at least 1m apart; if not, they will have to wear face masks. he new desks are smaller than previously used one-seat models, and in some schools with older equipment, are due to replace two-person desks. Schools are scheduled to re-open on Sept. 14, but the government is struggling to put everything in place. The delivery of the new desks is for ins...
