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COVID-19: Chief Ndukwe Iko Preaches Hope, Support As He Marks Birthday

By
ABN TV EDITOR
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An Abia born businessman and industrialist, Chief Ndukwe Iko has expressed gratitude to God for making him a year older even as he acknowledges the COVID-19 health challenge facing the world in general and Abia in particular.

Chief Ndukwe Iko in a release on Monday called on the people not to give up hope while also calling on the well-to-do members of the society to support the weak and vulnerable around them.

“I thank God Almighty from who all blessings flow for making me a year older today. It is a rare privilege and indeed indication of the overflowing divine mercy to get to this point in my life journey.

Read Also: UK To Pay £60K For Families Of NHS Workers, Carers Who Die From COVID-19

“Many commenced this journey same time with me but today their fate has been confined to the dustbin of history. I can only say thank you to the Supreme Creator who through His loving kindness has made me a testimony today, blessed me with good things of life, and decorated me with the garment of honour.

“I am not oblivious of the challenges our people are facing at this time. The global community is no doubt passing through trying times as a result of the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Our country Nigeria and our state, Abia, in particular, is no island. I come with a message of hope that despite the challenges posed by this global health issue, we must not give up hope.

“The lockdown put in place to curb the spread of the disease is a measure to guarantee our safety. Its effect in the way we live our lives cannot be overlooked.

“I can only appeal to you to exercise patience and adhere to all instructions from the State Government, Federal Ministry of Health, NCDC, and other relevant authorities. Together we can permanently kick COVID-19 out of our land” he said.

Oyo Records Second COVID-19 Death

By
Alex Enemanna
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1

The Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force has confirmed the second COVID-19 death in the state.

Chairman of the team, Governor Seyi Makinde, made this disclosure via his Twitter on Monday.

He said the fatality came from one of the three new coronavirus patients announced earlier by the Task Force on Sunday.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the state to two, while the number of confirmed cases as of the time of filing this report stands at 21.

[READ ALSO] Three Patients Flee After Testing Positive To COVID-19 In Kano

ABN TV reports that the number of active cases in the state dropped from nine to eight as a result of the new fatality.

“Sadly, one of the new COVID-19 cases announced yesterday (Sunday), passed away this morning. This brings the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the state to two.

“So, there are currently eight active cases in Oyo State. Testing is still ongoing at the drive-through/walk-through testing centre at Adamasingba Stadium, Ibadan,” Makinde stated.

BREAKING: President Buhari Addresses Nigerians By 8pm

By
ABN TV EDITOR
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President Muhammadu Buhari will address the nation on Monday by 8:00pm.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this.

“President Muhammadu Buhari will address the nation Monday, April 27, 2020 at 8pm.

“Television, radio and other electronic media stations are enjoined to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) respectively for the broadcast,” the statement said.

Note ABN TV and Radio will also hook up with the Live broadcast.

Three Patients Flee After Testing Positive To COVID-19 In Kano

By
Alex Enemanna
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1

The Kano State coordinator of technical response team on COVID-19, Tijjani Hussaini, said three persons ran away after testing positive to COVID-19 in the state.

Mr Hussaini told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that the patients fled their known addresses and switched off their phones.

He said his team is working with security agencies to trace the patients and move them to the designated isolation centre.

Although he declined to reveal the specific location where the patients were previously living on ethical grounds, the coordinator said residents of the area were fully aware of runaway patients.

“Out of 77 confirmed cases tested positive in Kano, we are yet to trace three persons who ran away after testing positive to COVID-19, because they have changed (their) place(s) of residence and switched off their phones. But we have sought the assistance of security personnel to trace them and take appropriate action,” he said.

Mr Hussaini added that the team in collaboration with traditional ward heads are working round the clock to trace the patients.

He confirmed that so far, there are 73 persons receiving treatment at the state’s isolation centres.

Also on Monday, the Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, accused the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 of neglecting the state in its current battle against coronavirus spread.

Mr Ganduje said this in an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Monday.

Read Also: Lagos Warn Private Schools Against Online Teaching

He said, “We are in a serious problem. I can tell you the situation is really bad and scary. Because what we solely rely upon in fighting the disease is the testing centre.

“This laboratory suspended its operation five or six days ago. There is also a shortage of sample collection equipment. It is not a piece of common equipment that you can go and buy in the market. Those whose samples were collected are still waiting to know their fate.”

However, the health minister, Osagie Ehanire, said on Sunday that the necessary materials had been sent to Kano and the testing centre would commence operations today.

In his speech, Mr Ganduje accused the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 of poor communication.

“Even its Director-General was in Kano. He spent a night there, but we have not heard from him again. The minister (of health) too knows the laboratory is not working,” he said.

He added, “there is a serious problem. We have been complaining that Kano needs more than one testing centre, right from the beginning of this (pandemic).”

Lagos Warn Private Schools Against Online Teaching

By
Alex Enemanna
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1

The Lagos State Government has warned private school owners against resuming academic activities for the 2019/2020 session the third term via online teaching.

The Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo, on Sunday said all schools in Lagos State remained closed and had not yet been opened for the third term.

According to her, a resumption by private schools through online teaching is a strategy for ensuring that students continue to learn while the school calendar continues as planned. She reiterated that the third term resumption remained postponed until directives to the contrary.

Read Also: COVID-19: Lucky Igbokwe Urges NASS To Give Legislative Backing To Non-Disclosure Of Travel, Health History

She said the state continued to offer free teaching on various media, especially radio and television. She said: “The State is presently on lockdown imposed by the Federal Government over the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Most schools are charging for this online service; often at a discount on existing tuition fees while some schools are charging full fees.

“Parents are concerned about the cost of this programme, ranging from fees charged by schools to cost of data and devices as well as the cost of fuelling generators to ensure steady electricity power supply.

“Parents also have to supervise online teachings to guard against the exposure of children to pornography, in addition to online harassment and bullying.”

COVID-19: Lucky Igbokwe Urges NASS To Give Legislative Backing To Non-Disclosure Of Travel, Health History

By
ABN TV EDITOR
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2

Businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Lucky Igbokwe popularly known as Don Lulu has called on the National Assembly and the 36 state Houses of Assembly to enact laws that will curb non and partial disclosure of travel and health history of Nigerians at point of admission in hospitals, saying this will help in curtailing the spread of COVID-19.

Mr. Igbokwe said this has become necessary in view of what he called the scale and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic which he said has clearly risen to the level of a public health threat that could justify restrictions on certain rights even as the international human rights law guarantees everyone the right to the highest attainable standard of health and requires governments to take steps to prevent threats to public health and to provide medical care to those who need it.

Mr. Lucky Igbokwe, who’s also the boss of 2Flame Entertainment and UN-Polac Mayor of Peace, in a statement signed by his media strategist, Alozie Uzoukwu expressed worry about the fate of first responders and other health workers who faced threats to their lives due to patients who had refused to disclose their health and travel information during treatment.

He cited a recent statement by the Nigeria Medical Association which revealed that over 40 medical doctors besides other health workers have been infected with the disease so far.

While seeking supplications and divine healing from the pandemic, he cautioned against attacking the clergy and the church which according to him, has become the pastime of some people of late.

He was hopeful of a scientific breakthrough via prayers while urging all hands to be on deck and to follow all safety protocols in the fight against the virus

“It is not enough for us to sit behind and call Bill and Melinda Gate doomsday prophets. We must rise up to do our part if we must win this war”, Igbokwe concluded.

BREAKING: DSS DG, Yusuf Bichi’s Mother Dies In Kano

By
ABN TV EDITOR
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0

Karimatu Abubakar, the mother of the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi, is dead.

She died in Bichi town on Sunday night and was buried on Monday.

There has been an uptick in strange deaths in Kano, though the state government said they are not COVID-19 related.

On Sunday, Muhammad Garba, commissioner of information, asked residents not to panic “as government is on top of the situation and the mystery or whatever it is will soon be unravelled”.

In the past one week, the state has recorded multiple deaths, with Sabitu Shaibu, deputy head of the state task force on COVID-19 putting the toll at 640.

There were concerns that the deaths could be as a result of COVID-19 (Kano has 77 confirmed cases of coronavirus) but Garba attributed them to hypertension, acute malaria, and diabetes.

Nicotine Could Protect From COVID-19, French Researchers Suggest

By
ABN TV EDITOR
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0

Researchers studying COVID-19 patients in the Paris public hospital network have found evidence that smokers could be better protected from the virus than others, though they warn that smoking can aggravate symptoms for those who do contract the illness.

Researchers from several institutions saw that of the 11,000 or so patients hospitalised in Paris public hospitals for COVID-19 at the start of April, only 8.5 percent were smokers, compared to 25.4 percent of the general public.

They then looked more closely at 482 patients at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris who tested positive for Covid-19 and found a similar phenomenon: the 343 hospitalised for serious complications had a smoking rate of 4.4 percent, and 5.3 percent of the 139 who were sent home with less serious symptoms smoked.

Upon further investigation, accounting for age and sex, the researchers found that the small number of smokers appeared to have had some kind of protection against the virus.

The findings were in line with a study on COVID-19 in China, published at the end of March in the New England Journal of Medicine, that found 12.6 percent of 1,099 people studied, who tested positive for COVID-19 were smokers, while the smoking rate in China is around 28 percent.

Nicotine could be the reason

The French study “confirms that active smokers are protected against the SARS-Cov-2 infection,” writes the press release. “The reasons for this protection are not established, but nicotine could be a candidate.”

The researchers warn that people should not take up smoking, as smokers who do become infected with COVID-19 tend to develop more serious symptoms.

The head of France’s national health agency, Jerome Salomon, said the nicotine link is only an unproven hypothesis at this stage and warned that smoking remains the number one killer in France, with 75,000 people who die of smoking-related complications each year.

How would it work? 

In an upcoming article (in pre-print here) researchers write: “Although the chemistry of tobacco smoke is complex, these data are consistent with the hypothesis that its protective role takes place through direct action on various types of nAChRs [nicotine receptors] expressed in neurons, immune cells (including macrophages), cardiac tissue, lungs, and blood vessels.”

In other words, nicotine could block the virus from entering the body through neurons in the olfactory system or through lung cells.

The hypothesis remains to be proven. The researchers are looking to organise a clinical study using nicotine patches, pending approval from French health authorities.

The study would have three aims: to see if nicotine prevents infection in healthcare workers; to see how it works therapeutically and to lower symptoms in hospitalised patients, and to see its effect on patients in intensive care.

 

ABN TV Boss Salutes Chief Ndukwe Iko On His Birthday, Calls Him Man Of Good Heart

By
ABN TV EDITOR
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0

The Director, ABN TV Mr. Ifeanyi Okali has congratulated Abia born businessman, Chief Ndukwe Iko as he marks his birthday today.

Describing him as a man with a good heart, Mr. Okali extolled Chief Ndukwe for contributing meaningfully to the lives of Abians through employment generation and career development.

“As a businessman and industrialist, the lives of our people has significantly received a boost in standards and a lot of Abians got gainfully engaged and mentored.

“He has given hope to the less privileged and vulnerable in our society. To many, he is a prayer answered in reaching their utmost gold in life in terms of education and capacity building” he said.

Mr. Okali prayed for God’s ceaseless blessings upon Chief Ndukwe even as he wishes him more fruitful and productive years.

BREAKING: China Issues Stern Warning To Australia

By
ABN TV EDITOR
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0

Chinese students and tourists could stop coming to Australia if Prime Minister Scott Morrison pursues an inquiry into the beginnings of coronavirus, a leading Chinese official has warned.

The stern warning was issued by Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye who labelled a push for an independent COVID-19 inquiry by the federal government as ‘dangerous’.

Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye
Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye

Mr. Jingye warned that if Australia continued to be ‘unfriendly’ to China, its people – in particular its students and tourists – may have second thoughts about travelling.

While admitting that his country had not handled the COVID-19 outbreak ‘perfectly’ he said the reaction by nations like Australia had left the Chinese people ‘dismayed’.

‘I think in the long term… if the mood is going from bad to worse, people would think ‘Why should we go to such a country that is not so friendly to China? The tourists may have second thoughts,’ he told The Australian Financial Review.

‘The parents of the students would also think whether this place which they found is not so friendly, even hostile, whether this is the best place to send our kids.’

Education is Australia’s third-biggest export and is worth more than $30 billion to the economy every year.

The ambassador refused to comment on whether key exports such as iron ore, coal, and gas would be affected by perceived anti-China sentiment.

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