Afternoon news for Tuesday, 5th May 2020

- The Federal Government has advised medical facilities in the country to stop rejecting patients, especially emergency cases.
- Coronavirus cases in Nigeria head towards 3,000.
- Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has confirmed 245 new Coronavirus cases in the country with the total number of recorded infections now 2,802.

1. Another COVID-19 Lockdown Inevitable If Nigerians Don’t Social Distance – NCDC
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the federal government might be forced to implement another lockdown if Nigerians do not comply with social distancing measures, leading to a new explosion of infections. At the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19 on Monday, Director-General of the NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said businesses must also join hands to implement the required health measures.

2. President Buhari seeks International cooperation on COVID-19
President Muhammadu Buhari says only a collective international approach will mitigate the devastating effect of COVID-19, while assuring that the Federal Government will intensify efforts to monitor, test and isolate more people, especially at the community level.
President Buhari, who participated in a virtual Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, NAM on Monday, said national, regional and global strategies would be required to tackle the pandemic, which, he said, had ravaged humanity and caused unprecedented devastation to the well-being of people, their livelihoods, and global economy. He said the theme of the extra-ordinary Summit “United Against COVID-19 Pandemic“, aptly reflects the importance for a proactive approach and the need for multilateral cooperation in finding quick solutions to the challenges that Covid-19 pandemic poses to our countries. The President in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, noted that the task before the international community remains daunting, and more needs to be done to reduce the impact of Covid-19. Buhari says, “It is now clearly evident that no nation can independently and singlehandedly tackle a pandemic of this nature which is no respecter of borders, regions or status“.

3. The Federal Government has advised medical facilities in the country to stop rejecting patients, especially emergency cases.
Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health, said this on Monday in Abuja, at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 in the country. Ehanire, however, noted that it is unethical not to attend to persons in distress, adding that any infected health worker puts a strain on the system. The minister said the ministry was strengthening its support for Kano State Ministry of Health with service delivery and training in consultation with the state governor. “The setbacks reported in routine hospital service delivery in Kano state are being addressed by line experts from the ministry, whether from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, or the Department of Family Health. “A Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) pathologist is also participating in the investigation of the unexplained deaths in Kano.

4. The United States will raise $ 3 billion to fight coronavirus, the largest ever since the nation began
The United States says it will raise $ 3 billion to fight the coronavirus. This money will be the largest amount the United States has raised since its inception This comes as the money they are creating to promote their economy is breaking down . Revenue accounted for nearly five percent of the US economy during the 2008 financial year. In the year 2019 it is a $ 1 billion dollar surplus for the United States. Ever since the coronavirus began to prosecute, the United States has spent three dollars to upgrade the health sector and to help people in English programs called "direct payouts".

5. Sokoto govt. announces death of former Governor, Nadama
The Sokoto State Government has announced the death of the second civilian governor of the state, Dr Garba Nadama. According to a statement by the state government, Nadama died at the age of 82 years after an illness of natural cause. The government said that Gov. Aminu Tambuwal had commiserated with the family of the late politician who passed away on Monday. The state government said Tambuwal had expressed shock and sadness over Nadama’s passing. He was quoted as describing the late governor as a dedicated statesman and visionary whose ideas positioned the state on a solid foundation. The governor said that during his lifetime, the deceased was unrelenting in offering wise counsel for the advancement of the state and its people. He prayed to Allah to grant the late Nadama Aljannatul firdaus, and his family, the fortitude to bear the loss.

6. Facemask defaulters risk confinement in Isolation Centers in Delta State
For effective adherence to the compulsory use of facemask as one of the conditions for the relaxation of the total lockdown, Delta State Government has threatened to compel anyone seen in public places without facemask to any of the isolation centres in the state. Delta State Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, made this known to journalists in Asaba after a meeting of the Technical Committee for Prevention of COVID-19 in the state presided over by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. Aniagwu said government’s decision to take defaulters of the compulsory use of facemask to isolation centres in the state was because it would be assumed that such a person already had the virus and wants to infect others.

7. Nearly 83 Million Nigerians Are Considered Poor – NBS
A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that over 82.9 million Nigerians are currently living below the national poverty line, excluding Borno State. In its 2019 Poverty and Inequality in Nigeria Report released on Monday after a decade since it was last done, the NBS stated that the figure represents 40.1 per cent of the citizens. According to the report, northern states rank poorest with the highest poverty rate recorded in Sokoto State, which accounted for 87.73 per cent while Lagos had the lowest rate with 4.50 per cent. The NBS explained that poverty rates were measured using consumption expenditures rather than income in the country.

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