Lagos to mandate wearing of face masks next week – Sanwo-Olu (Punch)
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that wearing of face masks would be made compulsory for residents in the state from next week.
The governor said this would help to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state.
He said this during a televised media briefing on COVID-19 updates in Lagos monitored by our correspondent on Monday. Read more
Patients who lie about travel history will be prosecuted – Sanwo-Olu (Nation)
Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu of Lagos has said patients who lie about their travel history will be prosecuted.
He disclosed this during a press briefing at the State House Marina on Monday.
He said “These patients do not only endanger their lives but the lives of our front line medical personnel, we already have some names and they will be prosecuted duly”. Read more
Lockdown: Truck crashes into fence near Otedola bridge (Punch)
A truck was involved in a lone accident before the Otedola bridge inward Ojodu-Berger, Lagos on Monday.
The PUNCH gathered that the truck crashed into a fence with the empty 40feet container it was conveying to an undisclosed destination.
It was learnt that the accident was caused by an electrical spark that emanated from the engine compartment of the truck.
The Head, Public Affairs of Lagos State Emergency Management, Nosa Okunbor, said no casualty was recorded while confirming the accident. Read more
President of UCH Resident Doctors tests positive for COVID-19 (Guardian)
Dr Adedayo Williams, the President of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has tested positive for the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Williams disclosed this in a WhatsApp message he sent to his colleagues and obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.
The UCH spokesperson, Mr Toye Akinrinlola, also confirmed the news in a phone chat with NAN. Read more
Armed forces join fight against COVID-19, unveil ventilator, others (DailyTrust)
The Nigerian Armed Forces say they have successfully produced a digital mechanical ventilator known as DICOVENT. The ventilator was produced through the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), the Cordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, revealed this on Monday. He said the newly designed machine was a mechanical ventilator to deliver pressured ventilation using a volume-controlled ventilation (VCV) system. Read more
Funke Akindele urges Nigerians to collaborate with government (Guardian)
A Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele-Bello, has urged Nigerians to collaborate with the federal and state governments in the fight against the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Akindele was arrested and prosecuted by the Lagos State government for violating the social distancing rule, when she hosted a birthday party for her husband, Abdulrasheed Bello, aka JJC Skills.
NAN also recalls that Akindele-Bello, popular known as Jenifa, and her husband were sentenced to 14-day community service and fined N100,000 each. Read more
JAMB releases 2019 provisional admission list (Punch)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, has published the 2019 provisional matriculation list of admitted candidates on the official website of the board.
The board disclosed this in its weekly bulletin made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja.
The board also advised candidates who were yet to accept their offers of admission on the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) to do so or risk forfeiting the admission. Read more
COVID-19: Edo discharges seventh patient (DailyTrust)
The Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has announced the discharge of the seventh COVID-19 patient from one of its isolation centre after testing negative twice for the virus. Obaseki, who disclosed this on Monday in Benin, said the discharged patient was the index case in the state. “With the development, Edo has now recorded a 50 percent recovery rate for admitted patients being managed in facilities across the state,” he said. Read more
FRSC begins production, distribution of customised face masks to staff (Guardian)
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), has begun the production and distribution of customised face masks for its personnel across the country.
The Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO), Mr Bisi Kazeem disclosed this in a statement to newsmen on Monday in Abuja.
Kazeem said the development was in response to the recommendation by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 for Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to procure and distribute locally made face masks to their staff as part of efforts to curtail the spread of the virus. Read more
Coronavirus: Virgin Atlantic will fold without aid, warns Branson (BBC)
Sir Richard Branson has warned that airline Virgin Atlantic needs government support to survive.
The boss of the Virgin Group said he was not asking for a handout, but a commercial loan, believed to be £500m.
In an open letter to staff, Sir Richard said: “Many airlines around the world need government support and many have already received it.
The plea comes as Virgin Australia, the country’s second largest airline, faces going into administration without aid.
Sir Richard wrote in his letter that without UK government support for Virgin Atlantic “there won’t be any competition left and hundreds of thousands more jobs will be lost”. Read more
Sir David Attenborough to teach kids geography during coronavirus pandemic (Metro)
Siir David Attenborough will be educating pupils as part of the BBC’s offering to help school children during the coronavirus pandemic. The legendary presenter will explain topics such as oceans and animals, while a whole range of other famous faces have also joined the corporation’s mission to ensure that kids across the UK have access to curriculum supported learning for the summer term. Lessons will be available from Monday on BBC Bitesize Daily on BBC iPlayer and BBC Red Button, and all elements have been developed with teaching professionals. Read more
Air pollution linked to raised Covid-19 death risk (BBC)
High levels of air pollution could raise the risk of dying from Covid-19, two studies suggest.
Dr Maria Neira, of the World Health Organization (WHO), told BBC News countries with high pollution levels, many in Latin America, Africa and Asia, should ramp up their preparations.
Those with underlying pollution-related conditions have developed severe Covid-19 in countries with high levels.
But medical professionals say it is too early to prove a direct relationship. Read more
Mysterious potentially habitable Earth-like planet found ‘hiding in plain sight’ (Metro)
Astronomers have found a potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanet out in the dark reaches of space. The planet was found by the Kepler space telescope, which was operational between 2009 and 2018. Scientists only found the mysterious planet, known as Kepler-1649c, after combing through the data gathered by the telescope. Previous searches with a computer algorithm misidentified this planet but only when researchers reviewing Kepler data took a second look at the signature did they recognise it as a planet. Read more
Senegal bans most single-use plastics (DailyTrust)
A ban on single-use plastics came into effect in Senegal on Monday, although the government has said it will allow the sale of plastic water sachets until the coronavirus pandemic ends. The West African country won plaudits from environmentalists when it issued a law in January banning the import and sale of single-use plastics such as drinking straws, small bags and coffee cups. The move was a response to the large volumes of pollution across Senegal, where streets and beaches are often littered with plastic waste. Read more
US flies spy plane over Korean Peninsula to monitor N. Korea (Nation)
A US surveillance aircraft flew over South Korea, an aviation tracker said Monday, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea amid stepped-up military moves by the communist regime in recent weeks.
The U.S. Air Force’s RC-135W Rivet Joint was spotted in the skies above the city of Incheon, just west of Seoul, and the adjacent Gyeonggi Province, Aircraft Spots tweeted without specifying the exact time of the operation.
The U.S. has deployed several types of spy planes here more often than before in recent months, such as the Navy’s EP-3E, after Pyongyang has moved to beef up its defense capabilities amid stalled denuclearisation talks with Washington. Read more
Coronavirus: Brazil’s Bolsonaro joins anti-lockdown protests (BBC)
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has come under criticism for joining protesters demanding that restrictions on movement introduced to stop the spread of coronavirus be lifted.
Mr Bolsonaro has clashed in recent weeks with state governors who have imposed lockdowns, denouncing the measures as “dictatorial”.
As of Sunday, Brazil had more than 38,000 confirmed cases, the highest number in Latin America.
More than 2,400 people there have died. Read more
NFF shouldn’t have made details of Rohr’s contract public, says Akanni (Guardian)
Wahidi Akanni, a former Chairman of Lagos State Football Association, on Monday in Lagos said the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been unfair to Gernot Rohr, the Super Eagles’ Head Coach.
Akanni told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the public disclosure of terms and conditions of possible renewal of Rohr’s contract by the NFF was unnecessary.
NAN reports that NFF President Amaju Pinnick had recently said Rohr would be handed a new contract to sign if he agreed to the terms. Read more
Coronavirus: UEFA update due on Tuesday on plans to finish season (BBC)
UEFA will provide an update on plans to finish the 2019-20 season to all its 55 national associations at a video conference on Tuesday.
European football’s governing body hopes to end the campaign in August, although with every league bar Belarus still suspended there are doubts over whether that deadline can be met.
Uefa has launched two working groups, one specifically assessing the fixture calendar. It is hoped specific proposals will be presented by mid-May at the latest. Read more
Novak Djokovic’s tennis future at risk because he is ‘opposed’ to coronavirus vaccination (Metro) Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has thrown his short-term tennis future into doubt after revealing he is an anti-vaxxer, which could prevent him from competing if he does not eventually get vaccinated against coronavirus. The Serbian would normally be gearing up for the French Open right now but the Covid-19 pandemic has seen sport across the globe postponed or cancelled as health services grapple with the virus. Hospitals around the world have come under enormous stress as they try to deal with the outbreak and the spread will only be curtailed after a mass roll-out of vaccinations – which could take 12-18 months to happen. Read more
Premier League clubs including Liverpool and Man Utd amend season ticket plans (BBC)
The Premier League football season should be nearing its end and fans are normally digging into their pockets to fund next year’s season ticket.
Next season will, after all, be the one when your team plays free-flowing football and wins a quadruple.
Whether or not that ends up being the reality, it seems some fans will have to wait a little longer to secure their seat as Premier League clubs have started amending payment deadlines and renewal windows for 2020-21 season tickets. Read more
Manuel Almunia bemoans current state of Arsenal (Metro)
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia says the state the club currently find themselves in is a shame, but has backed current manager Mikel Arteta to improve the situation at the Emirates. Before the coronavirus hiatus for football across the globe, Arsenal sat ninth in the Premier League and their chances of Champions League qualification looking all-but over after being dumped out of the Europa League by Olympiacos. Arteta, who arrived as manager in December, has made a positive impact, with the Gunners losing just one of their last 13 games and while things are not great at the moment, Almunia is certain they will improve. Read more
Danish football club offers drive-in viewing for match (Guardian)
Football fans in Denmark are banned from attending matches due to restrictions over the new coronavirus, but top division club Midtjylland has come up with a solution inspired by classic drive-in theatres.
Sporting and cultural events are one of the pleasures that Danes, like many Europeans, have had to give up as restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 have been introduced.
The Danish league is currently suspended until further notice but Midtjylland has already invited fans to enjoy matches, once they resume, from the parking lot outside the stadium. Read more
Lokomotiv Moscow’s Samokhvalov dies during lockdown training (Punch)
Lokomotiv Moscow defender Innokentiy Samokhvalov died during an individual training session forced by the coronavirus lockdown, the Russian club announced on Monday.
“He felt bad during an individual training session, the circumstances (surrounding his death) are still being clarified,” Lokomotiv said in a statement.
“He was a kind, nice man, a good friend. It’s deeply sad for our family.” Read more