LAWMA bars scavengers from Lagos landfills (Punch)
The Lagos Waste Management Authority has barred scavengers from landfills across the state.
The agency said it was a precautionary measure against further spread of coronavirus and other dangerous diseases.
LAWMA said its enforcement unit visited dumps and chased away the scavengers who were there to search for valuable items.
The Chief Operating Officer of LAWMA, Mr Ibrahim Odumboni, said the action was necessitated by the need to comply with the governor’s directive that all necessary steps should be taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus and other dangerous diseases in the state. Read more
Stimulus package: Lagos warns against sale of food packs (Nation)
Lagos State Government has warned against sale of food packs provided under its economic stimulus package for indigent and the most vulnerable as a result of the stay-at-home directive to residents, to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus.
This follows advertisement of the stimulus package by some groups on the social media.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal who spoke during an inspection tour to some of the markets at Ikeja Primary School, GRA and Ojota Nursery and Primary School, Ogudu, Lagos said, the package which included bags of rice, beans, garri, bread, were not for sale and that the government had not engaged organisations to produce and distribute on its behalf. Read more
COVID-19: Tinubu donates N200m to Lagos govt, NCDC (Vanguard)
National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday, donated N200 million as part of efforts in fighting the scourge of coronavirus.
Tinubu, who made this known on his Twitter handle, while announcing the suspension of this year’s Bola Tinubu Colloquium, said the donation was made to the Lagos State government and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.
The former governor said: “Today, but for COVID-19 we would, as we have done for the last 12 years, have celebrated this day with the Bola Tinubu Colloquium. We could not do so this year but by God’s grace, we will do so again. Read more
Rotary donates N2m to Abule-Ado fire fund (Nation)
Rotary International District 9110, comprising of Rotary clubs in Lagos and Ogun states, has donated N2 million to the Abule-Ado fire disaster relief fund.
District Governor Jide Akeredolu said it became expedient for the District to respond to calls by the Lagos State government, considering the degree of humanitarian situation.
Akeredolu added that the donation is one of the several avenues through which Rotarians collaborate with governments to make the world a better place. According to him, Rotary’s six areas of focus – Peace Building and Conflict Prevention; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Disease Prevention and Treatment; Maternal and Child Health; Economic Community Development; Basic Education and Literacy – have continued to shape the direction in which Rotary funds are spent every year. Read more
Buhari locks down Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, cases reach 111 (Punch)
The President, Major-General Mohammadu Buhari (retd.), on Sunday ordered lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun states to check the spread of COVID-19.
Buhari, in a nationwide broadcast, said the lockdown, which would begin at 11pm on Monday, would be for an initial period of 14 days.
He said during the lockdown residents of the FCT, Lagos and Ogun states should stay at home.
The President said this just as COVID-19 cases in the country increased to 111 on Sunday and more prominent Nigerians tested positive for the disease.
Among those who tested positive were the Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo; the Provost of the College of Medicine, Ibadan, Ezekiel Olapade-Olaopa and the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede. Read more
FG disinfects markets, motor parks (DailyTrust)
The Federal Ministry of Health says it has deployed personnel nationwide to disinfect and decontaminate public places. The ministry’s Director of Press, Saghir el Mohammed, in a statement, said personnel of the Department of Pollution Control and Environmental Health as well as the Environmental Health Officers Council of Nigeria were handling this at markets, motor parks, airports, schools and other congested areas. Read more
FCTA enforcement squad arrests pastor, shuts churches (Punch)
The Federal Capital Territory Enforcement Teams on COVID-19 on Sunday arrested the General Overseer of the Jesus Reigns Family Church, Apo, Pastor U. U. Uden, for violating the ban on places of worship.
The team also shut the popular H-Medix Pharmacy in Wuse II, Abuja, following a complaint received by the FCT COVID-19 situation room.
It was reported that the pharmacy was not using short-gun thermometer and other safety items required to safeguard customers and staff.
Our correspondent gathered that the JRFC church was in full session when the enforcement team arrived Read more
Gov Ortom imposes dusk-to-dawn curfew on Benue (Vanguard)
Governor Samuel Ortom has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Benue to curtail further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
Ortom announced the curfew in a radio broadcast to the state on Sunday in Makurdi.
He said the decision became imperative following the discovery of the index case of coronavirus in the state and its attendant consequences on the overall health of the state.
”There will be restriction of movement from 7p.m to 6a.m daily, except those on essential services. The curfew will take effect from Monday, 30th March, 2020 till further notice.” Read more
N100b healthcare stimulus: CBN sets N2b limit for borrowers (Nation)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set N2 billion as the maximum borrowing limit for any healthcare provider seeking to access the N100 billion lifeline it approved for the health sector.
It announced the limit in an operational guideline released for the fund at the weekend.
The fund was established to cushion the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the economy and to support healthcare providers. Read more
Israel evacuates citizens from Nigeria (DailyTrust)
The State of Israel yesterday began evaluation of its citizens from Nigeria following the rising level of coronavirus cases. Our correspondent gathered the Israeli Government evacuated their citizens using a charted Air Peace Aircraft. It was learnt that aircraft first picked some Israelis at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, before stopping over at Abuja to pick more citizens. It was learnt the aircraft departed at about 1pm yesterday to Israel. Read more
Trump extends USCoronavirus guidelines beyond Easter (BBC)
President Donald Trump has said coronavirus guidelines such as social distancing will be extended across the US until at least 30 April.
“The highest point of the death rate is likely to hit in two weeks,” Mr Trump said, in an apparent reference to peak infection rates that it is feared could overwhelm hospitals.
White House medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci had earlier warned that the virus could kill up to 200,000 Americans.
The US has 139,675 confirmed cases. Read more
Country music star Joe Diffie dies of coronavirus (Guardian)
Joe Diffie, a Grammy award-winning country music singer who had several chart-topping hits in the 1990s, has died of coronavirus. He was 61.
Diffie’s death was announced on his Facebook page, which said he died on Sunday “from complications of coronavirus.”
His death came just two days after he had announced that he had tested positive for the virus and was receiving medical care. Read more
Coronavirus: Mercedes F1 to make breathing aid (BBC)
A breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in under a week.
University College London engineers worked with clinicians at UCLH and Mercedes Formula One to build the device, which delivers oxygen to the lungs without needing a ventilator.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices are already used in hospitals but are in short supply.
China and Italy used them to help Covid-19 patients.
Forty of the new devices have been delivered to ULCH and to three other London hospitals. If trials go well, up to 1,000 of the CPAP machines can be produced per day by Mercedes-AMG-HPP, beginning in a week’s time. Read more
Consultant, 55, becomes first NHS frontline worker to die from coronavirus (Metro)
A 55-year-old doctor has become the first NHS medic on the coronavirus frontline to die after testing positive for Covid-19. Consultant Amged El-Hawrani passed away at Leicester Royal Infirmary, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) confirmed today. It comes as the UK coronavirus death jumped to 1,228 after another 209 people were confirmed dead today. Mr El-Hawrani’s 18-year-old son Ashraf said his dad was ‘dedicated’ towards his family and his profession. Consultant Amged El-Hawrani, 55, passed away at Leicester Royal Infirmary (Picture: PA) Paying tribute to his beloved father, Ashraf said: ‘He taught me the significance of respect and equality. He also stressed the importance of not worrying about the things I cannot control, which he displayed to me right up until the end of his life. Read more
8 strains of coronavirus are circling the world, scientists say (Tribune)
At least eight strains of the coronavirus are making their way around the globe, creating a trail of death and disease that scientists around the world are tracking by their genetic footprints.
While much is unknown, hidden in the virus’s unique microscopic fragments are clues to the origins of its original strain, how it behaves as it mutates and which strains are turning into conflagrations while others are dying out thanks to quarantine measures, the USA Today reported on Sunday.
Huddled in once bustling and now almost empty labs, researchers who oversaw dozens of projects are instead focused on one goal: tracking the current strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that cause COVID-19. Read more
Coronavirus: The world needs to learn from the Ebola fight (BBC)
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who made history as Africa’s first elected female president, led Liberia for 12 years including during the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak that killed nearly 5,000 people in her country.
The BBC asked the Nobel Peace Laureate for her reflections on the current coronavirus crisis.
Dear fellow citizens of the world
On 19 October 2014, at the height of the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa, when 2,000 of my citizens had already perished and infections were growing exponentially, I wrote a letter to the world pleading for the mobilisation of personnel and resources. Read more
Plane carrying coronavirus medical supplies crashes, kills eight (Punch)
A plane believed to be conveying coronavirus medical supplies has crashed during takeoff.
The aircraft, bound for Haneda, Japan, crashed at Manila International Airport in the Philippines, killing all the eight people on board, on Sunday.
It had reportedly been chartered by the government and was carrying emergency supplies to the country as it battles against the spread of coronavirus.
Footage from the crash scene showed huge flames as emergency services scrambled. Pictures later emerged of the burnt-out wreckage after firefighters got the blaze under control. Read more
How coronavirus cripples the New York Mafia (NYPost)
The coronavirus has succeeded where lawmen like Bobby Kennedy and Rudy Giuliani failed for more than a century — by putting the freeze on the mob.
The wholesale cancellation of major sports in the face of the contagion has wiped out tens of millions of dollars in illegal gambling income, a “historic” blow to the Mafia, law-enforcement sources told The Post.
“There’s never been a time when they weren’t making money through gambling,” said one insider said. “Since the days of Lucky Luciano, when the Five Families started.
“This is historic.” Read more
Toby Alderweireld donates tablets so isolated people can speak to loved ones (BBC)
Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld is trying “to bring a little bit of joy” to those with coronavirus by donating tablets to hospitals and nursing homes.
The Belgium international has already paid for dozens of devices and has more on the way for those who are isolated.
“We are already getting messages from people who can now speak to their families and it has been a real help,” he told 5 Live’s Euro Leagues show.
“I didn’t do it for a reaction, just to help but it has been so positive.”
Alderweireld was moved to try to help those suffering with the virus and hopes his donation has made a difference. Read more
Manchester United expect to complete £120m Jadon Sancho deal (Metro)
Manchester United are planning for next season with Jadon Sancho at Old Trafford after the Dortmund star ‘unofficially confirmed’ his desire to join the club in the last round of talks. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer identified the 20-year-old as a priority signing just six weeks into his role as interim boss at Old Trafford but United’s collapse at the end of last season ended their hopes of signing the former Manchester City winger. However, United believe Dortmund are now ready to sell Sancho this summer and his return to the Premier League is not dependent upon whether the Red Devils qualify for the Champions League or not. Read more
Ilkay Gundogan: Fair to award Liverpool Premier League title if season not completed (BBC)
It would only be “fair” to award Liverpool the Premier League title if the season is not completed because of coronavirus, says Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.
With football in England suspended until at least 30 April, Liverpool have a 25-point lead over defending champions City and are two wins from a first top-flight title in 30 years.
Asked if the Reds should be given the trophy if the season is cut short, Gudogan told German broadcaster ZDF: “For me, that would be OK, yes.”
“You have to be fair as a sportsperson,” the 29-year-old Germany international added. Read more
Harry Kane: End of June the limit for season, says Tottenham striker (BBC)
England captain Harry Kane says the Premier League season should be scrapped if it cannot be completed by the end of June.
All elite football in England is suspended until at least 30 April because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I know the Premier League will do everything it can to finish the season,” said Tottenham striker Kane.
“There needs to be a point where enough is enough. Probably the limit for me is the end of June.” Read more
Couple run Dubai balcony marathon to beat coronavirus blues (Vanguard)
A South African couple who ran a marathon on the balcony of their Dubai apartment, streaming it online, plan to take the project global to help people shake off the coronavirus blues.
Collin Allin, 41, and wife Hilda covered the 42.2-kilometre (26-mile) distance by running more than 2,100 laps of their 20-metre (yard) long balcony from dawn on Saturday.
A stopwatch provided by the couple shows they covered the distance in five hours, nine minutes and 39 seconds.
“We did it … #balconymarathon,” Allin said on Instagram, congratulating his wife on her first ever marathon and thanking the virtual crowd that cheered them on. Read more
Another NBA player has been cleared of coronavirus (NYPost)
Marcus Smart is coronavirus free.
The Celtics guard, one of 10 NBA players known to have contracted COVID-19, announced Sunday on Twitter he has been “Corona Free as of two days ago” and has been cleared by the Massachusetts Department of Health.
“Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and prayers and I’m doing the same for everyone that’s been effected by this,” the 26-year-old Smart wrote. “Stay safe and together-apart! Much love.”
He was told he was positive on March 19 and had been self-quarantined after being tested five days prior for coronavirus, announcing the news in a social media video. At the time Smart said he was “OK” and not feeling any symptoms. Read more
Premier League season could be finished by playing five matches a day in June (Metro)
The Premier League season could restart in July with clubs discussing the possibility of playing up to five matches a day in a bid to get the campaign completed. The plans, carried by the Independent, would see isolated camps in the Midlands and London host the matches behind closed doors and would allow all 92 remaining matches to be televised. Though the Premier League want to work to the quickest time frame, they will wait until the ‘curve’ of the coronavirus has been ‘flattened’ in the UK before restarting. It’s hoped that this could be in June, perhaps July.
Talks are still at an early stage but with the ‘peak’ of the pandemic expected in a fortnight’s time in the UK, it’s hoped that there would be enough due time afterwards that the season could restart in around three months’ time. Read more
Sagna takes swipe at Fabregas over Arsenal claims (Vanguard)
Bacary Sagna “was surprised” to see Cesc Fabregas’ comments that he felt only two of his Arsenal teammates were at his “level” when he decided to leave the club.
After eight years at Arsenal – with only an FA Cup and Community Shield to show – Fabregas swapped north London for Barcelona in 2011 before returning to the Premier League in 2014 with Chelsea.
And speaking to the Arsecast podcast, Fabregas revealed how his team-mates at the Emirates Stadium helped him make his decision to leave as they weren’t at his “level”.
Fabregas said: “I was the captain, I always felt so much pressure on myself. Read more