‘Our newborn twins don’t allow us sleep’ (DailyTrust)
After 36 years of marriage, four attempts on invitro fertilization (IVF), and spending over N10 million, a Lagos couple finally have their first babies – a set of twins.
The twins, delivered on Tuesday, April 14, at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) were born to Mr Noah Adenuga, a 77-year-old retired stock auditor and Mrs Margaret Adenuga, a 68-year-old former caterer. The birth of the babies was through Caesarean section at 37 weeks by a team of specialists at the federal hospital. Read more
Lockdown relaxation: Lagos mass transit trains won’t resume yet – NRC (Nation)
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) says the Mass Transit Train Services (MTTS) in Lagos will not resume yet in spite of the gradual easing of COVID-19 lockdown in the state.
The Lagos Railway District Manager, Mr Jerry Oche, who made this disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos, said the corporation would concentrate on Apapa freight shuttles alone.
Oche noted that it would be difficult to ensure social distancing both at the railway stations and on board trains. Read more
Movement not allowed for Lagos workers resident in Ogun – Dapo Abiodun (Punch)
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said residents of the state who work in Lagos State are not permitted to move out or into the state as the lockdown eases next week.
This was contained in the latest guidelines by the state government over the Federal Government-ordered partial lockdown in the state.
Announcing via Facebook on Saturday afternoon, the governor said the lockdown in the state ends on Sunday, May 10, as a result of the initial grace the state was granted. Read more
COVID-19: Fear in S/West over influx of Northern youths (Tribune)
Southwest states have tightened security at their Northern boundaries amidst discoveries that Northern youths are hiding behind bags of foodstuffs and livestock to breach the existing COVID-19 lockdown in the zone.
At all the boundaries, security agents have intensified searches on trucks conveying foodstuffs from the North, especially with Kano emerging as the new epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in Nigeria.
Some days ago, Ekiti State residents felled trees across roads at boundaries to beat the antics of security agents who were suspected to be compromising the security of the state. Read more
Withdraw old naira notes from circulation, group tells CBN (Guardian)
The Association of Progressive Nigerians has appealed to the Central Bank to withdraw old and tattered naira notes from circulation as the country is battling COVID-19 pandemic.
The group made the appeal in a statement it issued in Lagos on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the statement was jointly signed by Alhaji Mohammed Bello, the group’s president and Mr Oluwole Aina, its general secretary. Read more
NMA says easing lockdown premature (Punch)
The Nigerian Medical Association has kicked against the Federal Government’s decision to ease lockdown in Lagos, Ogun, and the Federal Capital Territory effective May 4, describing it as “premature”.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), in a state broadcast on Monday, had announced the phased and gradual easing of the about five-week lockdown in the three places.
But in a statement signed by the NMA President, Dr Francis Faduyile, in Abuja on Friday night, the association said the timing for FG’s decision was not right because the nation was still battling with inadequate Personal Protective Equipment for health workers, lack of enough bed spaces in states for infected people and rising infections across the country, amongst others. Read more
COVID-19: AbdulRazaq pardons 101 prisoners in Kwara (Nation)
Kwara Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq has pardoned 101 prisoners in the state.
The pardoned prisoners were hitherto inmates of Ilorin and Mandala correctional centres .
AbdulRazaq’s gesture was not unconnnected with the directive of the Federal Government on curtailing the spread of coronavirus across the country. Read more
No approved drug, vaccine for COVID-19 yet – NAFDAC (Guardian)
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has not approved any drug or vaccine for the treatment of COVID-19.
The Director General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said in a statement on Saturday that NAFDAC had not granted approval for any vaccine for the treatment and cure of COVID-19.
“To put the record straight, no drugs or vaccines have been given approval in the country for cure of COVID-19. Read more
I felt I’d end up in mortuary after contracting COVID-19 with wife, daughter – Juju singer, Jide Chord (Punch)
It has been songs of praises to God from popular juju singer, Jide Akinwunmi, otherwise called Jide Chord, after surviving coronavirus that has killed thousands and affected millions globally. The singer, who shed tears during a medley of songs on Facebook Live to celebrate his survival, told Saturday PUNCH from the United Kingdom that the experience was scary.
He said, “I played into the eye of the storm as most of my family members are in the United Kingdom and others are in Nigeria as most people know. As most countries were on lockdowns, I felt I had to be with my family for I would be more useful to whoever I wanted to help being in the UK.
“Not long after my arrival in the UK in March, I started feeling the symptoms of COVID-19. It started first with a dry cough for about three days. Read more
Naked Cowboy still strumming amid coronavirus: ‘I’ve never missed a day’ (NYPost)
It’ll take more than a little pandemic to get the Naked Cowboy to put his clothes on.
The Times Square fixture is still strumming through the coronavirus — and even with far fewer tippers, he’s staying positive.
“I’ve never missed a day and I feel very fortunate to, just to have my routine, and my rituals,” the street performer, Robert Burck told Reuters on Friday. Read more
A lawyer dressed as the Grim Reaper is haunting Florida beaches to protest their reopening (CNN)
Most Floridians hitting the newly reopened beaches are trading stay-at-home sweatpants for shorts and swimsuits.
But when he heads out, Daniel Uhlfelder dons a raggedy black robe, conceals his face with a black cloth and wields his scythe.
Uhlfelder, an attorney, is haunting Florida beaches dressed as the Grim Reaper to protest their reopening, which he believes is premature. Read more
Spy dossier claims China lied about coronavirus and silenced whistleblowers (Metro)
China lied about coronavirus transmission, made whistleblowers disappear and refused to share live samples of the disease to help scientists develop vaccines, according to a bombshell intelligence document.
The report claims the People’s Republic suppressed information about asymptomatic carriers and started censoring search engines in December to keep people in the dark about the bug.
Scientists specialising in bat-related viruses were said to have been studying a sample with a 96% genetic match to Covid-19 as early as 2013 and discovered it could be transmitted to humans in 2015. But China denied it could be caught by people and misled the World Health Organisation into believing them until they were forced to change their position in January. Read more
Coronavirus: Spain enjoys first exercise freedom for weeks (BBC)
The lockdown has eased in Spain, but there are still time restrictions on when people can be outdoors
Spanish adults have been jogging and cycling for the first time after seven weeks of coronavirus lockdown.
The lockdown – one of Europe’s strictest – was eased for children a week ago, yet the amount of outdoor exercise time remains limited.
There are now exercise slots for different age groups. Most adults can walk or play sports between 06:00 and 10:00, and between 20:00 and 23:00.
Spain’s official death toll is 24,824, but the rate of fatalities has dropped. Read more
UK PM and partner name new baby boy (Guardian)
Boris Johnson’s fiancee, Carrie Symonds, on Saturday said they had named their newborn son after their grandfathers and the hospital doctors who treated the British prime minister for COVID-19.
Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson was born on Wednesday, just days after his father returned to work following several weeks recuperating from the virus and a spell in intensive care.
Symonds, 32, posted a picture on her Instagram account of her cradling her son. Read more
France extends virus emergency until July 24 (Guardian)
France on Saturday decided to extend a health emergency imposed to fight the new coronavirus for another two months until July 24, Health Minister Olivier Veran said.
A proposal to go before parliament from Monday says the lifting this month of the emergency, which began on March 24, would “be premature” and “could see a risk of the outbreak” intensifying.
The bill also lays out the quarantine conditions for people coming to France from abroad. Read more
Coronavirus: Eurostar passengers told to cover their faces (BBC)
Eurostar passengers will be required to cover their faces from Monday 4 May or risk being refused travel.
The rail company said the rule for travellers to wear face coverings is in line with guidelines from the French and Belgian governments.
Any type of face covering is allowed “as long as it effectively covers your nose and mouth”, a statement said. Read more
PSG eyes Ndidi (Nation)
Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Super Eagles and Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, as they search for a new central midfielder in the summer transfer window, with Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey and Monaco’s Tiemoue Bakayoko also considered options, sources have told ESPN.
Ndidi, 23, was in fine form for Champions League-chasing Leicester before the break due to the coronavirus outbreak and became the subject of interest from some top European clubs.
Read Also: Ndidi rules out Leicester summer exit
And PSG, through their sporting director Leonardo, are positioning themselves to make a move. The Nigeria international arrived at Leicester in 2017 from Genk for £15 million and still has another four years left on his contract. His value is estimated at around £45-50m. Read more
Karina LeBlanc: ‘Holding my baby again was better than a World Cup game’ (BBC)
Former Canada goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc has spoken of the emotions she experienced when forced to stay away from her newborn daughter for two weeks.
The 40-year-old was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties a week after her daughter Paris was born. Doctors then told her she needed to self-isolate because of concerns she had contracted coronavirus while being treated. Read more
Montpellier midfielder Sambia recovering from coronavirus (Guardian)
Montpellier midfielder Junior Sambia, the first Ligue 1 player to be struck down with the coronavirus, is on the road to recovery and is preparing to leave hospital, the club said Saturday.
“All really happy that you’re doing better. We hope to see you very soon on the pitch,” the club tweeted.
The 23-year-old French player was last week admitted to a Montpellier hospital, where he was diagnosed with coronavirus and provisionally put into an artificial coma. Read more
Heracles reject Celta bid for Dessers (Punch)
Super Eagles invitee, Cyriel Dessers, was a subject of bid from La Liga side, Celta Vigo, in January but his Dutch club, Heracles Almelo, has blocked any deal with the Spanish outfit.
The Belgian-Nigerian was a key player in Heracles’ Eredivise campaign before Dutch football authorities cancelled the league due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The cancellation of the league ensured the striker finished as joint-top scorer with 15 league goals. Read more
West Ham’s Brady sure Premier League can overcome restart challenges (Guardian)
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady insists that every Premier League club wants to complete the season despite there being “a lot of obstacles” to restarting the campaign.
Clubs were presented with the league’s “Project Restart” plans at a meeting on Friday and were told the remaining 92 matches of the 2019-2020 season must be played at neutral venues.
That is an extra sticking point to a litany of other logistical issues as there remains opposition on sporting integrity grounds about the idea of not finishing the campaign on a home-and-away basis. Read more
Bayer Leverkusen confident of Bundesliga resumption in May (BBC)
Bayer Leverkusen are confident the Bundesliga will resume in May, says the club’s sporting director Simon Rolfes.
The German Football League was hoping a decision would be taken by government on 30 April, but the issue was delayed and the next meeting is on 6 May.
“The most important thing was we got good feedback from politicians for our concepts for games without spectators,” Rolfes told BBC World Service Sport. Read more