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Living with pets during MCO

KUALA LUMPUR: Working from home (WFH) is not as easy as many people think, especially when you have young children and pets.

Yes, even pets. To others, it might seem easy having pets in the house. After all, don’t you just let them be and you do not have to give much attention to them?

In reality however, looking after pets is just as much a responsibility as looking after young children. A look at the postings on Facebook and Twitter will show that many see the responsibility as similar, for to them, pets are as much a member of the family as children.

Going into 24 days of the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, which means 24 days of WFH, the stories on the social media abound of the struggles that pet owners, especially those with cats, face juggling the responsibilities of work and looking after their pets.

Interior decorate Intan Suhaiza Razak, 35, found that there were many secrets her cats kept from her which she only found out after she started to work from home from March 18.

“It is only now that I am really getting to know my three cats. I did not spend much time with them before but now that I am with them all day, I am slowly learning their behaviour.

“For instance, I was shocked to find out that they could turn the tap in the kitchen sink and would play with the water,” she told Bernama.

Auditor Amirul Iqbal Razali, 30, has found that working from home can be quite challenging when you have cats.

“I have three, and the minute I turn on the computer, they come around demanding my attention.

“That would be the time they want to sit on my lap and play, and ask for food, even though I had prepared everything for them. And my work-station has become their bed,” he said.

Media practitioner Muhamad Saufee Rosman thinks his cat Ethan loves the fact that he and his housemates now have to work from home during the MCO period.

“He is extra demanding now, maybe because he enjoys the fact that we are home now, whereas previously, he was always left alone in the house. Now, he keeps snuggling up to us all the time,” he said.

Muhamad Saufee and his housemates do not find Ethan’s demand for attention troublesome, and in fact, he is a stress-buster to them.

“Life is less boring with him around. Sometimes, he does get in the way, but it would be lonely without him,” he said.

To these animal-lovers, the Health Ministry’s announcement that pets do not carry the COVID-19 virus was good news.

“In the beginning, it was a bit worrying, so it was a relief when the ministry said that pet-owners did not have to worry and do not have to take their pets for Covid-19 screenings.

Nurana Mukhriz, 29, who works in information technology said she cannot imagine being separated from her two cats which she had bred since five years ago.

“I live alone, so my cats ‘Adik’ and ‘Che Yam’ are my companions. Talking to them reduces my stress level and I don’t feel so lonely during the MCO period,” she said. – Bernama

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April 10, 2020
With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World

Gulf states have tightened lockdown measures in large cities, and with Dubai’s shops closed and almost no people on the streets, peacocks that normally live in nearby gardens ventured out to explore other areas of the Middle Eastern city.

A flock of geese searched for food inside a temple in Nagaon, in India’s state of Assam, on April 3. Many temples and shrines across the country have closed during the nationwide lockdown.

On April 5, two cows strolled on a Corsican beach usually popular with tourists. It was the 20th day of a strict shutdown in France.

A young puma walked the streets of Santiago on March 24 after the government ordered confinement measures in some areas of the Chilean capital.

Mountain goats roamed the streets of Llandudno, in Wales, on March 31, one week after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a stay-at-home order.

Sika deer wandered over to a sushi restaurant in Nara, Japan, on March 12. When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and its surrounding regions, the number of visitors to the city of Nara dropped significantly

Macaques searched for food around the closed stalls of the Johari Bazar in Jaipur, India, on March 26. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nationwide lockdown, the marketplace was deserted.

Since Italy’s countrywide lockdown was imposed, the water in Venice’s canals have cleared, and residents have noticed more birds appearing.

On March 30, ducks ventured across the street in the heart of Paris, which is typically bustling with traffic.

Goats sauntered on abandoned streets in Jaipur on March 24

A baby rabbit crossed a main road in Christchurch on April 1. New Zealand entered its strictest state of lockdown on March 25.

A wild fox roamed the empty streets of London on the night of March 28.

On April 1, cattle looked for food in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in Indonesia, where the government is recommending that people avoid public spaces.

A coyote stood outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 3, weeks after Major League Baseball suspended all play.

The movie theater was closed in Westbury, N.Y., on March 20, leaving the parking lot empty for Canadian geese to roam.

Gulf states have tightened lockdown measures in large cities, and with Dubai’s shops closed and almost no people on the streets, peacocks that normally live in nearby gardens ventured out to explore other areas of the Middle Eastern city.

Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images

It took just a few days of lockdown for baby rabbits to dare to cross once-bustling roads in Christchurch, New Zealand, and less than a week for a puma to descend from the Andes Mountains into Santiago, one of South America’s busiest capitals. In Barcelona, wild boar, a familiar sight for citizens on the city’s outskirts, have made their way into Diagonal Avenue, an eight-lane thoroughfare.

It’s surprising and strange, yes, but also meaningful. Research suggests that ecosystems can rebound with speed once human intervention subsides. A review published last week determined that damaged ecosystems and wildlife can be rebuilt if the right conditions are achieved. Marine ecosystems in particular can substantially recover by 2050, according to the study, led by Carlos Duarte at the Red Sea Research Center in Saudi Arabia.

Of course, a deadly pandemic that brings about a sudden economic collapse is no way to sustainably restore threatened ecosystems. Yet it’s a clear reminder of how quickly the wild world responds when humans take a step back.

Scientists have tracked this pattern for decades. The number of humpback whales migrating from Antarctica to eastern Australia has been increasing each year, from a few hundred animals in 1968, when commercial whaling was banned, to more than 40,000 today. In 1880 only 20 breeding northern elephant seals had survived decades of hunting, and today there are more than 200,000.

Hunting bans, habitat restoration, and the reduction of water pollution are all linked to the recovery of marine species. The continuation of these practices—and, most of all, working to mitigate the effects of climate change—would contribute to oceans recovering significantly by 2050, the researchers said.

It’s more difficult for land ecosystems to bounce back because both the scale of extinction and the scale of human presence are so large there, said Duarte, a marine science professor. But these differences don’t mean the return of wildlife to deserted city streets isn’t significant, he said: “I believe our own confinement, and the release of wildlife from confinement, should bring some empathy between humans and wildlife moving forward.”

A flock of geese searched for food inside a temple in Nagaon, in India’s state of Assam, on April 3. Many temples and shrines across the country have closed during the nationwide lockdown.

Anuwar Ali Hazarika/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

On April 5, two cows strolled on a Corsican beach usually popular with tourists. It was the 20th day of a strict shutdown in France.

Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP via Getty Images

A young puma walked the streets of Santiago on March 24 after the government ordered confinement measures in some areas of the Chilean capital.

Andrews Pina/Aton Chile/AFP via Getty Images

Mountain goats roamed the streets of Llandudno, in Wales, on March 31, one week after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a stay-at-home order.

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Sika deer wandered over to a sushi restaurant in Nara, Japan, on March 12. When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and its surrounding regions, the number of visitors to the city of Nara dropped significantly

Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Macaques searched for food around the closed stalls of the Johari Bazar in Jaipur, India, on March 26. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nationwide lockdown, the marketplace was deserted.

Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Since Italy’s countrywide lockdown was imposed, the water in Venice’s canals have cleared, and residents have noticed more birds appearing.

Andrea Pattaro/AFP via Getty Images

On March 30, ducks ventured across the street in the heart of Paris, which is typically bustling with traffic.

Mehdi Taamallah/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Goats sauntered on abandoned streets in Jaipur on March 24

Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A baby rabbit crossed a main road in Christchurch on April 1. New Zealand entered its strictest state of lockdown on March 25.

Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A wild fox roamed the empty streets of London on the night of March 28.

Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images

On April 1, cattle looked for food in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in Indonesia, where the government is recommending that people avoid public spaces.

Basri Marzuki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A coyote stood outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 3, weeks after Major League Baseball suspended all play.

Keith Birmingham/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images

The movie theater was closed in Westbury, N.Y., on March 20, leaving the parking lot empty for Canadian geese to roam.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Credits: Bloomberg

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April 9, 2020
COVID-19 And Nigeria’s Pathetic Leadership Deficit By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

There is no better warning about the growing confusion that seems to be gradually beclouding the federal government’s response to the coronavirus challenge than the belief it betrayed last week that, perhaps, all it needs to calm the fears and apprehensions of Nigerians about its ability to halt the spread of the virus is to reel out a catalogue of activities President Buhari was said to have undertaken so far concerning the pestilence, whether the people felt their impact or not.

Now, if your family is starving badly, do you solve the rumbling signs of biting hunger in their stomach with some wild tales of the efforts deployed by you so far to feed them, or just keep quiet, give them food, and they will see and feel for themselves that you have played your role responsively and effectively? Or if you must talk, tell them something you have done whose benefits they can readily verify and identify with.

Indeed, some Nigerians are beginning to achieve the conviction that there must be something about being in government in this country that seems to diminish the reasoning ability of people once they get in there and deprives them of the capacity to realize when they have stopped making sense or even become downright annoying. This is very pathetic.

And so, last week, presidential spokesperson, Mr. Femi Adesina, issued a document entitled: “COVID-19: What President Buhari Has Done And Is Doing.” And, I suppose that with the release of that handout, the virus immediately received a deadly blow and vanished from the country! Aren’t we so blessed? Why then are Nigerians not on the streets celebrating the unprecedented feat?

A prominent item on Mr. Adesina’s list is the president’s March 29 broadcast. And what exactly did the broadcast achieve? The two things I can readily remember now is that Gen Buhari had announced the continuation of the school feeding programme for pupils who are all at home now due to the closure of schools as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Probably, nobody remembered to inform him and his speech writers that school children were on compulsory holidays, or are they going to send the food to them in their homes? Or, perhaps, somebody is trying to find a justification for the billions of naira we will be informed later was spent on the exercise?

Also, the president proclaimed the lockdown of Lagos and Ogun states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). And when he was through, he returned to his hideout – where only a few privileged eyes and ears see and hear from him, and then come out to tell us what they think he has said or done.

Now, what exactly was the lockdown meant to achieve? Okay, as social interactions are reduced, the chances of spreading the virus decrease. Yes, but what else? Has anyone seen any evidence that there were any plans to use the stay-at-home period to access the people and step up medical tests to determine how many people have become infected with the virus and how they could be attended to?

The government that was boasting that it was “adequately prepared” to tackle the virus was later to prove when the virus eventually arrived that it was only making empty claims as usual. A country of 200 million people has yet to demonstrate any capacity to test even a reasonable fraction of one percent of her population. And somebody is publishing a document to tell us what the president was supposed to have done or is doing. As if such boring tales will remove the cloud of gloom hovering over Nigeria?

Again, in a country where electric power is just an unaffordable luxury for many, how can a leader just lock down some states and return to his hideout to continue his “vacation” that was rudely interrupted by the loud, persistent and widespread demands that he should address his country even though some other presidents were doing daily briefings and leading the war against the virus from the front? As the markets closed and movements became restricted, how are those who could afford to buy and stock food items at home preserve them without electric power?

What of the greater population which depend on daily earnings for their survival? What is the government’s plan for them? Okay, we are hearing of palliatives that have been extended to this category of people and the billions of naira that have already been transferred to their accounts? Now, who has encountered the happy recipients of the twenty thousand naira (N20, 000) said to have been given to each of them? Are there really existing data showing the social and economic status of every Nigerian which is in the possession of the authorities? So, all the “poor and vulnerable” Nigerians now have bank accounts whose details are known to the government? So, why then are too many Nigerians very suspicious of these claims as shown in their social media comments? And why is such a rare display of kindness by this government not being celebrated? Or have the funds (if indeed any were shared) ended up in the hands of the same people who have more than enough to need them while those who are genuinely deprived remain terribly famished?

Already, the biting hunger out there is forcing a growing number of people to defy the no-movement decree and soon, the whole effort might be defeated, and the country will return to square one. Information Minister, Mr. Lai Mohammed, is threatening that the lockdown may be extended if Nigerians fail to behave themselves. But what he should rather have done is to hasten to school himself to realize that there is always a price to pay when leaders leave the country they claim to be governing in great disarray only to suddenly wake up when there is an emergency to grope for fix-quick solutions.

A few days after the president’s broadcast (that is, Tuesday, March 31), Daily Independent carried a front page lead story about 26 Americans who came into the country through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport and headed to Calabar without being screened. Now, who cleared their trip to the country and why were there no health officials available to screen them and ensure they were quarantined for 14 days before being allowed to fly to Calabar? Is it because they are Americans or clients of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or both? Does that automatically exempt any of them from being a carrier of the virus which is presently ravaging their own country? What kind of government claims to be fighting a virus with one hand and using the other hand to be undermining the efforts being deployed to contain it?

Okay, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has just announced that an 18-man Chinese team of medical “experts” will soon arrive the country to “assist” Nigeria in the fight against the coronavirus. Now, is it the federal government that asked China for help or was it China that volunteered their assistance? Indeed many Nigerians are vehemently opposed to this gesture at this time. Our own local medical experts have not shown any signs of being overburdened by the work, so what difference are these 18 Chinese doctors and nurses going to make? Will they, like the 26 privileged Americans, also be given express entry into the country or will they be isolated for 14 days as should be the case, before they would be allowed to start rendering their “assistance”?

Do we really need this Chinese gift now or is it that the government lacks the liver to politely decline their offer of help, despite the widespread apprehension among the citizenry about their involvement (since many Nigerians, habour strong fears that the gesture might turn out a Greek gift)? Even the umbrella body of Nigerian doctors, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has come out to strongly oppose the coming of the Chinese medical team. Is it that our government is too intimidated to say NO to China’s offer probably because it has yoked itself so much with crushing debts due to its excessive borrowings from them – debts, whose positive effects on Nigerian lives many are yet to see?

I raise these points because, although, Nigeria has recorded one of the lowest deaths from coronavirus, it was the stubborn refusal of the government to close our borders when it became very necessary and urgent (and despite calls from well-meaning Nigerians) that led to the explosion in the number of confirmed cases that the country has recorded today. In saner climes, the government should have profusely apologized for that terrible miscalculation that is costing the nation so much now.

But it now has another opportunity now to gratify the yearning of Nigerians and reject the Chinese offer even if it is well-meaning and the fears about it are misplaced.

Now, what lessons is the government taking away from the scourge of coronavirus? Will they see the need to equip our hospitals this time and upgrade at least few of them to world standard now that they have realized the folly of always waiting to use public funds to send themselves and their families abroad to treat even minor ailments? For the first time in Nigeria, the naïve and largely misguided Nigerian leaders have found out that it is not always safe to seek solutions for health challenges outside the country and that there is afterall no place like home. This is hoping that the lesson will endure and be redemptive.

*Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye, is a Nigerian journalist and writer. (scruples2006@yahoo.com)

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April 9, 2020
Assuaging Plight Of The Poor In This Perilous Time By Okechukwu Nwanguma

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Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre has been monitoring and receiving information on public compliance with the Federal Government ordered lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states, which contain measures to contain the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic.

Our monitoring of the compliance with the lockdown and stay-at-home orders in Lagos, Abuja and few other states indicate that most people are finding it difficult to effectively comply for various reasons.

First, there are those, who still don’t believe that Covid-19 is a real life-threatening pandemic and that precautionary measures such as social distancing, personal hygiene and other outlined measures can prevent its infection and spread.

In fact some have been made to believe that the lockdown is a deception by government to achieve other ulterior motives. Those, who promote this narrative are mainly the apocalyptic Pentecostal ‘Men of God’, who push arguments linking Covid-19 to 5G mobile technology, which they argue is a part of the biblically ordained designs of the Anti-Christ.

Second, some Nigerians are simply lawless or lack discipline, just like when passengers are asked to switch off their phones prior to flight take off and you still find some people, seemingly ladies and gentlemen, fiddling with their phones.

To illustrate, a relative of mine called me yesterday to complain that he was arrested by the police somewhere in Lagos when he drove out to buy pap for his baby. I asked him whether he knew about the lockdown order and whether there was nowhere around his neighbourhood he could walk down to buy the pap. He said ‘but other vehicles are on the road’. I told him that he had broken the law as much as those other people. Everybody may not be arrested at once.

He wanted me to talk to the police officers, who arrested him and ordered him to drive to their station. I asked him what he wanted me to tell them.

Third, and most significantly, there are yet others, who are forced out of their homes by want and hunger. They can’t stand the site of their tender children crying for hunger.

As I said elsewhere, majority of the population fall within the poor and vulnerable category. Usually, many feed themselves and their dependents on their daily earnings. They live from hand to mouth.

Under the prevailing difficult and uncertain situation, many families and individuals are already suffering and starving, just one week into the lockdown, with one more week left to go, with the probability of an extension.

The Federal Government’s Social Intervention Policy, the so-called conditional cash transfer is not yet addressing mass poverty, deprivation and hunger. The billions, which government announced that it has released and made available for conditional cash transfer to the poor and vulnerable in communities are not reaching the targets. There are still cries of woe and anguish in most communities.

We have seen videos of caricature of the ‘social intervention’, of food items shared to some communities. In one video, we saw a street in Lagos of over 30 families, who said they were given two loaves of bread and few cups of rice and garri and few condiments (tomato paste sachets) to share. And we see members of the community lamenting and asking how a whole street of over 30 families could be given such quantity of food items not enough to serve one family for two days to share!

Corruption has become our national culture. A seemingly intractable challenge to our progress and development. Most of our politicians and public office holders are unscrupulously avaricious.

Given our past experiences where public funds meant for and released to assuage the sufferings of poor and vulnerable communities were either unconscionably used to ‘cut grasses’ or inexplicably got ‘swallowed by snakes’, we call for transparent and community-based approaches to the management and disbursement of social intervention funds.

Considering complaints by many local communities about not benefiting from the released billions of naira announced and meant to alleviate poverty and hardship, especially during this difficult and uncertain period, we call for a transparent and effective investigation of the management of the funds so far allocated. Efforts must be put in place to ensure that the funds are not diverted as usual.

Independent community committees must receive these funds and be charged with identifying those in their midst, who qualify to benefit.

The management of the funds should be monitored by a multi-stakeholder committee including government and community representatives as well as credible media and civil society representatives.

Government must put effective measures in place to check corrupt public officials, who want to steal or divert funds meant to relieve the sufferings of the poor and vulnerable people in this perilous times.

This is the only way to help the people comply with the law and stay at home for now!

Finally, since government has been announcing huge numbers of beneficiaries of cash transfer program running into millions and claiming to have paid billions, can the government make the system transparent by publishing the names and addresses of the beneficiaries on an electronic portal so that Nigerians can do the verification?

Okechukwu Nwanguma is the Executive Director of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre

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April 9, 2020
Saudi-led coalition declares 2-week Covid-19 ceasefire in Yemen

RIYADH: The Riyadh-led military coalition fighting Yemen’s Huthi rebels has declared a two-week ceasefire in the country starting Thursday in a bid to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The unilateral ceasefire follows an escalation in fighting between the warring parties despite a call by the United Nations for an immediate cessation to protect civilians in the Arab world’s poorest nation from the pandemic.

The announcement, due to take effect from 0900 GMT Thursday, marks the first breakthrough since the warring parties agreed to a UN-brokered ceasefire in the port city of Hodeida during talks in Sweden in late 2018.

“The coalition announces a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen for a period of two weeks, starting on Thursday,“ Turki al-Maliki, the military alliance’s spokesman, said on Wednesday.

The two-week period, which could be extended, was aimed at creating “appropriate conditions” for a UN-sponsored meeting between the warring parties to facilitate a “permanent ceasefire” in Yemen, Maliki added.

There was no immediate reaction from the Iran-aligned rebels.

But hours before the announcement, the rebels released a comprehensive vision to faciliate dialogue, which called for a withdrawal of foreign troops and the end of the coalition’s blockade on Yemen’s land, sea and air ports.

The coalition, which launched its intervention to oust the rebels in 2015, was committed to a two-week ceasefire but still reserved the right to defend itself if it came under attack, Saudi officials said.

UN special envoy Martin Griffiths welcomed the coalition’s announcement.

“The parties must now utilise this opportunity and cease immediately all hostilities with the utmost urgency, and make progress towards comprehensive and sustainable peace,“ Griffiths said.

Saudi deputy defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman also called on the rebels to “show good will” and engage in dialogue.

“The two week ceasefire will hopefully create a more effective climate to deescalate tensions, work with (Griffiths) towards a sustainable political settlement,“ Prince Khalid said on Twitter.

‘Litmus test’

The United Nations has repeatedly called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Yemen to help avert potentially disastrous consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.

Yemen’s broken healthcare system has so far recorded no cases of the COVID-19 illness, but aid groups have warned that when it does hit, the impact will be catastrophic.

The country is already gripped by what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

“The ceasefire seems to be more of a courtesy than a policy — it comes in response to UN calls to deescalate during the COVID-19 crisis,“ Fatima Abo Alasrar, a scholar at the Middle East Institute, told AFP.

Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni government and the Huthi rebels had all welcomed an appeal from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for an “immediate global ceasefire” to help avert disaster for vulnerable people in conflict zones.

“It is most important to watch if the Huthis will stop their military operations,“ Alasrar said.

“That will be the real litmus test of a successful ceasefire as the Huthis have currently opened multiple battlefronts they cannot afford to close.”

Fighting recently escalated again between the Huthis and Riyadh-backed Yemeni troops around the strategic northern districts of Al-Jouf and Marib, ending a months-long lull.

And Saudi air defences intercepted Yemeni rebel missiles over Riyadh and the border city of Jizan late last month, leaving two civilians wounded in the curfew-locked capital, state media reported.

It was the first major assault on Saudi Arabia since the Huthi rebels offered last September to halt attacks on the kingdom after devastating assaults on Saudi oil installations.

Last week, the coalition carried out multiple air strikes on Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa in retaliation for the missile strikes. – AFP

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April 9, 2020
WHO Timeline – COVID-19

31 Dec 2019

China reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A novel coronavirus was eventually identified.

1 January 2020

WHO had set up the IMST (Incident Management Support Team) across the three levels of the organization: headquarters, regional headquarters and country level, putting the organization on an emergency footing for dealing with the outbreak.

4 January 2020

WHO reported on social media that there was a cluster of pneumonia cases – with no deaths – in Wuhan, Hubei province.

5 January 2020

WHO published our first Disease Outbreak News on the new virus. This is a flagship technical publication to the scientific and public health community as well as global media. It contained a risk assessment and advice, and reported on what China had told the organization about the status of patients and the public health response on the cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan.

10 January 2020

WHO issued a comprehensive package of technical guidance online with advice to all countries on how to detect, test and manage potential cases, based on what was known about the virus at the time.

Evidence at that time suggested there was “no or limited human-to-human transmission.” Based on experience with SARS and MERS and known modes of transmission of respiratory viruses, infection and prevention control guidance were published to protect health workers recommending droplet and contact precautions when caring for patients, and airborne precautions for aerosol generating procedures conducted by health workers.

12 January 2020

China shared the genetic sequence of COVID-19.

13 January 2020

Officials confirm case of COVID-19 in Thailand, the first recorded case outside of China.

14 January 2020

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove noted in a press briefing there had been limited human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus (in the 41 confirmed cases), mainly through family members, and that there was a risk of a possible wider outbreak. Dr. Kerkhove noted that human-to-human transmission would not be surprising given our experience with SARS, MERS and other respiratory pathogens.

20-21 January 2020

WHO experts from its China and Western Pacific regional offices conducted a brief field visit to Wuhan.

22 January 2020

WHO mission to China issued a statement saying that there was evidence of human-to-human transmission in Wuhan but more investigation was needed to understand the full extent of transmission.

22- 23 January 2020

The WHO Director- General convened an Emergency Committee (EC) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) to assess whether the outbreak constituted a public health emergency of international concern. The independent members from around the world could not reach a consensus based on the evidence available at the time. They asked to be reconvened within 10 days after receiving more information.

28 January 2020

A senior WHO delegation led by the Director-General travelled to Beijing to meet China’s leadership, learn more about China’s response, and to offer any technical assistance.

While in Beijing, Dr. Tedros agreed with Chinese government leaders that an international team of leading scientists would travel to China on a mission to better understand the context, the overall response, and exchange information and experience.

11-12 February 2020

WHO convened a Research and Innovation Forum on COVID-19, attended by more than 400 experts and funders from around the world, which included presentations by George Gao, Director General of China CDC, and Zunyou Wu, China CDC’s chief epidemiologist.

16-24 February 2020

The WHO-China Joint mission, which included experts from Canada, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore and the US (CDC, NIH) spent time in Beijing and also travelled to Wuhan and two other cities. They spoke with health officials, scientists and health workers in health facilities (maintaining physical distancing). The report of the joint mission can be found here: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf

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April 9, 2020
COVID-19: NCDC Urged To Increase Transparency Around Number Of Tests Conducted

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control has been urged to make public the daily number of Nigerians screened for Coronavirus.

A coalition of civil society groups led by Civic Media Lab said the figures will help Nigerians and the world know the true state of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

“The fight against Coronavirus is a common fight in which all Nigerians are enlisted.

“However, as stakeholders in the fight against Coronavirus this disease, we request to have this critical piece of the puzzle so that we would know how far along we are in securing a victory,” CML Director, Oluwaseun Akinfolarin, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Akinfolarin said the strategy that has worked in places that have seen significant reduction in the number of cases has been due to four factors namely: testing, isolation, treatment and tracing.

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“Testing is the most critical of these four critical success factors, without testing, it is difficult to know who has been infected and stopping the spread through innocent infection of others is not feasible. “While not trying to second guess the knowledge and wisdom of the professionals in NCDC, we can follow the simple logic that we cannot control what you cannot see and the simple way of seeing is by doing these tests,” Akinfolarin said.

According to the World Health Organisation, diagnostic testing for COVID-19 is critical in helping to track the virus, understand the epidemiology, inform case management, and to suppress transmission.

Akinfolarin explained that the countries that are successfully managing this crisis tested thousands of citizens daily at the outset.

Nigeria is falling behind when compared to other countries, according to him.

He said the coalition will support the Federal Government and NCDC in every way possible during this crisis but wishes to demand cooperation, transparency, accountability and proactive disclosure of information from all those concerned.

Other members of the coalition are The Interactive Initiative for Social Impact, HEDA Resource Centre, Civil Society Network against Corruption, Reboot, Centre for Advocacy, Transparency and Accountability Initiative, and PARE.

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April 8, 2020
EXCLUSIVE: Ondo Government Asks Sacked Nurses To Deny SaharaReporters’ Story Before Being Reinstated Into Service

Following several stories by SaharaReporters on the unjust sacking of six nurses attached to the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ondo State, the state government has now told the affected persons to deny the reports by the online news publication before being reinstated into service.

In a letter signed by Adeeyo Babatunde, Director of Administration for the Chief Medical Director, Dr Oluwole Ige, and seen by SaharaReporters, the management of the hospital gave a number of other stringent conditions to five of the affected individuals before they are to be reinstated.

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The letter reads, “The management of the teaching hospital has considered your letter of apology on the matter and has approved your re-absorption into the services of the teaching hospital on the following conditions:

“That you submit two letters from two guarantors that are not less than the grade of a director in the state public service.

“That you submit a letter that you would be of a good conduct while in the service of the teaching hospital.

“That you should show evidence of your rebuttal of the malicious publications currently circulating in an online news media.

“Please note that the effective date of your re-absorption shall be the date you resume duty in your department and the period of your absence will be treated as leave without pay.

“By this letter, you are hereby instructed to report back to your department after complying with the above stated conditions.”

Recall that after forcefully removing them from service for protesting the non-payment of their salaries, the hospital’s management also coerced them into writing letters of apology after SaharaReporters exposed the injustice and victimisation of the affected nurses.

The latest twist is however, another way the hospital’s management intends to put fear into the affected nurses to prevent them from demanding their rights while still in the employ of the state government.

A source on Tuesday confirmed to SaharaReporters that the nurses were summoned to the office of the CMD a few days ago where the letters containing the new conditions were listed.

“Although, I cannot really state the outcome of the meeting between the sacked nurses and the management last week, but I am sure it was because of the story over their (affected nurses) sack by the hospital. The management was not really happy about it especially the bashing from the public.

“Out of the six nurses that were sacked by the management, the hospital still refused to reinstate one of the guys among identified as Peace.

“He is one of the best hands in his department at the hospital but he is being victimised to leading others to demand for their rights.

“The hospital’s management is committing this evil despite an order from Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for the nurses to be unconditionally reinstated.”

One of the affected nurses, who spoke with our correspondent, said he has rejected the conditions attached to the reinstatement.

He said, “They gave five of us the letters and left one person out but as for me, I see those conditions as a way to further punish us for demanding for our rights.”

CMD of the hospital, Dr Ige, did not respond to calls or text messages sent to him when contacted by SaharaReporters to react to the issue.

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April 8, 2020
LinkedIn Marketing Helps Businesses Succeed

Social media marketing has taken on a life of its own. Today, professionals use the power of online networking to build brand reputation and convert leads to sales.

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April 8, 2020
MCO extension: Will be known in 72 hours

KUALA LUMPUR: In about 72 hours, the public will know whether the Movement Control Order (MCO), enforced since March 18, will be further extended or not to curb the spread of Covid-19.

It was initially enforced until March 31, but extended to April 14 and this Friday (April 10), the government is expected to make the much awaited announcement on whether MCO will be further extended.

Many people are hoping the MCO, which enters its 22nd day today, will not be further extended so that they could return to their normal lives, but it will all depend on the Covid-19 situation in the country and the government will certainly not place the health of its people at stake.

For the record, Malaysia has recorded 69 Covid-19 sporadic cases (cases where the source of infection cannot be traced).

A total of 170 new Covid-19 cases , with one death, were as of noon yesterday, bringing the accumulated Covid-19 cases in the country to 3,963, with a total of 63 deaths.

We can all take pride that the country’s crime index has dropped by 70 per cent since enforcement of MCO, but the number of individuals who were caught for defying the MCO has increased to 6,451 people as of yesterday.

On public sanitation, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government, through the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT), had conducted 666 sanitation operations in 79 zones, including all the 18 Red Zones.

The operation is important because there is another location placed under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO), namely the Malayan Mansion and Selangor Mansion buildings here.

Prior to that, the EMCO was enforced in three areas, namely Simpang Renggam, Kluang, Johor; Sungai Lui, Hulu Langat, Selangor, and City One Tower, Jalan Munshi Abdullah here.

Apart from efforts by the government, the public and corporate companies have also joined forces to help curb the Covid-19 outbreak, including by donating to the Covid-19 Fund, which has reached RM22.6 million.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pix), through a posting on his Facebook, stated that as of Monday (April 6), a total of RM5.68 million from the fund was channeled to the National Welfare Foundation (YKN) for purchase of daily necessities to be donated to those affected by the outbreak.

He said RM195,000 was also distributed to 39 next-of-kin of Covid-19 victims as ‘Bayaran Ihsan Kematian’.

The Covid-19 Fund was launched on March 11 as an effort by the government to help the people who are affected by the outbreak.

As such, Malaysia needs the cooperation and support of all the people during this MCO period to prevent Covid-19 from further spreading.

As citizens of the country, we should comply with the rules of MCO, to not spread fake news, including on social media and to appreciate the role of the frontline personnel in protecting the people’s lives and security in the country. –Bernama

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April 8, 2020