Ogun State Government has shifted the commencement of the total lockdown of the state to April 3, 2020.
President Muhammadu Buhari had during his nationwide address on the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country on Sunday ordered the lockdown of the FCT, Lagos and Ogun states.
According to the President, the lockdown is to start at 11pm of today (Monday).
However, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun has said that the lockdown had been shifted to April 3 to enable the state prepare for the period.
He said this while declaring open the Ogun State COVID-19 Isolation and Response Centre open for use.
The governor stated that international borders and inter-state movement would be closed down from 11pm of Monday.
He said, “After consultation with the Presidency, the inter-state and international borders would be closed by 11pm on Monday night.
“However, the total lockdown of the state would be effective from 11pm, Friday, 3rd of April 2020.
“I have been in consultation with the Presidency and I’ve requested that they graciously allow us in Ogun State to prepare for this lockdown in terms of ensuring that we have enough food banks across the three senatorial districts so that when eventually there is a lockdown, our people will have enough food supply and they graciously accepted.”
Governor Abiodun revealed that the lockdown would constantly be reviewed, adding that people were free to move around only in their neighbourhoods to get essential items.
“These decisions would be kept under constant review, we may lapse them if the evidence makes it compelling.
“The decisions are without prejudice to the need of people to reasonably move within their neighbourhood to buy essentials such as food and drugs,” Governor Abiodun said.
He appealed to the people to abide by the government’s order and advisory provided by the Ministry of Health on respiratory hygiene and social distancing.
Ogun State has recorded three confirmed cases of Coronavirus.
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Residents of Obasanjo Hilltop GRA, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State, have rejected the proposed siting of an isolation centre in the area.
The residents, in a letter to Governor Dapo Abiodun, stated that siting an isolation centre in a residential area would put the health of the people under risk.
Mr Fola Adeola, businessman, politician and founder of Fate Foundation, had donated his private residence and property in Abeokuta for use as isolation centre for COVID-19 patients.
Apart from Adeola, ex-Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as other persons have donated facilities to the state government to use as isolation centres.
The residents of Oke-Mosan stated that though they appreciated the kind gesture of Adeola, using the building as isolation centre would endanger their lives.
The letter reads, “We are particularly alarmed as individuals and as a community that a non-resident owner of an abandoned property by name Mr Fola Adeola has purportedly donated his property in the estate to be converted to isolation centre for the purpose of victims of COVID-19.
“The community is comprised of retired and aged residents and other vulnerable individuals whose health and well-being would be most negatively affected by the potential conversion or siting of isolation in the neighbourhood.
“We wish to state categorically that this complaint is not and should not be seen as a deliberate step to discourage a most charitable disposition of the donor to public health issues and related social concerns.
“It is essential to request that the facility be used or deployed for allied services such as storage and other non-hazardous uses.
“It is in view of the foregoing that we most humbly appeal to Your Excellency to use your good office as the Executive Governor of Ogun State to cause immediate stoppage of the use of the facility as “COVID-19 isolation centre” due to potential health-related disaster that it might cause to vulnerable residents and generality of the community.”
Nigeria currently has 111 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and two recorded deaths.
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A graphic designer in Nigeria, Jeremiah Olatinwo, has demanded compensation from Ogun State Government for using his graphics design to create awareness about Coronavirus without his permission.
Olatinwo had designed an image to raise awareness on the virus and how to stay safe from it.
He used the ‘End COVID-19 WITH SWAG’ to launch a media campaign on steps Nigerians can take to curb the spread of the virus.
He was however, left distraught when the Ogun State Government placed its official crest on it and uploaded it on its official website.
In a chat with our correspondent, Olatinwo expressed anger at the action of the state government without reaching out to him.
He said, “As a social media enthusiast and digital marketing expert, I designed a media campaign themed ‘END COVID-19 WITH SWAG’ and it was widely accepted and distributed on social media.
“I got a call from a friend who saw and also shared my creative work that the Ogun State Government had plagiarised my concept – word for word, colour for colour without giving due credit.
“To my amazement, the design was up on all social media platforms of the Ogun State Government – Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
“Due compensation is expected for the creative work and their plagiarism as the design got impressions on their page, people have seen it and some have done screenshot and shared on various platforms.”
He added that he attempted to reach out to the social media handler of the state government but was blocked.
Olatinwo tweeted the design on March 25 while the Ogun State Government tweeted the replica of the image three days later.
‘End COVID-19 with SWAG’ is a concept by me Jeremiah Olatinwo. I designed and uploaded on March 25… And @OGSGofficial plagiarised and posted today with the seal of the state. SOS pls @MBuhari @ProfOsinbajo @dabiodunMFR @who @billgates @realFemiOtedola @segalink @unilagnigeria pic.twitter.com/KKQNuBWcAI
— Jeremiah Olatinwo (@BrosJayNG) March 28, 2020
The image, which has now been deleted across the social media platform of the state government, was the same concept without little adjustment to Olatinwo’s design.
Efforts by our correspondent to get the comment of the Kunle Somorin, Chief Press Secretary to Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, was not successful as he refused to respond to calls and text messages sent to his mobile number.
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SERDANG: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today visited the Quarantine and Treatment Centre for low-risk Covid-19 patients at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) here.
The prime minister was accompanied by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, Ministry of Health (MOH) secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min and Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Muhyiddin, who arrived at the centre at 5.45pm, spent almost an hour being briefed and touring the centre, which was successfully prepared for operations by various government agencies, under the coordination of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), within three days.
Met after the visit, Dr Adham told reporters that the centre was the brainchild of the prime minister himself to prepare for any possibility of a drastic surge in the number of Covid-19 infections.
“We will treat Covid-19 positive patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms here,” he said.
The centre has the capacity to place up to 600 patients at any one time and it will be coordinated by Nadma with the cooperation of the MOH, the Armed Forces, the Fire and Rescue Department, the Civil Defence Force, the Social Welfare Department and the Public Works Department.
Among others, it will provide clinical services, Covid-19 wards, resuscitation areas to stabilise patients during emergencies, as well as ambulance, pharmacy and pathology laboratory services.
Facilities for patients include beds, tables and chairs, lockers, television, lounges, Wifi access, computers, surau, closed-circuit television (CCTV), toilets and baths, changing rooms and rest areas.
For those on duty, there are nurse stations, treatment/resuscitation room, rest areas, changing rooms and baths, including for the ‘donning and doffing’ of personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as meeting and seminar rooms. – Bernama
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PUTRAJAYA: Malaysians must work together and practise social discipline in order to flatten the Covid-19 infection curve, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said that in the past two weeks Malaysia had recorded around 150 to 200 positive Covid-19 cases daily and the Ministry of Health (MOH) had been monitoring the trend closely to ensure there is no exponential spike.
“Now we have completed two weeks, so another two weeks to go. It is up to us and if all of us come together and we practise and embrace (the advice) that you stay at home, and we, MOH, will continue our public health activity like active case detection, increase testing, finding targeted groups and isolate them early, then we can actually break the chain of Covid-19 transmission in this country.
“So the next two weeks is all up to you and me; if we can all have a social discipline, I am sure that we can actually flatten the curve to avoid the exponential spike. If not, we may see a surge in Covid-19 positive cases in mid-April like (that) predicted by JP Morgan and the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research,“ he said at a press conference on Covid-19, here today.
Dr Noor Hisham said that thanks to MOH’s active case detection, Malaysia had not recorded any exponential spike like 900 to 1,000 cases in one day.
“That means we continue to go to the community identified as a high-risk group through targeted approach and then test them. There will be some cases that will be detected as positive; our detection of positives is about 8%,“ he said.
Dr Noor Hisham also urged all Malaysians returning from overseas to home-quarantine for 14 days.
“We fear that the second wave is all imported cases. Malaysians coming back from overseas, that is the group that we are worried about as we fear they may bring back the Covid-19.
“Although they are negative, we still have to quarantine them for 14 days. Those positive we isolate them in our hospitals,“ he said.
He said MOH was aware that some Malaysians who returned from overseas broke the home quarantine rule.
When asked about the possibility of the MCO being extended until Ramadan, he said it was too early to make any conclusions now.
“We will only know after the first week of April. If we continue to flatten the curve or there is no exponential increase, then I think we can safely make a decision.
“In terms of the Ramadan bazaars, they need to follow MOH standard operating procedure or guideline and have to take all precautionary measures to break the Covid-19 infection chain,” he added.
Asked on calls for the imposition of Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) in red zones, he said this would be done if there is a rapid increase in positive cases in these areas.
The government enforced the EMCO in the area from Batu 21 to Batu 24 Sungai Lui, Hulu Langat, Selangor, yesterday, the second area to be placed under such restrictions after Simpang Renggam, Johor where Kampung Dato’ Ibrahim Majid and Bandar Baharu Dato’ Ibrahim Majid were subjected to similar curbs for 14 days beginning Friday. – Bernama
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According to John F. Kennedy, “The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.” It is no longer news that Coronavirus (Covid-19) is quite alarming and far spreading while food prices have risen dramatically around the country in recent days, fuelling widespread concern and social unrest in communities confronted with devastating price increases when buying provisions and food stuff. Exactly what accounts for this wild upswing in market prices and what do these trends hold for those already living in precarious conditions?
Hunger and malnutrition are self-perpetuating issues that affect a person’s mental ability, health, work and productivity. They constitute the world’s greatest public health risk, more pressing than corona virus (Covid-19).
There will be restrictions of movement due to the outbreak of Covid-19 (Corona Virus) and yet the government have no plan for its citizen during the sit at home period while other countries made provisions for their citizen so as not to lose their lives to hunger because hunger kills faster than a virus. At least 70 per cent of Nigerians are living on stipend even when they go out to hustle to put food on their tables, what will be their fate staying at home for a longer period without having an alternative? How do they survive? If they eventually survive the virus, will they survive the hunger?
The Nigerian government should put a proper measure in place so our case won’t end up like that of Italy, Spain and America respectively or even worse. Nigerians cherish their lives and am very sure the whole of the cities will be empty like a grave yard if the government can roll out an economic stimulus package to its citizen or better still give out relief funds to every individuals.
Influential individuals and organizations are not left out, I personally go against the act of tokenism portrayed by our banking sectors as i see it as policy or practice of making only a symbolic effort. 80% Nigerians are bank users and as well have a BVN (Bank Verification Number), relief funds can be disbursed to Nigerians via their BVN numbers irrespective of where they are. Billions of naira have been paid to the government account by individuals, organizations as well as the banking sectors to support during this pandemic while its citizens are languishing. I hope mosquitoes don’t swallow all the billions as we will be left with no choice as usual to believe it was swallowed by mosquitoes.
The government should put in place an alternatives for its citizen not just to tell us to sit at home and die of hunger as majority of Nigerians lives on hand to mouth on daily basis.
Education and awareness are the first steps to understanding and solving any issue and hunger is no different, while malnutrition is the single largest contributor to disease.
You pray for the hungry, then you feed them. This is how prayer works. – Pope Francis.
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PETALING JAYA: A staff of 7-Eleven Malaysia has tested positive for Covid-19 and is receiving medical attention at a government hospital.
7-Eleven Malaysia said the staff member was based at the 7-Eleven store in Jalan Bunus, Kuala Lumpur.
“Thorough sanitisation and deep cleansing of the store is being carried out and will remain closed until further notice,“ it said in a statement.
“All those in direct contact with the affected staff member have been placed under home quarantine until the appropriate medical clearance is given by the authorities.”
7-Eleven also said that it is carrying out detailed contact tracing along with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to identify and inform those who had close contact with the affected staff, as well as investigate where the staff member might have contracted it from.
“We would like to assure that preventive measures across our operations to curb the spread of Covid-19 has already been implemented, including regular sanitization of our stores, enhanced personal hygiene protocols for our staff members and social distancing measures in-store for customers, among others as the safety and well-being of our customers and staff members are of the utmost importance to us,” it added.
It is monitoring the situation closely and further updates will be provided, For any further queries, contact: marketing@7eleven.com.my, it added.
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KLANG: A 44-year-old clerk who was waiting for her turn to buy items at a pharmacy in Taman Bayu Perdana here suffered an injury after being attacked by snatch thieves today.
The woman suffered light injuries to her neck, knee and head after she was dragged by a snatch thief who had snuck up on her while she waited for her turn to patronise the Kim Chuan pharmacy at about 12.40pm.
South Klang police chief ACP Shamsul Amar Ramli said the suspects, who came on a motorcycle, wore full face helmets and face masks.
He said while the rider waited, his pillion rider hopped off before he tugged the victim’s handbag.
Shamsul Amar said when the woman fell, the robber snatched the handbag and escaped the scene with his accomplice. The woman lost her personal documents, cash and credit cards.
He added that the robbers’ motorcycle was fitted with fake registration plates.
Footage of the incident, which was captured on a closed-circuit television camera, showed the victim waiting for her turn outside the pharmacy with two other female customers ahead of her.
The victim is seen standing closest to the side lane of the pharmacy that is located in a corner unit shoplot and is seen falling on the street when the robber attacks her.
The video went viral on social media today.
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