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EXCLUSIVE: Indonesian Embassy In Abuja, Others Refuse To Allow Staff Work From Home Despite Coronavirus Outbreak

Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Abuja

Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Abuja

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The Embassy of Indonesia in Abuja, Nigeria, has refused to allow staff work from home or observe social distancing despite the outbreak and continued spread of Coronavirus in the country, SaharaReporters can confirm.

Despite pleas to the leadership of the high commission, staff especially Nigerian employees of the embassy have been asked to continue working without recourse to their health.

“The High Commissioner even threatened some staff that if they refused to come to work, they will be fired.

“This is despite the announcement by the FCT authorities that everyone should stay at home to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus,” one troubled staff said on Thursday.

SaharaReporters gathered that the embassy authorities insisted that it cannot regard the verbal directive from the Nigerian Government for residents to work from home.

It was also gathered that despite the matter being brought to their notice, Nigerian Government officials were yet to intervene.

The Indonesian Embassy and in fact several other high commissions in the country employ only contract staff with no health insurance, pension, benefits or allowances.

Nigerian authorities are aware of this gross labour law violation but have failed to act to protect citizens employed in such places.

“They all treat Nigerians the same. Most of them reduce salaries without prior notification and they pay poorly.

“For example, administrative staff earn between N90,000 to N120,000 while drivers, domestic help and cooks earn between N25,000 to N60,000 with no overtime and they also deny women maternity leave,” a top diplomatic source told SaharaReporters.

At the Indonesian Embassy in Abuja, only four Nigerian staff are employed and they mostly serve in domestic capacity.

“We are suffering in our own country. We need government to intervene and ensure that they abide by the laid down rules of their host community, Nigeria,” another staff at the Indonesian Embassy said.

As at the time of this report, an enquiry sent to the Indonesian Embassy via email by SaharaReporters was yet to be responded to while phone numbers listed on the website of the high commission failed to connect when dialed by one of our correspondents on Thursday.

As a way of curtailing the spread of Coronavirus in Nigeria, the federal and various state governments had adopted various measures including restricting public gatherings and advising workers to operate from their houses.

Nigeria has 51 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and one recorded death at the moment with fears growing of a further spread if the stay-at-home order is not complied with by citizens.

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March 27, 2020
WHO urges countries to ensure the continuity of malaria services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is testing the resilience of robust health systems around the world. Recognizing the heavy toll that malaria exacts on vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the region’s fragile health infrastructure, WHO underlines the critical importance of sustaining efforts to prevent, detect and treat malaria.

“As COVID-19 continues its rapid spread, WHO would like to send a clear message to malaria-affected countries in Africa,” said Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme. “Do not scale back your planned malaria prevention, diagnostic and treatment activities. If someone living in a place with malaria develops a fever, he or she should seek diagnosis and care as soon as possible.”

Ensuring access to core malaria prevention measures is an important strategy for reducing the strain on health systems; these include vector control measures, such as insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying, as well as chemoprevention for pregnant women and young children (intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy, intermittent preventive treatment in infants and seasonal malaria chemoprevention). Additional special measures could ease the burden on health systems in the context of COVID-19, such as presumptive malaria treatment and mass drug administration.

Any interventions must consider the importance of both lowering malaria-related mortality and ensuring the safety of communities and health workers. WHO will provide guidance for countries to safely maintain essential health services in the context of the COVID-19 response.

About COVID-19

COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Essential information on the COVID-19 pandemic can be found in a dedicated WHO site.

About malaria

Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2018, there were an estimated 228 million cases of malaria worldwide and 405 000 malaria-related deaths. For more on malaria, visit: www.who.int/malaria

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March 26, 2020
Health Ministry mulls over use of ‘Favipiravir’ to treat patients

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is considering the use of antiviral drug ‘Favipiravir’ to treat Covid-19 positive patients, according to its director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pix).

He said the drug, which is also known as ‘Avigan’ and ‘Fuhaikang’, was not yet registered in the country.

“We (MOH) can approve it. However, we need to test the drug as it has certain side effects. So we need to be careful when using it,” he said during the daily press conference on Covid-19 here today, explaining that the drug was known as Avigan in Japan, and Fuhaikang in China.

In the event that the drug is approved, patients will need to be closely monitored to ensure its effectiveness, he explained.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham said 800 ventilators were required in government hospitals, out of which 500 would be designated for the specific use of Covid-19 cases.

The ministry had purchased 229 units of ventilators, with 54 units already received. The remaining 175 units are expected to arrive by early April, he said.

The private sector had also agreed to lend 64 ventilators for use in government hospitals, he added.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently announced an allocation of RM500 million for the purchase of medical equipment such as ventilators and Intensive Care Unit equipment, additional personal protective equipment (PPE) for public medical personnel, and for laboratory requirements for Covid-19 tests. – Bernama

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/health-ministry-mulls-over-use-of-favipiravir-to-treat-patients-LH2180159

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March 25, 2020
Private hospitals urged to provide more assistance to govt hospitals

PETALING JAYA: Private hospitals are asked to put profits aside for now and in the name of service, support the Health Ministry in combating the Covid-19 pandemic.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) CEO Datuk Dr Paul Selvaraj said in this time of crisis, private hospitals, especially those run by government-linked companies, should give their utmost to assist the government given that public hospitals are called to treat the rising number of Covid-19 patients.

“Put service as priority and put aside profits for now,“ he told theSun today.

Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong suggested that private hospitals step forward to take some of the burden off the public sector by providing some sort of subsidised charges or no cost at all. They should also help with cases which are not related to the viral pandemic, fill the need for special wards, offer intensive care unit space and equipment such as ventilators and oxygen supply.

“In the best of times, private hospitals reap the benefits of the much touted Malaysian product known as ‘medical tourism’ and attract the best medical talents from the public sector.

“Now that we are in the worst of times, private hospitals don’t seem to be doing too badly either.

“According to the Affin Hwang Capital Research, the coronavirus pandemic is likely to have only a muted impact on private hospital operators as they are required to report such cases to public hospitals and the national infection centre,“ Kua said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, in response to the many questions broached of late, president of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said they (private hospitals) have made available 51 ventilators to the Health Ministry.

“We will be accepting non Covid-19 cases from the Health Ministry hospitals too. Discussions on taking on cases are in the final stages,“ he said in a statement on Tuesday.

He also said the APHM and its member hospitals see this as an opportunity for the private hospitals to work with the Health Ministry and the government in facing this national crisis.

“We have the support of all private hospitals in cancelling electives and reducing non urgent consultation while some private hospitals have even started Covid-19 screening for walk-ins and drive-ins,“ he added.

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/private-hospitals-urged-to-provide-more-assistance-to-govt-hospitals-GN2179989

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March 25, 2020
Do not take RTK test for Covid-19 without doctor’s advice: MOH

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry (MOH) has called on the people not to undergo rapid test kit (RTK) tests arbitrarily without seeking the advice of medical practitioners.

Health director-general, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pix) said it has the potential to a give wrong interpretation from the result obtained.

“The test via RTK technique which is now available in the market is to detect antibodies produced by the body as a result of an infection. The antibodies will appear in the body in five to eight days after infection.

“The RTK test which detects antibodies, cannot detect virus and it is administered for quick confirmation. As such it cannot help in the detection of initial Covid-19 cases. Therefore, RTK test is not recommended for diagnosing Covid-19,” he said in a statement today.

Elaborating further, Dr Noor Hisham said MOH is using the Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) technique at government health laboratories to detect the presence of Covid-19 virus found in the body of patients.

If the rRT-PCR COVID19 test is found positive, it means the individual has been infected by Covid-19 virus.

“The result of the rRT-PCR technique is very important in managing Covid-19 patients effectively,” he said.

In this regard, Dr Noor Hisham advised the people not to discriminate members of the tabligh congregation following the spread of Covid-19 from the cluster and should in fact assist MOH in tracing close contacts among them.

“We should not blame tabligh members, do not discriminate them, we should not stigmatise the tabligh congregation. What is important is for us to assist, trace and treat Covid-19 infection among tabligh members, their families and their contacts,” he said.

Apart from that. Dr Noor Hisham said KKM is cooperating with MERCY Malaysia to provide psychosocial support to the people especially frontliners and individuals emotionally affected by Covid-19.

They can obtain the service by contacting 011-63996482 / 011-63994236 / 03-29359935 from 8am to 5pm daily.

Members of the public can also contact the virtual health advisory team for a webinar session daily from 9am onwards at http://www.doctoroncall.com.my/coronavirus. – Bernama

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/do-not-take-rtk-test-for-covid-19-without-doctor-s-advice-moh-IB2175930

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March 24, 2020
Adequate blood supply in the country: National Blood Centre

KUALA LUMPUR: The supply of blood in the country is still sufficient at a safe level so far, said National Blood Centre (PDN) director Dr Noryati Abu Amin.

However, she said PDN and other blood centres are still in need of blood donors to continue replenishing blood stock at an optimum level all the time.

According to her, blood donation is still available during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period as the activity is considered an essential service under the Health Ministry for the treatment of patients.

While it cannot be denied that blood donation throughout the country would be affected following Covid-19 and the enforcement of MCO, Dr Noryati said various efforts including stepping up promotions via social media as well as extending the operation hours at collection centres have been carried out.

“So far, the supply of all types of blood is sufficient, however many blood donation campaigns were cancelled over fears that the people maybe infected with Covid-19 which also caused a drop in the number of donors,” she told Bernama.

Dr Noryati added that several additional measures were taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 when individuals came to donate blood, among them was limiting the number of donors at a location at any one time.

“Apart from that, measures such as social distancing and practice of good hygiene especially washing hands with soap and water as well as providing initial screening such as checking body temperature and inquiring the travel history of the donor, she said.

In this regard, she urged the people to continue donating blood regularly to ensure the supply of blood is always at a safe level.

“Having an adequate supply of blood at all time is very important to treat patients such as emergency victims, expecting mothers who may experience bleeding complications during delivery, cancer and thalassemia patients as well as patients undergoing major surgeries,” she said.

Members of the public can donate blood at three locations in the Klang Valley namely PDN in Jalan Tun Razak on Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 8pm and on Saturday and Sunday, from 8am to 6pm.

Besides that, the PDN Donation Suite in Midvalley Megamall starts daily from 10am to 5pm while the Puspanita Blood Donation Suite in Putrajaya operates from Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 7pm and on weekends from 9am to 6pm.

Meanwhile, the blood supply at the Blood Centre of Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital Seremban (HTJS) is also sufficient, said Negri Sembilan Health acting director Dr Mohammad Faid Abd Rashid.

Speaking to Bernama, he said the centre has enough blood for patients,

“During the MOC period, the centre is still operating on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 3pm and on Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4.30 pm.

“The supply of blood however depends on healthy and non-risky donors who have to adhere to the regulations of the hospital,” he said.

Dr Mohammad Faid said those who display Covid-19 symptoms or have just returned from abroad or have close contact with suspected Covid-19 cases would not be allowed to donate blood. — Bernama

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March 21, 2020
Wasps may benefit us as much as bees. Could we learn to love them?

We love to hate wasps, but they pollinate flowers, kill off pests and their venom might even help us treat cancer

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March 21, 2020
Genetically modified neurons could help us connect to implants

Neurons engineered to produce electrically conducting polymers on their surface could one day be used to treat epilepsy or to better control prosthetics

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https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237987-genetically-modified-neurons-could-help-us-connect-to-implants/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home

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March 20, 2020
(Video) Time for tough action against those flouting MCO

PETALING JAYA: Faced with the deadly Covid-19 virus, the government implemented the movement control order (MCO) as a lesser measure to contain the pandemic.

The MCO was favoured to a full lockdown as the latter might cause deep inconvenience to the people.

While the move, as a preliminary measure to counter the spread of the disease, was welcomed by the majority, it is not the case with a segment of obstinate Malaysians who are not adhering to the MCO and are going about their daily lives as usual, totally unperturbed by the pandemic.

Members of the police force are at their wits end.

Since the MCO came into force on Wednesday, it has been a gruelling task for personnel nationwide who are “chasing” those who continue to treat the order lightly. These selfish and stubborn individuals are taking to the outdoors without any concern for their own safety, that of their families and others who come in contact with them.

Should they become infected with the feared virus from their careless behaviour, these irresponsible individuals are a threat to the health of other Malaysians including those who abide by the MCO.

Law-abiding Malaysians viewed with utter disgust several videos which went viral since yesterday, showing a number of people who are turning the MCO into an outdoor leisure-seeking break.

One video taken in Johor Baru showed more than 50 adults and children passing their time at a playground in a residential area, playing basketball or idling away.

A police car arrives at the scene with its sirens blaring and beacons switched on but the crowd does not budge.

When a personnel makes an announcement with a hailer urging the people to return indoors in accordance with the MCO, it falls on deaf ears.

It was not until an exasperated policeman steps out of the patrol car and walks towards the people does the crowd decide to disperse.

Another video showed a group of men who were playing checkers in the open at an unnamed location in Selangor being advised to head indoors by police.

In Alor Star, police cars arrived at a house to advise its dwellers to call off a large kenduri they were holding.

Dozens of other videos of people enjoying meals, gathering, loitering and setting up food stalls, all outdoors, are making the rounds.

With the reckless behaviour of such Malaysians, perhaps it is time they face the full brunt of the law.

Laws of the Penal Code and Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 should be invoked and police be given consent by the higher-ups to arrest and prosecute those who fail to adhere to the MCO.

This will not simply serve as a lesson to those who flout the law but also a deterrent to the rest.

This should be done at the soonest to further counter the pandemic and in honour of the sacrifices our frontliners who put their lives on the line – the hundreds of medical personnel caring for over 900 infected patients battling the disease and the thousands of police personnel upholding the MCO.

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/video-time-for-tough-action-against-those-flouting-mco-MD2151817

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March 19, 2020
Fujifilm shares soar after China backs drug to treat virus

Shares in Japanese firm Fujifilm Holdings sky-rocketed on Wednesday after Chinese authorities said a drug produced by the company could be effective for treating coronavirus patients.

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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-fujifilm-soar-china-drug-virus.html

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March 18, 2020