NCDC DG, Chikwe Ihekweazu explains his reason for not wearing face masks - says its for those infected by the virus.

By: Monica M.f

The Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu has explained why he doesn't wear face masks like other members of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 during joint briefings. 

Chikwe who disclosed that the face mask should be for those infected or the medical frontline medical personnel attending the suspected cases or treating COVID-19 patients, revealed that the country is yet to develop a policy for wearing of face masks. 

He said; 

“This is a strategy we need to think about before we implement it. Before we implement a national strategy around mask wearing, we have to be sure we can provide it or at least enable access to it. We will allow for the risk assessment and as the evidence comes together, we will make a decision based on the evidence and ability to provide every Nigerian with access to mask."

The NCDC director also disclosed that the NCDC is almost done with the face mask policy but the draft is still being looked at by the agency.

He added; 

“Last week, I did say we would release a policy on face masks. That policy has almost been completed. In fact, the draft is now being looked at by various colleagues to make sure that we are all alive. By tomorrow or next, we would be releasing that policy for all of us to align with.”

COVID-19: Abuja Markets now to operate three times a week

By Monica M.f

As part of efforts to align with the new guidelines on the operations of markets as issued by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA has directed the Abuja Markets Management Limited AMML to ensure compliance with the new template.

The new guideline issued by the Presidential Taskforce allows only shops and stalls selling food and groceries to open to customers between 10 am and 2 pm on alternate days or less frequently.

Consequently, Chief Press Secretary to the FCT minister, Anthony Ogunleye in a statement on Tuesday said after a meeting the previous day between officials of the FCT Administration and relevant security agencies, it was agreed that the new arrangement will be fully implemented in the FCT.

Accordingly, he said “Markets in Abuja will now operate only three times weekly; that is on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, from 10 am to 2 pm. This means that after the close of market activities on Wednesday, April, 8th, the next market day will be next Saturday 11th, April 2020”.

“These are part of measures being employed in addition to other social distancing measures already put in place to limit the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in the FCT.

“Market Managers and the FCT Police Command have been directed to ensure compliance with this directive by monitoring all entry and exit points of the various markets as well as activities of the traders.

“FCT residents are called upon to support the efforts of government and also patronize markets within their neighbourhoods rather than going to the major markets in distant locations, in order to prevent a possible spread of the virus between communities in the FCT”, the statement added.

Source: Vanguard

Yul Edochie reacts to Funke Akindele’s arrest via tweet.

Monica M.f

Reacting to the arrest of Funke Akindele and her husband, JJC Skillz, Nollywood actor Yul Edochie has penned down his pains in the whole drama.

Taking to his Twitter, the Anambra State born seasoned actor said he’s tired of the country Nigeria for not obeying simple rules, yet crucifying those that did their best but made little mistake. 

He wrote, “This country sef, I tire. You arrest Funke for not observing social distancing and take her to court. Right there in court, everybody is clustered.Outside the court all the reporters are clustered. No social distancing observed at all. Shouldn’t they all be arrested as well? If one infected person was part of the whole arrest and court process, everybody don carry am be dat. 

This country, who do us like dis?”

This is coming shortly after Funke Akindele- Bello and her husband, Abdulrasheed Bello aka JJC Skillz, were sentenced  to 14-day community service, N100,000 fine each and isolation for 14 days for flouting the social distancing regulations; enacted by the Lagos State Government.

They had hosted a well-attended birthday party at their residence in Amen Estate, Lekki, Ajah, Lagos on Saturday.
The star actress and her  musician husband were arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Ogba, Lagos State on Monday.

After being read the charges preferred against them by Magistrate Yetunde Aje-Afunwa, both of them pleaded guilty.

The Lagos State Infection Diseases Regulations 2020 prescribes a jail term of one month or N100,000 fine or both; for persons found guilty of hosting gatherings or flouting the lockdown order.

Cyclone destroys buildings in Vanuatu.

Cyclone Harold brings strong winds to Luganville

A powerful tropical cyclone made landfall on the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Monday, witnesses said, levelling buildings in a country already in a state of emergency due to concerns about the coronavirus.

Cyclone Harold approached Sanma province, an island north of the capital Port Vila, with winds of up to 215 km/h about 1 p.m. local time (0200 GMT), as the country of 276,000 people bunkered down.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. The cyclone was upgraded to a Category 5 as it approached, the highest category.

“There is lots of damage in Sanma, they lost lots of buildings,” said Jacqueline de Gaillande, CEO of Vanuatu Red Cross, by telephone from the capital Port Vila where the cyclone was expected to hit overnight.

The province of Sanmar sits on the biggest of Vanuatu’s 80 islands and is home to its second-most populous city, Luganville, where photos circulated on social media purported to show buildings flattened by the storm. “We don’t know if we can provide any supports to the island because we are not allowed to travel inter-island and we are waiting for the government to make that decision,” added de Gaillande, referring to travel restrictions associated with the coronavirus.

Vanuatu has reported no cases of the new coronavirus but has nonetheless declared a state of emergency, banned most international and domestic air travel and limited public gatherings to five people as it tries to prevent a local outbreak of the flu-like illness that has infected nearly 1.3 million people and resulted in about 70,000 deaths globally. The Pacific region has recorded about 60 confirmed cases of the illness and one death, in Guam, according to media reports. The Australian Broadcasting Corp reported that Vanuatu officials had relaxed social distancing rules over the weekend because of concern about the cyclone. Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office was not immediately available for comment on Monday. A day earlier, Solomon Islands police said they retrieved five bodies in their search for 27 people who were swept off a ferry by the cyclone as it passed over the country. The MV Taimareho set sail early on Friday in strong winds with 738 passengers including crew and the captain on board. Police said the missing were believed to have fallen off during heavy seas.

Vanuatu, and the province of Sanma in particular, was hit hard in 2015 by the Category 5 Cyclone Pam that pummelled the capital Port Vila and other islands.

Phillip Crawley, Publisher

Use your God given wisdom at this time- Chude Jideonwo tells Christians as clergymen peddle conspiracy theories linking Coronavirus and 5G network

Award-winning media personality, Chude Jideonwo, has asked Christians to use their God given wisdom at this time that the world is battling the Coronavirus pandemic.

Chude made the call as more Clergymen come out to whip up conspiracy theories linking the Coronavirus pandemic to the emergence of the 5G networks.

Recall that yesterday, a video of Chris Oyakhilome, founder of Christ Embassy churches surfaced online in which he claimed the Coronavirus and the 5G network being proposed is part of the Antichrist's plan for a new world order. Read here.

In a post shared on his Facebook page, Chude said if such men can come out boldly to pass such ignorant information, it is important for those who know better to also step out and enlighten the world that the Coronavirus pandemic and 5G network have no corrolation. He appealed to Christians not to listen to their pastors for now because the pastors themselves are susceptible to fear and misinformation. 

I cannot believe that we actually have to say this.

But as one Christian to another, and since I am lucky to have a public platform people pay attention to, I believe I have a responsibility to speak out at this time. And quickly.

Just like me, on this matter of Covid-19, your pastors are not experts.
At this time of mass panic, your pastors are susceptible to fear, to misinformation, and - without checks and balances - to misuse use their influence and platform to inadvertently cause harm.

But if those who are peddling conspiracy theories that may end up killing millions are bold and fearless with it, I think it is important for those who know this 5G conspiracy theory (like all other conspiracy theories over the past millenia) is destructive and deeply dangerous to speak out.

If the anti-Christ or the West or China wanted to destroy anyone, there are smarter ways than a virus that kills their own people and tanks their own economies.
Conspiracy theories always sound deep and bold. But they are nonetheless deeply irresponsible without facts, without proof, without informed corroboration.

Please, use your God given wisdom at this time and think of all those who are dying and all those who are saving them.

It’s not conspiracy theorists that are saving lives at this moment at the treatment facilities in Lagos, Enugu and the world.
They are not the ones who will help you if your family members get infected.
It’s doctors. It’s researchers. It’s scientists. It's public health experts. They are the ones saving lives. It’s the partners who have worked with them over the past three decades - including oyinbo billionaires who have done more to save lives in this country via fighting polio, malaria, HIV free of charge - that are saving more lives. They have saved more lives than any and all pastors.

Listen to them when it comes to health and disease.

And this is what the VAST MAJORITY of experts, doctors and researchers are saying: as at today, based on all we know about Covid, any link with 5G is NIL.
Please, don’t allow authority figures who don’t what they are doing confuse you at this time with the confidence of their errors.

They might even be motivated by love and wanting to spread what they consider to be truth, but it is still an irresponsible thing to do.

You can love them, you can pray for them, you can listen to them when it comes to doctrine. But when it comes to disease, PLEASE ignore them. For the sake of you and your families.
“But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.” — I Corinthians? ?8:9? ?NKJV??
#PleaseStaySafe

Source: Lindaikeji Blog

Anglican Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma holds church service amid Coronavirus crisis, insists the church belongs to Christ who is God.

    Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma

Archbishop of the Enugu Province and Bishop of Enugu Anglican Diocese, Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, yesterday, said the Province will not shut any of its branches over the Coronavirus pandemic.

He said shutting the church at a time like this would mean giving the devil an opportunity to ravage the people and the country.

Chukwuma faulted the order of government to close churches and places of worship. He said it is unfortunate and wrong to categorise church and worship centres with drinking parlours, night clubs, markets and companies.

The cleric said he would not shut the churches because he is not the owner, as the church belongs to Jesus Christ, adding that if people were stopped from "running to their God in worship in a time like now the whole world is in confusion, where would they run to for safety, help and deliverance?"

He also warned that attacking the church will not bring a solution but will only make matters worse. He advised that there was a need for the country to continue to seek divine solution to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Archbishop, who was reacting to the disruption of worship in some Anglican churches in Enugu, warned security operatives to stop discouraging members of the Anglican Church from worshipping in their church buildings, insisting that he had ensured that all hygienic protocols and social distancing practices were kept for the good of the people.

Bishop Chukwuma said, according to Sun News: "I have told them (Police) not to try it again unless they want more trouble for themselves and their families. There is no way you can ask the church of God to stop when we need prayers to bring healing upon the land, especially when we are faced with a problem as serious as coronavirus that has defied every human solution.

"It is wrong on the government to send police after worshippers. I think if they are serious, what they should do is to ensure that the hygiene protocol is kept, that the social distancing order is also kept, while encouraging those at the altar to pray the country out. What can man do under this circumstance without God? What can even the President or our scientists do in this trying time without God? It is wrong for people to think that we will not find answers to what has befallen us through prayers. So, I want to warn that whoever is behind the disruption should stop in his own interest.

"The last thing I will do at this time is to close the doors of my church building. In my Cathedral, we worshipped today and we will observe all the Palm Sunday and Easter activities. I will worship on Monday, Thursday as well as the Easter Sunday. It will be sad on anybody who tried to stop us because. We’re doing what we are supposed to do."

Source: Sun news report

UN Chief decries domestic violence surge. Maintains its fueled by the stay-at-home order.

United Nation’s Secretary- General Antonio Guterres

 UN Secretary-General António Guterres has decried a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence” against women and girls amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a video message on Sunday evening, Guterres linked the development to economic and social pressures occasioned by stay-at-home orders imposed by governments in response to the pandemic.

“We know lockdowns and quarantines are essential to suppressing COVID-19, but they can trap women with abusive partners.

“Over the last weeks as economic and social pressures and fear have grown, we have seen horrifying global surge in domestic violence.

“In some countries, the number of women calling support services has doubled,” he stated.

The UN Chief noted that help might not come for the victims since the police and healthcare providers were already overwhelmed by demands of the pandemic.

He added that “local support groups are paralysed or short of funds”, while some domestic shelters are closed, and others full.

Guterres, therefore, called for an end to violence in homes around the world.

“I recently called for an immediate ceasefire in conflicts around the world to focus on our shared struggle to overcome the pandemic.

“I appealed for an end to violence everywhere now. But violence is not confined to the battlefield.

“For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest: in their own homes.

“And so I make a new appeal today for peace at home, and in homes, around the world,” he said.

The Secretary-General urged governments to make prevention and redress of violence against women a key part of their national response plans for COVID-19.

This, he stated, means increasing investments in online services and civil society organisations.

He said it also meant ensuring that judicial systems continue to prosecute abusers, and setting up emergency warning systems in pharmacies and groceries.

“This also means declaring shelters as essential services, and creating safe ways for women to seek support without alerting their abusers.

“Women’s rights and freedoms are essential to strong, resilient societies.

“Together, we can and must prevent violence everywhere, from war zones to people’s homes, as we work to beat COVID-19,” Guterres said.