Daily COVID Tracker: Infections decline as NCDC logs two cases in Abuja

Nigeria on Sunday recorded two cases of COVID. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Monday. 

UK health minister quits after breaking COVID rules

Matt Hancock, UK health minister, has resigned after he was criticised for breaking social distancing rules.

Hancock tendered his resignation on Saturday after photos of him kissing an aide in his office were published online.

The pictures which were taken on May 6, 11 days before the COVID rules were eased, generated criticism from the public and politicians.

“We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance,” Hancock said in his resignation letter.

Bori Johnson accepted Hancock’s resignation, saying he is proud of his service.

“You should be immensely proud of your service. I am grateful for your support and believe that your contribution to public service is far from over,” he said.

Sajid Javid has been appointed as his replacement.

Nigeria seeks intellectual property rights waiver on COVID vaccine

Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, says Nigeria is seeking a waiver of intellectual property rights on COVID vaccine.

Ngige said this when he hosted Vanessa Phala, the new International Labour Organisation (ILO) country director for Nigeria and English-speaking West Africa.

Ngige said the ILO needs to support Nigeria in its demand to help developing countries tackle the spread of the virus and enhance economic recovery.

“Nigeria is in the league of countries who want the intellectual property rights as it relates to COVID-19 vaccines be waived so that developing countries can manufacture them to fight the pandemic,” he said.

Saudi Arabia to vaccinate people aged 12 to 18

Saudi Arabia says it will start vaccinating people between the age of 12 and 18 against COVID-19.

The kingdom said the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine will be used after it was approved by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.

Nigeria records two fresh COVID infections 

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country recorded two fresh coronavirus infections on Sunday.

The latest positive cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the federal capital territory (FCT), according to the agency’s update for June 27, 2021.

However, it said Sunday’s report does not include data from Lagos state.

Three persons were discharged on Sunday after recovering from the infection, raising the total number of recoveries to 163,949.

The agency reported zero deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday.

This keeps the number of fatalities in the country at 2,119.

A total of 167,467 coronavirus infections have now been confirmed across Nigeria.

South Africa toughens restrictions to fight Delta variant

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has imposed tougher restrictions to fight the spike in the highly contagious Delta COVID variant.

Addressing a news conference on Sunday, Ramaphosa said the country “is facing a massive resurgence of infection”.

“Our health facilities are stretched to the limit … ICU beds are in short supply.”

Ramaphosa placed the country on alert level four, one level below a full lockdown.

“We are in the grip of a devastating wave that by all indications seems like it will be worse than those that preceded it,” He said.

“The peak of this third wave looks set to be higher than the previous two.”

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA