Daily COVID Tracker: NCDC logs 22 infections — but no fatalities

Nigeria recorded 22 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Monday. 

Thousands hold protest against COVID mandates in Canada

Thousands of people held a loud but peaceful protest in Ottawa, Canada, against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates, on the streets in front of parliament.

The movement tagged “freedom convoy” started out as a rally of truckers against a vaccine requirement for cross-border drivers, but turned into a demonstration against government overreach during the pandemic.

Owing to security concerns, Trudeau and his family left their Ottawa home, with his office saying it does not comment on security matters.

Qatar approves Pfizer COVID vaccine for children aged five to 11

Qatar’s ministry of health has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged five to 11.

The ministry, in a statement, said the vaccine will be given to the children optionally, in two doses, with the second dose given three weeks after the first dose.

It said the approval comes in line with the latest local and international studies that showed the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for this age group.

The dose of the vaccine will be one-third of that used for older age groups.

Some UK schools begin mask mandate amid surge in COVID cases

Schools that ended the requirement for pupils to wear face coverings this month, in line with government guidance, are reinstating it because of a surge in COVID cases.

The government rescinded the requirement for masks in secondary school classrooms in England on January 20, and since January 27, they have not been made compulsory in communal indoor spaces either.

But a number of schools that complied with the change in the rules are having to reintroduce them a week later because of outbreaks in infections.

In some areas, public health teams are now recommending that masks be temporarily reinstated in schools where there are significant outbreaks.

Nigeria records 22 infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 22 cases were recorded in four states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Sunday.

A breakdown of the new cases is shown below:

Osun -9

FCT-6

Delta-4

Rivers-2

Kano-1

According to the agency’s report, 317 persons were discharged after recovering from the infection.

There were no fatalities on Sunday, leaving the total number of deaths at 3,135.

The NCDC added that the report includes four cases reported for Delta state from January 28 (3) and 29 (1).

Since the index case in February 2020, 252,840 cases have been confirmed with 228,404 recoveries.

UK to begin offering COVID vaccines to children aged five to 11

UK will this week begin offering vaccination to children aged between five and 11 who are most at risk of COVID-19.

According to the state-run National Health Service (NHS), on Sunday, children who are in a clinical risk group or who live with someone who is immunosuppressed will be able to get a first COVID-19 vaccine shot.

The children will be offered two 10 microgram doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, which is a third of an adult dose.