Nigeria on Wednesday recorded 82 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Thursday.
US to invest billions to expand COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing
The United States is planning to invest billions of dollars to expand the production capabilities of the COVID-19 vaccines to increase the supply of doses to poorer nations and better prepare the country for future pandemics.
The White House targets the manufacturing of at least one billion doses per year by investing in companies producing mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna, to help them expand capacity by funding facilities, equipment, staff and training.
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“The goal is to guarantee capacity to produce approximately 100 million mRNA vaccines a month against COVID or other pandemic viruses upon demand for the United States or global use,” David Kessler, chief science officer for White House COVID response team, said.
“We are looking to enter into a historic partnership with one or more experienced pharmaceutical partners. This partnership will be used for covid and any future pandemic viruses with the goal of having enough vaccines available within six to nine months of the identification of the virus.”
WHO: COVID fatalities surged in Europe last week
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) says Europe is the only continent in the world where COVID-related deaths surged last week — with a rise of five percent.
According to its weekly report on the pandemic, the agency also said infections jumped six percent globally, owing to a rise in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
WHO said 3.3 million new infections were reported out of which 2.1 million came from Europe.
Belgium tightens COVID restrictions to tackle rise in infections
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Belgium has imposed new restrictions, including mandating wider use of masks and enforcing work from home to tackle the country’s fourth COVID-19 wave.
Prime minister Alexander De Croo said the COVID situation in the country demands urgent and strict measures.
“The alarm signals are all red,” De Croo said, adding that “we had all hoped to have a winter without coronavirus, but Belgium is not an island”.
Study: Mask-wearing reduce COVID incidence by 53 percent
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A study says mask-wearing is an effective public health measure for tackling COVID and reducing infections by 53 percent.
According to the study available here, systematic review and meta-analysis of non-pharmaceutical interventions showed that mask-wearing, social distancing and handwashing are all effective measures at curbing cases – with mask-wearing being the most effective.
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“This systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that several personal protective and social measures, including handwashing, mask-wearing, and physical distancing are associated with reductions in the incidence of COVID-19,” the researchers said.
Nigeria records 82 COVID infections
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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 82 cases of COVID-19 have been reported across the country.
The agency said the fresh cases were reported in eight states on Wednesday.
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The states with the new infections are Rivers (52), Kano (9), Kebbi (6), Kaduna (5), Plateau (5), Enugu (3), while Bauchi and Lagos reported one case each.
The NCDC said 39 people were discharged after they recovered from the infection. Meanwhile, no COVID fatality was reported on Wednesday.
Nigeria now has 213,403 confirmed cases, 206,245 recoveries and 2,973 deaths across the 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
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