Daily COVID Tracker: Nigeria records 106 new infections, and Osun food scheme targets 30,000 households

Nigeria on Thursday reported 106 new cases of COVID-19 across 12 states. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Friday. 

Osun food support scheme targets 30,000 persons

Gboyega Oyetola, governor of Osun, has inaugurated the ‘Osun Food Support Scheme’ to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 30,000 vulnerable citizens.

Oyetola, who inaugurated the programme on Thursday at the state secretariat, Osogbo, said the initiative is part of his promise to prioritise the welfare of the people.

“Through this scheme, in the first instance, 30,000 beneficiaries across our state will be reached and provided with 5kg of food bags as a token of support,” he said.

“To make the exercise hitch-free and transparent, we have constituted a committee made of relevant state functionaries and key stakeholders with representations from the various religious bodies, trade groups, youth groups, minority groups, among others.

“We are adopting the use of the World Bank-sponsored Social Register to cater for the beneficiaries in a manner that is just and equitable across the various nook and crannies of our state.”

NSF to bar journalists without COVID-19 vaccination evidence

Sports journalists with no evidence of COVID-19 vaccination will be barred from covering the 20th National Sport Festival, according to the local organising committee (LOC).

According to NAN, Musa Ebomhiana, project manager of LOC media and communications sub-committee, said journalists who want to cover the festival must show evidence of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results for COVID-19.

The event is scheduled to take place in Benin from April 14.

“Any journalist who fails to produce the PCR will not be allowed to cover the National Sports Festival (NSF),” Ebomhiana said.

“The Main Organising Committee (MOC) is strictly in charge. Ours is to assist them and we’ve done that.

“The MOC will produce the accreditation cards and give them to those who have registered. The advance party will bring them to Benin for onward distribution to Journalists.

“When the cards come they will give them to journalists who have registered, but any journalist who fails to show evidence of PCR test or vaccination will not be allowed to cover the festival.”

Brazil approves J&J COVID vaccine for emergency use

Brazil’s health regulatory agency (Anvisa) has approved Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.

On March 19, Brazil’s health ministry signed a contract with Johnson & Johnson for the purchase of 38 million vaccine doses to be delivered between August and November 2021.

The approval now brings to four the number of COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorised in Brazil.

The country had earlier approved Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and CoronaVac for emergency use.

Nigeria records 106 new infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday confirmed 106 new cases of COVID-19 across 12 states, including the federal capital territory (FCT).

Lagos, the epicentre of the infections in Nigeria, reported 33 new cases followed by the FCT 20, and Cross River 11.

Other states that recorded new cases include Rivers (11), Kaduna (7), Edo (6), Ondo (6), Nasarawa (3), Ogun (3), Kano (2), Bauchi (2) and Osun (2).

The agency said 60 people recovered from the infection on Thursday.

But one person was said to have died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the number of fatalities in the country to 2,058.

To date, 162,997 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Nigeria — with 151,708 recoveries in 36 states and the FCT.

Egypt receives over 854,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine 

Egypt on Thursday received 854,400 dozes of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine through the COVAX programme.

The shipment is part of 40 million doses that Egypt is expected to receive from COVAX.

COVAX was set up in 2020 by an alliance co-led by GAVI, coalition for epidemic preparedness innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the equitable distribution of vaccines.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA