Daily COVID Tracker: Ogun receives vaccine doses and children in UK back to school

March 9, 2021 7:45 am

Ogun government on Monday took delivery of doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first state in the country to receive it. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Tuesday.

US health department finds UK COVID-19 variant in wastewater testing

A Houston health official says the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant first seen in the UK has been identified in over half of the city’s wastewater treatment plants.

“There is a fairly large amount of the UK variant in our community and it is spreading,” David Persse, Houston chief medical officer, said.

He said the variant was identified in 21 out of 39 wastewater treatment plants on February 8 and two weeks later, on February 22 the variant was found in 31 plants.

“In the end, what we found is that 19% of all the virus that has been tested in the wastewater tests across the city has the genome that is consistent with the UK variant,” Persse said.

According to him, other variants of the virus, such as the Brazilian and South Africa variants, were also found in the city’s wastewater, but the measurements were not available to report.

Biden to deliver primetime address to mark one-year of COVID-19 shutdown

Joe Biden, US president, will deliver his first primetime address on Thursday to commemorate the one-year milestone since COVID-19 became a global pandemic.

“The President will deliver his first primetime address to commemorate the one year anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdown on Thursday,” Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said.

“He will discuss the many sacrifices the American people have made over the last year and the grave loss communities and families across the country have suffered.”

Children in the UK back to school as lockdown eases

Children in the United Kingdom returned to school on Monday for the first time in two months, ending a second extended stretch of home learning imposed to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

The resumption of schools marks the first move in a four-month plan to end the national lockdown in the country.

Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, said “getting all schools back” has been the country’s priority.

“Today pupils return to schools in England. I want to thank teachers, parents, guardians and carers for the work you have done to keep kids learning throughout the pandemic. Getting all schools back has been our priority and the first step of our roadmap back to normality,” he tweeted.

Today pupils return to schools in England.

I want to thank teachers, parents, guardians and carers for the work you have done to keep kids learning throughout the pandemic.
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Getting all schools back has been our priority and the first step of our roadmap back to normality.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 8, 2021
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Ogun becomes first state to take delivery of COVID vaccine

The Ogun government on Monday took delivery of doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first state in the country to receive it.

Dapo Abiodun, governor of the state, confirmed the development in a Twitter post.

Taking delivery of AstraZeneca #COVID19 Vaccines in my office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

Our dear State is the first in the Federation to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine consignment.#BuildingOurFutureTogether #ISEYA #OgunState #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/08oKJVmMKI

— Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun, CON (@DapoAbiodunCON) March 8, 2021

Faisal Shuaib, executive director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said at the national briefing of the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Monday that vaccines have been deployed and states will start receiving them.

On March 2, Nigeria received 3,924,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX programme.

President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, frontline health workers and members of the PTF on COVID-19 are those who have received the vaccine in the country.

Syrian president, wife contract COVID-19

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and Asma, his wife, have tested positive for COVID-19.

The Syrian presidency disclosed their health status in a statement on Monday.

It said though they showed minor symptoms, both of them are in good health and would continue to work while in isolation at home.

COVID-19 IN NIGERIA