Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Bello, on Thursday, disclosed that more coronavirus patients who have been confirmed negative will soon be discharged. Bello said the FCT Administration was ready for likely isolation of patients to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He disclosed this at the FCT COVID-19 media briefing. No fewer than seven patients earlier diagnosed with coronavirus and managed in the Isolation Centre in Abuja were within the week discharged after fully

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it has not approved any vaccine for clinical trials to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clearing the air on the rumours that clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccine will soon begin in African countries, including Nigeria, the agency stressed that before any clinical trial begins in the country, it must have been conducted in different countries, which may not happen before one year to eighteen months.

The Federal Government has said it would provide insurance cover for all the frontline health workers battling to keep Nigerians safe from the coronavirus pandemic. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said this in Abuja.

The Chairman, Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Ekiti State Chapter, Mr Kayode Fatomiluyi, has appealed to governments to protect nurses through provision of necessary modern equipment at the health facilities in the state.

Fatomiluyi, who said this, would enhance the nation’s health care delivery system, also called on governments to prioritise the welfare of the nurses and midwives as incentive for them to discharge their duties more efficiently and effectively.

The Nigerian Air Force has commenced the distribution of oxygen produced at its Liquid Oxygen Plant to coronavirus isolation centres in the country. 

NAF also said it has started sharing the oxygen at selected hospitals as part of response to end the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. “I’m glad to note that the Nigerian Air Force has started distributing the oxygen being produced at its Liquid Oxygen Plant to isolation centres and designated hospitals across the country in support of the national response to COVID-19 pandemic,” AVM OA Adesanya, a NAF Defence

Nigerian Government has begun plans to expand the testing capacity to all 36 states and the nation’s capital Abuja. 

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control Medical Officer for COVID_19 Case Management Team, Dr Sandra Mba, disclosed this in a tweet chat with The Guardian on Wednesday. “Currently @NCDCgov has expanded the testing capacity to 12 labs in Nigeria. The platform being used for testing currently is RT-PCR,” Mba said. “However, NCDC also has a plan to expand the testing capacity to all 36 states & FCT using other validated methods and working closely with partners,” she added.

Contrary to widely published reports that the conventional vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) offers protection against the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO), yesterday, dismissed the claim. 

The apex United Nations health body said there was no evidence that the Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) protects people against the virus. The global agency stated that clinical trials relating to the issue were underway, adding that their outcome would be evaluated in due course. It said: “In the absence of evidence, WHO does not recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of COVID-19.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention plans to distribute a million COVID-19 test kits from next week to help the continent tackle a glaring shortfall in testing, its director, John Nkengasong, said Thursday.

“There is a big gap on the continent on testing,” Nkengasong said at a weekly press conference at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. “Something has to be done.”

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has cautioned Nigerians to stop the consumption of an organic apple and black currant originating from Australia.

Prof. Moji Adeyeye, NAFDAC Director-General, who disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the products had been certified harmful for human consumption. “The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has warned against the consumption of Pure Tassie Organic Apple and Blackcurrant Juice originating from Australia.

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed optimism that African countries can defeat the coronavirus pandemic, in the same manner, it eradicated the Wild Polio Virus on the continent.

The president spoke at the formal certification of the Wild Polio Virus eradication in the African region during the virtual session of the 70th World Health Organisation (WHO) regional committee for Africa, at the State House, Abuja, on Tuesday. ‘‘I recall that shortly after assuming office in May 2015, I made a pledge to Nigerians that I would not bequeath a polio-endemic country to my successor.