Major health stories last week

In the last three months, the world has been ravaged by the Covid-19 outbreak.

As at Sunday, over 180 countries including Nigeria have reported at least a case of the disease.

Cases have continued to rise in Europe, the U.S, Asia and Africa.

In Nigeria, the number of infections is still increasing, while the country is also battling its perennial Lassa fever outbreak.

Here is a round up of some of the stories which made headlines last week.

Coronavirus: Over 300,000 people now affected globally as Nigeria records 27 cases

The number of confirmed cases in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic across the world surpassed 300,000 Sunday morning, data from worldometers.info has shown.

In spite of efforts by many governments to block its path, the virus continued to spread across many countries in Europe, the U.S. and Africa over the weekend.

As at time of reporting, the virus has spread to all continents except Antarctica. At least a case of coronavirus has been reported in 188 countries, including Nigeria.

As at Sunday 11:15 GMT, a total of 311,982 people have been infected with 13,071 deaths reported globally.

Coronavirus: Lagos nightclubs continue operations despite govt directive

Despite rising cases of confirmed coronavirus infections in Nigeria, some night clubs in Lagos are still defying government’s advisory and remained open to their customers.

PREMIUM TIMES visited eight night clubs across the nation’s commercial capital on Saturday evening and observed that six of them were bustling with revellers, despite warnings against mass gatherings as a way of stalling the spread of coronavirus.

PREMIUM TIMES visited Aways Lounge, Swallows Place, Daizey Lounge, Spicy Lounge and Lavalon Lounge — all operating around high-brow Lekki -Ajah neighbourhoods.

Coronavirus: Abuja records fourth confirmed case

Another new case of COVID-19 has been reported in Abuja, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has disclosed.

This implies Abuja now has four cases of COVID-19.

The new case was reported at 11:00 a.m. Three of the previous cases in the Nigerian capital were reported last week.

Coronavirus: NMA directs striking doctors to resume work

Barely three days after resident doctors in Abuja declared an indefinite strike, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) directed that all unions affiliated to it should go back to work until the ongoing Coronavirus (Covid-19) is contained.

All Nigerian doctors are members of NMA as other doctors’ associations like the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) are affiliate members.

The ARD members are protesting, among others, the failure of the government to make complete payment of their over two months’ basic salaries.

Coronavirus: Global death toll over 10,000

The global death toll from the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak has exceeded 10,000, data from worldometers. info has shown.

As of Friday 08:09 GMT, the number of infections has increased to 246, 464 and killed 10,049 worldwide.

Also, 182 countries have reported at least a case of COVID-19. This implies that only about 15 countries have not reported a case.

Woman With Coronavirus Gives Birth To Healthy Baby

A woman who tested positive for coronavirus gave birth to a healthy baby at an Athens hospital, Greek media reported on Thursday.

The 24-year-old woman and her partner had both tested positive before the delivery on Wednesday, but the first test on the baby came back negative for COVID-19.

“The virus is not transmitted by the placenta,” the director of maternity at Attikon Hospital told Greek national broadcaster ERT.

South Africa Fortifies Border Fence With Zimbabwe Over Coronavirus

South Africa said Thursday it would erect or repair 40 kilometres (25 miles) of fence along its border with Zimbabwe to secure porous entry points in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Meandering along the Limpopo river, the Beitbridge border between South Africa and Zimbabwe is prone to illegal crossovers, especially by economic migrants who often crawl through broken sections of the fence.

Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille announced she had invoked emergency procurement procedures to build or repair fencing on either side of the Beitbridge Border post

Group decries increasing rate of drug abuse among youth

An Enugu-based group, Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP), has expressed dismay at the rising wave of drug abuse among the youth in Nigeria.

The Programme Manager of the organisation, Evelyn Joseph, said this in Enugu on Friday at a two-day media training organised by the Society and funded by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

According to her, a survey conducted by National Bureau of Statistics and Centre for Research and Information in Substance Abuse showed that 14.3 million Nigerians aged 15 to 64 had used drugs.