Friday, March 13, 2020

Video - Coronavirus outbreak may delay completion of major project in Nigeria



The Nigerian government says one of the most important rail projects in the country could suffer delays as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The project is being carried out by Chinese engineering firms. The head of the country's railway corporation says the completion date may be delayed.

Video - Doctor uses art to inspire people with skin conditions in Nigeria



Doctor by day and Artist by night, that is the story of one young Nigerian who is both a medical doctor and a visual artist. Adefemi Gbadamosi popularly known by his art signature, Fola David uses his art to instill self-love and self-confidence in people with different types of skin conditions making them see the beauty in what they may consider flaws.

Video - Nigerians raise awareness on preventing kidney failure



The World Health Organisation says an estimated 5 to 10 million people die annually from kidney disease across the world. In Nigeria, the country's Association of Nephrology said most people who suffer kidney failure cannot afford transplant or treatment. Health advocates are using this year's World Kidney Day to sensitize people on kidney disease and prevention.

Nigerian found dead in his Italy home after high fever

A 64-year-old Nigerian, Okunuga Olumide Saraju, has been found dead in his home in Modena, Italy, where he lived alone. Okunuga, a native of Ikenne in Ogun State and the president of Egbe Omo Yoruba in Emilia Romagna region, was found dead at about 11:00a.m. on Tuesday at his home. There are suspicions that he may have died of corona virus infection, a disease that has ravaged Italy in the past few weeks.

Saraju was well-known in the circles of associations and voluntary workers from Modena. He had lived in Modena for 30 years. A friend had raised the alarm. Upon entry, there were no signs of violence or break-ins in the house, nor traces of blood, according to Modena local media.

According to the information gathered, he had been suffering from high fever for some days but was not subjected to isolation because he had a previous complex health condition. He was being helped by friends. However, a friend raised the alarm when he was no longer answering his calls.

The city of Modena activated the antivirus procedure for the recovery of a body for the first time on Tuesday when removing his body from the apartment. As a precautionary measure, his body was brought to the street closed by a municipal police cordon, with the necrophores completely protected by overalls and masks, a gesture the neighborhood applauded.

The city said it is impossible to ascertain the cause of death for now because the deceased was suffering from a congenital disease, but the coroner will perform an autopsy and swab to check if he contracted Coronavirus. The last word belongs to the coroner who will perform the autopsy and the swab to check for any positivity to covid-19.

Saraju is an employee of an important Modena company, former vice president of the Foreigners Council of Modena, volunteer and former CGIL delegate. He was an Italian citizen in all respects and for 15 years he lived on the first floor of the building where he died. He lived alone since he separated from his wife.

And since he had been sick, his friends had decided to take the necessary things in turn, leaving him on the window at home; that windowsill became his last contact with the world outside the home. It happened in fact that last Thursday he started to feel bad. He suffered from exhaustion and a severe fever. He called the family doctor who went to his house to visit him. The doctor thought it was a normal flu: as friends reported yesterday, he took his leave advising him to stay indoors.

Mohamed Lasry, known as Il Sarto, his friend and neighbour, said: “The last phone call was on Monday evening. He told me he was very sick, he couldn’t take it anymore. Then I passed by yesterday morning. He didn’t answer. Then I raised the alarm. The municipal police arrived on the spot followed by the firefighters. After a few unsuccessful attempts at the intercom, the door was forced and the macabre discovery took place.

“The 64-year-old’s lifeless body was lying on the ground. He had evidently fallen suddenly without getting up again. Olumide was a citizen of the world open to others, to solidarity, always smiling and jovial. A man of the Fim, a man of the CISL as there are few. Never a word out of place and never a controversy.”

“Olumide was a friend, as well as our delegate of reference in Annovi Reverberi,”adds the secretary of the Fim Cisl Emilia Centrale, Giorgio Uriti. “He was one who certainly did not send her, a Fimmino doc of the old guard. He knew how to tame “comrades” well, so he called them those of Fiom.

“Always polite and every time I went to the company to hold meetings, he always brought me the bottle of water and gave me a smile, to show his happiness to see Fim there in the company with him. Fim loses a great person, a respectable delegate always on the front line and on the side of the weakest. All of us who have had the honor and fortune to know him, will always carry his smile and kindness in their hearts. We will miss you, rest in peace, brother Olumide,”concludes Uriti, announcing that, as soon as possible, the metalworkers CISL of Modena and Reggio will honor Okunuga as it deserves.

The Guardian

Nigeria likely to record more positive cases of COVID-19

Experts are worried that there could be more cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria in the next two weeks, insisting that it is inevitable because the country has been identified as one of the 13 countries in Africa at a high risk of being overwhelmed by the virus due to weak health sector.

Also, the index case of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Nigeria, a 44-year-old Italian, yesterday completed the 14-day isolation recommended by the World Heath Organisation (WHO).

Although the viral load of the 44-year-old Italian citizen is reducing, he would not yet be discharged from the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) Yaba, Lagos, as he was not yet totally free from the virus.

The assertion was made by Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu; WHO Consultant on COVID-19 in Nigeria and Team Leader, Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Dr. Fiona Braka and Director, Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health and Incident Manager COVID-19 Outbreak Lagos State Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), Dr. Ismail Abdul-Salam, who spoke with journalists at a roundtable in Lagos yesterday.

They said contrary to some media reports, the Italian was visiting Nigeria for the first time as a consultant to a company in Ogun State, just as it was learnt that the Italian’s wife and brother have also tested positive to the virus in Italy.

“We are worried that we may have explosion of cases of coronavirus in our country. This is why we are given special attention on passengers coming from China, Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan,” Ihekweazu said.

Braka said the WHO declaration that COVID-19 was now a pandemic meant that all countries, especially those at high risk such as Nigeria needed to redouble their efforts to prevent a situation where they would be overwhelmed by the virus.

Abdul-Salam pointed out that Lagos has prepared for the worst case scenario in which many people may be infected with the virus, adding, “At the beginning, even before the country confirmed the first case, with the help of the WHO we have prepared for the worst case scenario.”

Ihekweazu said as at March 11, 2020, there are two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria and apart from the index case, a total of 40 people have been screened for COVID-19 (seven new) in five States (Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Federal Capital Territory, FCT/Abuja and Kano) of which 39 tested negative and have been ruled out, while one confirmed positive which is a contact of index case with no death.

The Guardian