Soccer players in Spain returned to their team's training camps Wednesday for the first time since the country entered a lockdown nearly two months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Players for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and other clubs started preparing for the return to training this week. They were all expected to be tested for COVID-19 and should be cleared to practice once the results are back. Most clubs are expected to resume practicing by the end of the week.

The majority of players did not wear masks or gloves when they arrived, according to Spanish media. Lionel Messi, Gerard Piqué and Luis Suárez were among those without masks when they drove into Barcelona's training center. Antoine Griezmann, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic did wear masks. Sergi Roberto arrived without a mask but had one on when he left.

Real Madrid players Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema arrived without masks, as did most of their teammates.

https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/spanish-soccer-players-return-training-camps-get-tested

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, says about 40 health workers have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

Dr Ehanire disclosed this on Thursday during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

He, therefore, appealed to medical workers in the frontline of the COVID-19 fight to always protect themselves while giving treatment to infected patients.

More to follow…

https://www.channelstv.com/2020/04/23/breaking-about-40-health-workers-tested-positive-for-covid-19-says-ehanire/

She'll surprise you when it's her time. Cheers

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Worldwide �

Confirmed Cases by Country/Region (Deaths) by Johns Hopkins University

755,533 US (40,461)

196,664 Spain (20,595)

178,972 Italy (23,660)

154,097 France (19,744)

145,184 Germany (4,586)

121,172 United Kingdom (16,095)

86,306 Turkey (2,017)

83,805 China (4,636)

82,211 Iran (5,118)

42,853 Russia (361)

38,654 Brazil (2,462)

38,496 Belgium (5,683)

34,981 Canada (1,537)

32,838 Netherlands (3,697)

27,740 Switzerland (1,393)

20,206 Portugal (714)

17,615 India (559)

15,628 Peru (400)

15,251 Ireland (610)

14,749 Austria (452)

14,385 Sweden (1,540)

13,491 Israel (172)

10,797 Japan (236)

10,661 Korea, South (234)

10,088 Chile (133)

9,468 Ecuador (474)

9,362 Saudi Arabia (97)

9,287 Poland (360)

8,746 Romania (451)

8,348 Pakistan (168)

7,580 Denmark (355)

7,497 Mexico (650)

7,078 Norway (165)

6,781 United Arab Emirates (41)

6,701 Czechia (186)

6,588 Singapore (11)

6,575 Indonesia (582)

6,547 Australia (67)

6,259 Philippines (409)

5,994 Serbia (117)

5,449 Ukraine (141)

5,448 Qatar (

5,389 Malaysia (89)

4,779 Belarus (47)

4,680 Dominican Republic (226)

4,273 Panama (120)

3,783 Finland (94)

3,621 Colombia (166)

3,550 Luxembourg (73)

3,158 South Africa (54)

3,144 Egypt (239)

2,855 Morocco (141)

2,839 Argentina (132)

2,765 Thailand (47)

2,629 Algeria (375)

2,472 Moldova (67)

2,456 Bangladesh (91)

2,235 Greece (113)

1,916 Hungary (189)

1,915 Kuwait (7)

1,881 Bahrain (7)

1,871 Croatia (47)

1,771 Iceland (9)

1,676 Kazakhstan (17)

1,565 Uzbekistan (5)

1,539 Iraq (82)

1,528 Estonia (40)

1,431 New Zealand (12)

1,398 Azerbaijan (19)

1,330 Slovenia (74)

1,298 Lithuania (35)

1,291 Armenia (20)

1,285 Bosnia and Herzegovina (48)

1,266 Oman (7)

1,207 North Macedonia (51)

1,161 Slovakia (12)

1,035 Cuba (34)

1,017 Cameroon (42)

996 Afghanistan (33)

894 Bulgaria (42)

879 Tunisia (38)

847 Cote d'Ivoire (9)

846 Djibouti (2)

834 Ghana (9)

767 Cyprus (12)

727 Latvia (5)

713 Andorra (36)

712 Diamond Princess (13)

673 Lebanon (21)

660 Costa Rica (4)

648 Niger (20)

627 Nigeria (21)

579 Guinea (5)

576 Burkina Faso (36)

562 Albania (26)

554 Kyrgyzstan (5)

520 Bolivia (32)

517 Uruguay (10)

510 Kosovo (12)

472 Honduras (46)

461 San Marino (39)

437 West Bank and Gaza (3)

427 Malta (3)

420 Taiwan* (6)

417 Jordan (7)

394 Georgia (4)

367 Senegal (3)

328 Mauritius (9)

327 Congo (Kinshasa) (25)

308 Montenegro (5)

271 Sri Lanka (7)

270 Kenya (14)

268 Vietnam (0)

257 Guatemala (7)

227 Venezuela (9)

224 Mali (14)

206 Paraguay (

201 El Salvador (7)

173 Jamaica (5)

170 Tanzania (7)

164 Somalia (7)

147 Rwanda (0)

143 Congo (Brazzaville) (6)

138 Brunei (1)

122 Cambodia (0)

121 Madagascar (0)

114 Trinidad and Tobago (

111 Burma (5)

109 Gabon (1)

108 Ethiopia (3)

94 Monaco (3)

91 Liberia (

84 Togo (5)

79 Equatorial Guinea (0)

79 Liechtenstein (1)

75 Barbados (5)

66 Sudan (10)

63 Guyana (7)

61 Cabo Verde (1)

61 Zambia (3)

55 Bahamas (9)

55 Uganda (0)

52 Maldives (0)

50 Guinea-Bissau (0)

49 Libya (1)

44 Haiti (3)

39 Eritrea (0)

39 Mozambique (0)

39 Syria (3)

35 Benin (1)

35 Sierra Leone (0)

33 Chad (0)

32 Mongolia (0)

31 Nepal (0)

25 Zimbabwe (3)

24 Angola (2)

23 Antigua and Barbuda (3)

22 Eswatini (1)

20 Botswana (1)

19 Laos (0)

19 Timor-Leste (0)

18 Belize (2)

17 Fiji (0)

17 Malawi (2)

16 Dominica (0)

16 Namibia (0)

15 Saint Lucia (0)

14 Grenada (0)

14 Saint Kitts and Nevis (0)

12 Central African Republic (0)

12 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (0)

11 Seychelles (0)

10 Nicaragua (2)

10 Suriname (1)

9 Gambia (1)

9 MS Zaandam (2)

8 Holy See (0)

7 Mauritania (1)

7 Papua New Guinea (0)

6 Western Sahara (0)

5 Bhutan (0)

5 Burundi (1)

4 Sao Tome and Principe (0)

4 South Sudan (0)

1 Yemen (0)

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/85320e2ea5424dfaaa75ae62e5c06e61

Nowadays NYSC automatically changes married female name. I suggest you do all the changes during this time to reflect what NYSC gives, just to avoid too many explanations later in life

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The Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Abba Kyari, who died on Friday, April the 17th, has now been buried.

His remains were brought in an ambulance to the Defence House in Abuja, where family members, as well as his colleagues, gathered to pay their last respect.

He was laid to rest at the Gudu Cemetery in Abuja.

https://www.channelstv.com/2020/04/18/photos-abba-kyari-buried-in-abuja/

NCDC has tweeted thus:

As at 6:00 pm 17th April 2020, 7153 samples have been tested for #COVID19 in Nigeria

We are working very hard to increase the number of samples tested, including community surveillance in the FCT and Lagos

Read our strategy here https:///eckw6GeMJf

#TakeResponsibility https:///Vrey6mXgGI

https://twitter.com/NCDCgov/status/1251194833584230401?s=19

Eleven new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Lagos State.

As at 11:00 pm 14th April there are 373 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. 99 have been discharged with 11 deaths

#TakeResponsibility https:///XtcbJ4qxA6

As at 11:00 pm 14th April, number of states with confirmed cases of #COVID19: 19 + FCT

Lagos- 214
FCT- 58
Osun- 20
Edo- 15
Oyo- 11
Ogun- 9
Bauchi- 6
Kaduna- 6
Akwa Ibom- 6
Katsina-5
Kwara- 4
Kano- 4
Ondo- 3
Delta- 3
Enugu- 2
Ekiti- 2
Rivers-2
Benue- 1
Niger- 1
Anambra- 1

https://twitter.com/NCDCgov/status/1250182420672000001?s=19

In Indonesia

A neighborhood in central Java province has deployed a group of volunteer “ghosts” to patrol the streets and scare people into staying home in compliance with the region’s stay-at-home rules designed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Leaders in the Kepuh village neighborhood in Sukoharjo say residents lacked awareness of the coronavirus threat and had been ignoring rules requiring them to stay in their homes.

They wrap themselves in white cloth resembling corpses wrapped in burial shrouds and roam the neighborhood of about 5,000 people, ‘scaring” people into going home — or at least providing a reminder of the stay-at-home rules.

When the patrols first began in early April, organizers told Reuters news agency that the effort initially backfired, when reports of their efforts on social media brought more people out to see the ghosts. The volunteers changed their schedules and began carrying out surprise patrols. Their efforts have proven effective.

Reuters reported that as of Sunday, Indonesia reported 4,241 cases of COVID-19, with 373 dead. The country has the highest official death toll in East Asia after China.

A group of volunteers — working in coordination with local law enforcement —pocong developed the idea of dressing up “pocong,” or “shroud ghosts,” from Indonesia and Malaysian folklore.

https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/indonesian-neighborhood-uses-ghosts-scare-people-back-home

The unthought-of outbreak of Coronavirus and its attendant death toll in the US has taught Donald Trump a very big lesson

A 15-man medical team from China has arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The team arrived in Nigeria in a chartered Air Peace aircraft on Wednesday afternoon.

They are expected to assist Nigeria in efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehainre was at the airport to receive the medical team.

https://www.channelstv.com/2020/04/08/breaking-chinese-medical-team-arrives-in-nigeria/

Pope Francis leads Palm Sunday mass in an empty church, Sunday, April 5, The Vatican.

St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican celebrated Palm Sunday Mass without the public because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Normally, tens of thousands of people would have flocked to an outdoor mass. Instead Francis was leading the ceremony inside St. Peter’s Basilica, which was empty.

Palm Sunday solemnly opens Holy Week leading up to Easter, which on this year falls on April 12. The Vatican has announced Francis will preside over all the traditional ceremonies without the public in keeping with lockdown measures in Italy and at the Vatican to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The Vatican has said there are seven cases of COVID-19 among the residents or employees of the tiny independent city state.

https://www.voanews.com/europe/pope-celebrates-palm-sunday-mass-without-public-st-peters

As DJ, bride had informed me she wouldn't dance to any other kind of music except gospel. Groom was ok with anything current and popular. Couple entry: gospel music. Interludes: gospel music. Couple dance: gospel music

Groom signalled for a change to secular; guests cheered and jumped on the dance floor. Bride paused her steps; complained through her looks, groom and I ignored. She then made her disapproval visible, hoping that the guests would be in her support. No. She received jeers, backlashes, rants and abuses. Bride began to cry

December 2019. Church conducted wedding till 4pm on the excuse the couple turned up late. Guests at reception venue ran out of patience. MC requested food vendor to entertain guests since they were visibly tired and hungry. Before the couple arrived the reception venue at about 5pm, many had gone, very few relatives left. Worse, the couple again checked out to change up. They returned past 5pm to meet the MC, DJ and very few guests. Funnily, they couple kept the drink themselves, and no one even drank. Reception was done in an empty hall; everything was over in 15 minutes

The US now has more confirmed cases of coronavirus than any other country with at least 82,404 positive tests.

According to the latest figures collated by Johns Hopkins University, the US overtook China (81,782 cases) and Italy (80,589).

The grim milestone came as President Donald Trump predicted the nation would get back to work "pretty quickly", after 3.3 million layoffs.

More than 1,100 people with Covid-19 have died in the US.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52056586

Over the last few days I have received extensive briefings on the state of the nation as it relates to the Covid-19 pandemic, from the relevant Federal Government agencies as well as the Lagos State Government.

Accordingly, I approved the following:

The immediate release of a 10 billion Naira grant to Lagos State, which remains the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak in Nigeria. This grant will enable Lagos State increase its capacity to control and contain the outbreak, while also supporting other States with capacity building.

The immediate release of a 5 billion Naira special intervention fund to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to equip, expand and provide personnel to its facilities and laboratories across the country.

The Nigerian Air Force is already making its fleet available to the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, to enable a better coordinated and more effective response across the country.

To protect our homeland from external exposure, I directed the immediate closure of our International Airports and Land Borders for four weeks in the first instance, to enable us put up the appropriate policies, processes and infrastructure to cope with suspected and confirmed cases at home, without risking a compounding of the situation with more imported cases.

The inconvenience caused by these flight and travel restrictions to our fellow citizens abroad who want to return home is regrettable, but it is necessary for the greater good, and I thank you all for your understanding and cooperation.

I have also directed that only cargo vessels that have been at sea for more than 14 days be allowed to dock in our ports, after the crew have been tested and confirmed disease-free by the Port Health Authorities. This 14-day restriction however does not apply to vessels carrying oil and gas products as by their nature, there is minimal human contact.

We have also suspended the movement of commuter trains to limit the spread of the virus to other parts of the country.

I have directed the NCDC to draft all its recent retirees back into service to beef up our manpower as we respond to the pandemic.

Furthermore, all NCDC staff and experts who are away on training or international assignments are to return immediately. Already the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) are conducting an evacuation mission to bring back some of our specialists in Central Africa, to enable them support the national response.

I commend the monetary policy authorities for their financial intervention to support our entrepreneurs and companies as we go through this difficult time. We are also looking at fiscal measures to minimise the negative impact of this pandemic on the livelihood of millions of Nigerians.

As you are aware we have begun the process of reviewing the federal budget. We shall communicate our fiscal interventions once the budget review process is concluded.

In the meantime, I have directed the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, to work with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, to ensure that all production of essential items such as food, medical and pharmaceutical products continues unhindered.

We are engaging our international friends and partners to share knowledge and to seek their support in our response to the pandemic. We are grateful for the show of support thus far – we have already started receiving goods and supplies intended to help us scale up our efforts.

Let me specially thank and commend all of the hard and heroic work being done by our medical personnel, the NCDC, Port Health Authorities, Security Agencies, State Governments, and all ad-hoc staff and volunteers.

I urge all Nigerians to be mindful of those among us who seek to spread panic and misinformation, and sow confusion at this time. We must all pay attention only to the relevant government agencies working day and night to make accurate and useful information available to the public.

I will also ask all of us to strictly obey all public health guidelines and instructions issued by the Federal and State health authorities, regarding personal hygiene and social distancing. These guidelines will be updated from time to time as new information and treatments are obtained.

In the meantime, I want to assure all Nigerians, that the Federal Government remains committed to protecting all Nigerians. We seek your full support and cooperation as we go through this very difficult time. Together we will triumph over this pandemic.

Muhammadu Buhari
26/03/2020

https://www.facebook.com/1528952840718244/posts/2670203026593214/

❌❌BREAKING❌❌

AKWA IBOM STATE COVID 19 UPDATE 2.0

Following a critical analysis of the situation relating to COVID-19 situation, I have been directed by HE the Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel to make the following announcements;

1. Salaries of state government workers for the month of March will be paid today, Thursday, March 26, 2020.

2. Workers are advised to prepare to stop going to work and stay at home for one (1 ) week with effect from Monday 30 March, 2020. The stay-at-home order will be strongly enforced.

3. All borders and roads leading in and out of the state are closed with immediate effect; except for the transportation of food items.

4. Ibom Air will suspend all flight operations from Sunday, 29 March, 2020.

5. Markets are to remain open for sale of foodstuff and essential items only.

6. All Churches are strongly requested to fast and pray for God’s mercies on Sunday 29 March, 2020.

7. Residents and citizens are strongly advised to apply all the preventive measures earlier announced.

While the one week stay-at-home order subsists, the Akwa Ibom State Government will continue to monitor and provide regular updates on any development in the COVID-19 situation in our state

Although there is no confirmed COVID-19 case in Akwa Ibom State, we abide by the ancient adage that " prevention is better than cure".

The Governor, also enjoins all residents and citizens; including professional bodies, to desists from creating unnecessary panic within the state by propagating unverified news, whipping up selfish and myopic sentiments and fanning the embers of discord for pecuniary / or political gains.

God bless, guard and keep Akwa Ibom State.

Amen!

Signed:
Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem
Secretary to State Government

March 26, 2020

https://www.facebook.com/223506687850114/posts/1367602880107150/

Five new cases of #COVID19 have been confirmed in Nigeria: 2 in FCT, 2 in Lagos & 1 in Rivers

3 are returning travellers into Nigeria & 2 are close contacts of a confirmed case

As at 11:25 pm 25th March, there are

51 confirmed cases
2 discharged
1 death https:///DmJ47wntZ6

For a breakdown of cases by states in real time, please see https:///zQrpNeOfet

Currently;
Lagos- 32
FCT- 10
Ogun- 3
Ekiti- 1
Oyo- 1
Edo- 1
Bauchi-1
Osun-1
Rivers-1

Total: 51 confirmed cases

#COVID19Nigeria

2 new cases of #COVID19 have been confirmed in Nigeria: 1 in FCT and 1 in Bauchi

The cases have travel history to Germany and the UK.

As at 06:25 pm on 24th March, there are 44 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria. 2 have been discharged with 1 death https:///JbCVwSrxFd

For a breakdown of cases by states in real time, please see https:///zQrpNeOfet

Currently;
Lagos- 29
FCT- 8
Ogun- 3
Ekiti- 1
Oyo- 1
Edo- 1
Bauchi-1

Total: 44 confirmed cases

#COVID19Nigeria

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In India the streets in the cities are empty!
In Nigeria...

https://www.facebook.com/36235438073/posts/10157547823378074/

Five new cases of #COVID19 have been confirmed in Nigeria: 2 in FCT, 2 in Lagos & 1 in Edo

2 cases are returning travellers from the UK

As at 09:45 am on 23rd March, there are 35 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria. 2 have been discharged https:///brTI9PFsYH

For a breakdown of cases by states in real time, please see https:///zQrpNeOfet

Currently;
Lagos- 24
FCT- 6
Ogun- 2
Ekiti- 1
Oyo- 1
Edo- 1

Total: 35 confirmed cases

#COVID19Nigeria

Three new cases of #COVID19 have been confirmed in Lagos, Nigeria

2 cases are returning travellers and 1 is a contact of a confirmed case.

As at 05:28 pm on the 22nd of March, there are 30 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria. 2 have been discharged with no deaths. https:///UQVYdkE9Xk

I use Note 7 and 8. I don't carefully check the 4G network when I'm at areas with 4G, but really feel they run on 4G. Will carefully check for you tomorrow

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.

The latest COVID-19 case brings the total number so far announced on Sunday morning to five: three in Lagos, one in Abuja and one in Oyo state.

This implies that Nigeria has so far reported 27 cases of COVID-19 since the first case was reported on February 27.

The health agency on its twitter handle @NCDCgov said: “one new case of Covid-19 has been confirmed in FCT, Nigeria”

“As at 11:00 am on the 22nd of March, there are 27 confirmed cases of COVID19 in Nigeria, it stated.

Of the 27 confirmed cases, two have been discharged while no death has occurred from the disease.

A breakdown shows that Lagos has the highest number of confirmed cases.

As of the time of reporting, Lagos state had reported 19 cases, Abuja – four, Ogun- two, Ekiti – one and Oyo – one.

There might be a rise in cases as the government has intensified contact tracing to trace those who might have been in contact with the infected people.

So far, nobody has died from the virus in Nigeria as compared to other places across where the virus has killed over 13,000 people.

Global cases

Cases of COVID-19 have continued soar globally as confirmed cases topped 300,000 Sunday morning.

As of Sunday, 11:00 GMT, a total of 311,796 infected cases have been reported with 13,071 deaths globally.

Also, a total 95,838 people have so far recovered and have been discharged globally.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/coronavirus/383186-coronavirus-abuja-records-fourth-confirmed-case.html

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has approved the production of Chloroquine for clinical trials in the search for a cure for COVID-19.

Director-General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, made the announcement on Friday at the NAFDAC headquarters in Lagos.

More to follow…

https://www.channelstv.com/2020/03/20/breaking-coronavirus-nafdac-approves-production-of-chloroquine-for-clinical-trial/

The federal government has ordered the closure of all the 104 Unity Schools in the country from March 26 as a proactive step aimed at preventing the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus. (COVID-19).

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, who gave the order, said all the principals of the Unity Colleges should fast track the on-going second term examinations and close shop until further notice.

This closure was announced in a statement Ben Goong, Director, Press and Public Relations in Abuja, on Thursday.

The Minister said the management of all the Unity Colleges should immediately activate the necessary emergency procedures and processes such as the provision of alcohol based sanitizers and hand washing facilities among others.

He said that students should strictly adhere to the principles and best practices of good hygiene.

He also directed the principals to immediately report any suspicious case to the nearest health authorities, emphasising that nothing should be taken for granted at this delicate time of the global pandemic.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/382795-covid-19-fg-orders-closure-of-unity-schools.html

As at Monday, JAMB opened portal for candidates to printout result within 48 hours after exam, but suddenly they removed the result-checking link online, blaming fraudsters for the action

JAMB then informed candidates that they only means of checking the 2020 UTME result is for the candidates to use the same GSM line they used to obtain profile code to check their result through SMS. The SMS service costs N50 per usage. JAMB this is fraudulent!

In the past two years, JAMB has always sent results to candidates soon after their exams - free. But the story is different this year - JAMB is out to exploit candidates

Is JAMB not aware that most candidates have lost the SIM card used for profile codes? Most of the candidates have even forgotten the particular SIM they used for the exercise since most of them "borrowed" such SIMs.

How will candidates tender results as SMS for official purpose? Is SMS now preferred to a paper document? This is pure trick by JAMB!

JAMB wants to milk out millions of Naira first from candidates through SMS before eventually releasing the results online for printout. This is utter fraud! Someone should please call the board's registrar to order please

Why so much ado about JAMB whose result lasts only a year. WAEC and NECO that issue results that last for eternity and even for employment purposes have not caused so much furore like JAMB.

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