Africa Records Over 168,000 COVID-19 Cases + More Updates

328 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Nigeria

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 121 cases were recorded in Lagos, 70 in FCT, 25 in Bauchi, 18 in Rivers, 16 in Oyo, 15 in Kaduna, 14 in Gombe, 13 in Edo, 13 in Ogun, 8 in Jigawa, 6 in Enugu, 5 in Kano, 2 in Osun and 2 in Ondo State.

In total, Nigeria has recorded 11,844 cases of COVID-19. 3696 patients have been discharged from various isolation centres across the country, while 333 deaths have been recorded.

A breakdown of cases by state can be found via https://t.co/zQrpNeOfet#TakeResponsibility pic.twitter.com/WtevsvqX3f

— NCDC (@NCDCgov) June 5, 2020

Africa Records Over 168,000 COVID-19 Cases

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 168,464, and at least 4,700 people have died according to statistics released by the World Health Organisation’s office for the African Region via Twitter on Friday.

Over 168,464 confirmed #COVID19 cases on the African continent – with more than 73,000 recoveries & 4,700 deaths. View country figures & more with the WHO African Region COVID-19 Dashboard: https://t.co/V0fkK8dYTg pic.twitter.com/QXdUkZ0Gdx

— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) June 5, 2020

The countries with the highest number of cases in the region are South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria with 40,792, 28,615, and 11,516 respectively as at the time the report was shared.

Egypt, South Africa, and Algeria have the highest number of COVID-19 related deaths with 1,088, 848, and 681 deaths respectively.

15,000 Post COVID-19 Jobs To Be Created by Osun State Annually

The Osun State Government has announced plans to generate 15,000 jobs annually through industrial development, technical and vocational centres in the state.

The State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Empowerment, Bode Olaonipekun, unveiled the plans to the press in Osogbo on Thursday, The Punch reports.

He said, “This is a post-pandemic initiative to revive the economy and we are here particularly to address one of the focal areas of this administration – to rejuvenate the economy and empower the citizens.”

COVID-19 PTF Expresses Concern Over Nigerians Refusal To Help With Contact Tracing

According to The Punch, The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has showed their concern over the refusal of some Nigerians to help with contact tracing and going into isolation after testing positive.

Boss Mustapha, Chairman, PTF on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation expressed their displeasure on Thursday, at its daily news conference in Abuja

According to him, the task force has received reports about citizens refusing to help with contact tracing as well as going into isolation after testing positive.

He said it was in the interest of everybody that contacts were traced to slow down the spread, adding that it was also in their interests to go into isolation facilities for close monitoring.

Mustapha said that many fatalities had been recorded due to changes in the condition of patients while staying outside the isolation facilities.

He stressed that it was important for the country to break the chain of transmission and prevent further spread of COVID-19 in the country and asked that citizen who were contacted for any contact tracing activity be ready and willing to cooperate.

Ugandan Prime Minister Self-Isolates After Contacts Test Positive

Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda on Friday went into self-isolation after some of his contacts tested positive for COVID-19. The prime minister made this announcement on Twitter.

Friends, I have gone into self isolation after some of my contacts tested positive for #COVID19. My own test result is negative, however, I have taken this decision as a health recommended measure. #StaySafeUG

— Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda (@RuhakanaR) June 5, 2020

According to Xinhua, this development comes after the ministry of health said all cabinet ministers would be tested for the virus that causes COVID-19.

UK Health Secretary Asks Citizens Not To Attend Anti-Racism Protests

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was “appalled” by the death of George Floyd in the US, but asked the public not to attend the planned anti-racism protests this weekend, CNN reports.

“I want to say something to you as Health Secretary. Like so many I am appalled by the death of George Floyd an I understand why people are deeply upset, but we are still facing a health crisis, and coronavirus remains a real threat, and the reason that is vital that people stick to the rules this weekend is to protect themselves and their family from this horrific disease,” Matt Hancock said on Friday.

“So please for the safety of your loved ones do not attend large gatherings, including demonstrations of more than six people,” Hancock said during the Downing Street coronavirus briefing.

Experts Say Everything Would Have To Go “Perfectly” If There Is To Be A Vaccine In January

Infectious disease experts from the National Institutes of Health and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said the chances of developing a successful Covid-19 vaccine by January is an extremely ambitious challenge, but it’s possible, CNN reports.

“Everything will have to go incredibly perfectly if that’s going to happen,” said Larry Corey, a leading expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development and a member of Fred Hutch’s vaccine and infectious disease division. “Obviously the first vaccine out of the box, which is this RNA vaccine, whether it’s Pfizer or Moderna, are going to have to work terrifically well to get an answer by January.”

“The higher the efficacy or the better the efficacy, the shorter the time is needed to show that a vaccine actually shows an effect as the number of cases occur are much fewer in the vaccine group than they are in the placebo group. So, could that potentially happen by January? Yes, it could potentially happen by January,” Corey added.

Vaccine trials are now underway and Corey said they will require the cooperation and collaboration of the pharmaceutical industry, academia, research centers, the biotech industry and the National Institutes of Health.