THE Federal Government has warned against resumption of any school at any level, saying all schools remained closed. Acting on the government’s directive, National Universities Commission, NUC, has warned vice chancellors against reopening universities for any activities.
The government, in a circular to heads of commissions and regulatory bodies in the education sector, insisted that schools at all levels were still closed, asking them to ignore fake news in the social media that it had directed resumption of schools.
The Ministry of Education, in the letter, through the Permanent Secretary, Sonny Echono, entitled: Re: Management of Coronavirus Pandemic,” said: “All schools shall remain closed as we closely monitor developments on the containment of COVID-19.”
The circular was sent to the executive secretaries, National Universities Commission, NUC; National Board for Technical Education, NBTE; National Commission for Colleges of Education, NCCE, and the Director, Basic and Secondary Education, BSE.
It read: “Further to our earlier circular, FME/PSE/HE/1041/C 1/Vol.1/137 of 19th March, 2020, this is to confirm that all schools shall remain closed as we monitor developments on the containment of COVID-19.
“This is without prejudice to officers on essential services and other operational exigencies as may be determined by the chief executive of each institution.
“All chief executives and other stakeholders are to ignore ‘fake news’ on the subject matter in the social media as the situation is under constant review and any decision on the resumption shall be conveyed through the appropriate channels.“
Following the directive by the ministry, the NUC has written to vice chancellors asking them to ensure the sustenance of ongoing closure of universities until further notice.
In a letter to all vice chancellors, signed by Director, Directorate of Executive Secretary’s Office, Chris Maiyaki,the NUC enjoined them to strictly adhere to the ministry’s directive that all universities remain closed to activities.
The waiters are wearing masks and there is no singing in Church but some Germans got a taste of normal life at the weekend as restaurants and places of worship reopened after weeks of coronavirus restrictions.
In the northeastern state of Mecklenburg – Western Pomerania , residents took advantage of the sunny weather to flock to their favourite eateries and cafes for the first time since mid- March .
The state on the Baltic coast , which has Germany ’ s lowest infection numbers , became the first in the country to reopen restaurants .
For the hospitality sector , the restart hasn ’ t come a moment too soon .
“ Economically , it has been a disaster for us , ” said Thomas Hildebrand, manager of Cafe Prag in the state ’ s picturesque capital of Schwerin .
Other states are set to follow with restaurants , cafes and hotels reopening across Germany in the coming days and weeks .
But dining experiences will be different in the age of the corona .
“ Our employees must wear masks and our customers must respect social distancing , ” Hildebrand told AFP , his own mask hanging around his neck .
Staff are also following other hygiene rules “ such as disinfecting tables , no common usage of certain utensils” , he said .
“ We ’ re trying to put this in place, it’ s new for us . But we are happy to be able to reopen . ”
Chancellor Angela Merkel recently said Germany had passed the “ first phase ” of the pandemic , allowing for a gradual return to normal – even if a spike in cases since then has revived concern about the country’ s infection rate.
The Federal Government has disclosed that the school feeding programme for pupils in primary schools will commence this week in four states.
As part of measures to cushion the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on vulnerable households, President Muhammadu Buhari had, during his first broadcast in March, directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to work with relevant state governments in developing a strategy on how to sustain the school feeding programme despite closure of schools.
In carrying out the directive, the ministry said it would liaise with state governors to work out modalities on how the feeding programme would continue while pupils are at home.
The minister in previous fora had also hinted that a door-to-door voucher distribution system would be used for the feeding exercise.
Giving an update on the programme, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, said the exercise would commence in Lagos, Ogun, Kano states, and the FCT this week.
Speaking at the Karimajiji Disabled Colony in the FCT during the distribution of palliatives to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), the minister said: “By next week(this week), we are going to start off the school feeding programme with FCT, Lagos, Ogun, and Kano states.
Some Nigerians recently evacuated from Dubai , United Arab Emirates, have lamented that they are being treated like “ prisoners ” .
They told newsmen that the hotel, where they are being quarantined in Lagos , is surrounded by soldiers who do not allow them to even get fresh air or receive some sunlight within the compound .
One of them , who prefers anonymity for fear of being victimised , said , “ Sincerely , we have not had it good since we returned from Dubai . We all tested negative for COVID- 19 but we are being treated as if we have the disease .
“ We have been here for three days now but we have not been allowed to even breathe fresh air or even feel sunlight on our skin . It is as if we are in prison. Even the food we are being given is not good at all. We are just managing it. ”
Another evacuee told newsmen that no government official had called or visited to check their welfare except some officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control who visited them on Saturday morning .
“ We have been complaining about this but everything has fallen on deaf ears. No one from the government has called to ask about our living conditions. It was this morning ( Saturday) that some NCDC officials came to check our health status .
“ We are not allowed to even stroll within the compound . We are just inside our rooms. If things continue this way , some of us may even fall sick from being idle , ” he said .
The Minister of Information and Culture , Alhaji Lai Mohammed , neither responded to calls nor a text message .
The Chairman /Chief Executive Officer of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission , Abike Dabiri – Erewa, however , said inquiries should be sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs , Mr . Geoffrey Onyema .
She said , “ All COVID- 19 issues are handled by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in consultation with the PTF ( Presidential Task Force ). NIDCOM ’ s role was to help co – ordinate the names of those who wanted to return , working with the mission .
“ And we got about 4 , 000 from about 75 countries . We are not involved in the logistics of their return . So please direct your questions to Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs who is in total control . ”
No fewer than 256 evacuated Nigerians arrived in Lagos State from the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday .
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has told its members not to see the payment of their withheld salaries by the federal government as favour but entitlement.
ASUU which also vowed to press ahead with its opposition to the deployment of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS in universities, insisted that members must not take the government’s action as favour but what they were entitled to.
Its president, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, who said these, noted that as workers, the university lectures were entitled to their wages from their employers.
“It’s clear that what government paid was rightfully earned by our members, not anything special or doing us a favour. Therefore, ASUU Members Have No Apologies withdrawing from their accounts as appropriate,” a message he passed to trustees, principal officers and zonal coordinators read.
He tasked members to gear up for continued battle with the government in respect of the implementation of the controversial IPPIS scheme in the nation’s ivory towers.
Ogunyemi explained that a series of enquiries by members in many universities prompted his explanation.
To this end, he enjoined them not to be extravagant in their expenditure as according to him, the release of the withheld salaries wasn’t an end to the struggle to keep the implementation of the scheme away from varsities.
“Our comrades are strongly advised to be prudent as the struggle for the rejection of IPPIS and resolution of outstanding issues in the February 2019 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) is far from over. The struggle continues! Biodun Ogunyemi.
“Trustees, POs (principal officers) and ZCs (zonal coordinators): Good evening comrades. A number of our colleagues have called or sent messages to make enquiries about payment of the withheld February and March 2020 salaries of our comrades in federal universities through the rejected IPPIS platform,” he said.
Recall that following recent directive by President Muhammad Buhari that withheld salaries of the lectures be paid to them immediately, the lecturers were last Friday paid accordingly.
The salaries being for the month of February, was held by the government following ASUU’s stiff opposition to the IPPIS and directive by its leadership to members not to submit their Bank Verification Number, BVN and other details to the government for enrolment in the scheme.
Ogunyemi, while throwing more light to his latest message to members, insisted that the union’s disposition to continue the discussion with the government on the 2019 FGN/ASUU memoranda of action was still in force
Recall that the union had on March 24, declared an indefinite strike after the expiration of two-week warning strike it declared in protest to government’s insistence to implement the IPPIS scheme in universities coupled with alleged government’s failure to adhere to the terms of the 2019 Memorandum of Action.
Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State said he would not hesitate to re-introduce lockdown, following non-compliance by residents to safety guidelines and directives in the wake of gradual easing of lockdown in the state.
Sanwo-Olu gave the warning while giving an update on COVID-19 situation in the state, during a live broadcast .
The governor, who commended some sectors for their encouraging level of compliance, frowned at flagrant disregard for safety directives by commercial bus and motorcycle operators, with a strict warning for them to change or face severe sanctions.
According to Sanwo-Olu, “on Monday May 4, 2020, we commenced a gradual and controlled easing of the 5 weeks lockdown occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic. Six days into this new phase, I am here to address you on our assessment of the experience so far.
“In terms of the non-compliance, the list is regrettably much longer. On the first day of this new phase of an eased lockdown, the compliance level for commercial transport sector operations was regrettably very low.
“Yellow commercial buses especially failed to comply with the capacity restrictions outlined in our framework. While compliance has improved in subsequent days, it is still not encouraging.
“Many commercial motorcycle operators openly and indiscriminately defied the suspension.
“The ban on inter-state travel except for essential goods and services was also consistently flouted. In many cases people decided to make the final leg of the journey into the State on foot, to beat the restrictions.
“Trucks and other vehicles carrying items designated as essential, have also played major roles in flouting the guidelines, by conspiring to conceal and smuggle people in and out of the state.”
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has announced the extension of the total lockdown imposed on the state as part of measures to flatten the coronavirus pandemic in the state.
Abiodun, who made the announcement, while briefing newsmen at his Oke Mosan office on the activities of the state government to curb the further spread of COVID-19 pandemic, said he decided to extend the lockdown because of the belief that human lives are more sacred than economic well-being.
He said the windows of relaxation will continue to be available on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 7.00 am to 5.00 pm on each day of the window of relaxation.
He added that the daily curfew and ban on non-essential of inter-State travel as directed by Mr. President still stand.
He said, “the entire people of Ogun State, have not elected me to make easy decisions. And tough decisions, we have to make. Now, to preserve the lives of our people, we are persuaded to extend the currently modified lockdown, which has been slightly eased, for another one week alongside the current guidelines. This will be reviewed, as usual, on a weekly basis”.
“Let me state that we appreciate that the cost of not easing the lockdown. It all boils down to the debate of welfare over wellbeing, between life and livelihood. While it will be great to have a thriving economy, we also realize that humans are the main beneficiaries of thriving economies. The question is, how much is a human life worth to us? This is not a popularity contest”.
“The fact is that the economy can only run if there are humans to run it. And, when human lives are involved, we have chosen human lives over and above other considerations”.
“We should always remember that we are the closest in proximity to Lagos, the epi-center of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. It is not a matter to be taken lightly. As the number of positive cases in Lagos increases, we, in Ogun State, must be concerned about possible spillover, particularly as our people continue to travel across state lines, despite warnings and the ban on interstate travels”.
“Wearing a face mask is mandatory. It is important to note that we have provided, and continue to provide, facemasks to public servants, groups, and associations. However, the government alone cannot provide facemasks to all. Individuals that have a need to go out have a personal responsibility to procure and use facemasks in public, as the enforcement will continue to be strengthened with the full weight of law meted out to violators”.
“We appreciate the need to balance public health and safety against economic activities. Nonetheless, whilst we intensify sensitization and morale situation, our security agencies in Ogun State have been duly briefed and empowered to do the needful to assist the heroic efforts of health and other frontline workers to flatten the curve”.
“We have expanded the COVID-19 Enforcement Task Force to the three Senatorial Districts and 20 local government areas to strengthen enforcement across the state. In this regard, security agencies, particularly the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) are now members of the Task Force in their respective divisions”.
“Furthermore, towards ensuring strict adherence to these measures, our mobile courts have been galvanized to try any erring person irrespective of the class or creed”.
“I must also state that more stringent measures will be taken if we observe that our people continue to show disregard for the precautionary measures that our medical experts have stated for the prevention and non-transmission of COVID-19. We cannot continue to put the lives of others at risk and our lives in collective jeopardy because some people simply throw caution to the winds”.
” We have also noted the unpatriotic acts of some individuals who try to breach the ban on inter-State travel by smuggling people across the inter-State borders in trucks conveying essential items. Let me state unequivocally that we will not tolerate any further breach on the ban of inter-State travel. Anybody found culpable will be treated for committing a crime against Ogun State and visited with the full weight of the law”.
“As part of our community sensitization for the full and strict implementation of this ban, we have continued to engage the various non-Ogun State tribal community leaders through the office of the Special Assistants on non-indigenes Relations”.
“We have also charged our Paramount rulers and our various Baales, especially at the border communities to report any suspected movement of people across our dear State borders. It is pertinent to note that the governors have also resolved that violators of ban on interstate travel should be promptly apprehended and sent back in the same vehicles that brought them to their state of origin. To be forewarned is to be forearmed”.
“As your Government, we will continue to ensure that we do all that is humanly possible to protect the lives and property of all the people of Ogun State. In the case of COVID-19, especially, we have continued to put in place adequate facilities towards ensuring we win the war against this enemy of humanity”.
“In the last one week, we have added another Treatment and Isolation Center with 65-bed spaces in Abeokuta here. This facility is separate from and in addition to the 70-bed Treatment Centre at the newly renovated Infectious Diseases Hospital in Iberekodo Abeokuta, thus bringing the combined total bed spaces for treatment of COVID-19 patients in Ogun State to over 300”.
With shops and factories closed nationwide due to the coronavirus pandemic , nearly all of the jobs created in the US economy in the last decade were wiped out in a single month .
An unprecedented 20 . 5 million jobs were destroyed in April in the world ’ s largest economy , driving the unemployment rate to 14 . 7 per cent compared to 4 . 4 per cent in March , the Labor Department said in its monthly report , the first to capture the impact of a full month of the lockdowns .
The United States is home to the world ’ s largest and deadliest coronavirus outbreak , with more than 75 , 000 fatalities and 1 . 2 million cases reported as of Thursday , according to Johns Hopkins University .
The economic damage has been swift and stunning.
In the two years of the global financial crisis , the world’ s largest economy lost 8 . 6 million jobs and the unemployment rate peaked at 10 per cent in October 2009 . During the recovery, from February 2010 to February 2020 , 23 million positions were created .
The plunge in nonfarm payroll employment last month was the largest ever recorded dating back to 1939 , while the jobless rate saw its highest and biggest increase dating back to 1948 , the report said .
And job losses in March were worse than initially reported , falling 870 , 000 even though the business closures happened mostly in the second half of the month .
Employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors . Leisure and hospitality was the first sector hit and the one bearing the brunt of the impact of the lockdowns , and posted a loss of 7 . 7 million jobs.
However , the Labor Department noted that some workers were misclassified in the report as employed when they should have been counted as laid off. Had they been listed properly , the unemployment rate would have been nearly five percentage points higher.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Lagos State may increase to 120 , 000 between July and August , the state ’ s health commissioner, Prof Akin Abayomi , has said .
While speaking at a press conference , Abayomi said the virus was expected to reach its peak in Lagos at that time.
He also said that there are arrangements to begin a hydro -chloroquine trial in the state .
He said , “ Just a month ago , on April 7 we saw 10 cases per day , two weeks later it was 32 , then 70 cases. We are now seeing above 100 cases per day . This shows our graph is moving in a gentle incline upwards .
“ We definitely have not reached the peak of our outbreak , we suspect that the peak will happen sometime in July or August and so we are preparing for the oncoming of about 90 , 000 to 120 , 000 cases during that period . We are increasing our capacity and strategies to deal with this situation. ”
The commissioner urged residents not to panic over the increasing cases witnessed in the state , saying it was caused by the presence of sample collection centres in 20 Local Governments .
He stated that Alimosho , Oshodi and Isolo local governments have started having more COVID- 19 cases, adding that a majority of the dead patients in the state were males .
Secretary to the Government of the Federation , Boss Mustapha , says reports gotten from states show that treatment centres were running out of bed spaces.
He said this during the national briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 .
While giving his address , Mustapha said the PTF had intensified the monitoring of the level of compliance with the advisories and guidelines already issued.
He said PTF has asked the security agencies to ensure strict enforcement.
Mustapha said , “The outcome of our surveillance still points to the fact that violations are still rampant and as I have always pointed out , portends a very dangerous trend .
“ Nigeria is presently at the community transmission phase and yesterday – Thursday 7 th May , 2020 , we witnessed the highest single – day number of 381 confirmed cases . This could be considered worrisome but for the fact that this rise is associated with our increased testing capacity , which has provided an opportunity to detect hitherto hidden cases .
“ However , this increased testing does not translate to higher fatality rates as in the last few days , we have witnessed a good number of discharges and a continually reducing daily fatality rate.
“ We have also received reports from the states , which suggests that the treatment centres are running out of bed spaces. As we assess the situation, the PTF shall also begin to examine our peculiar circumstances , modify the strategies for care management , and consider viable alternatives , where necessary . At the appropriate time , the guidelines and protocols shall be unfolded . ”
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