COVID-19: Why Facebook launched tools for faith-based communities - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Facebook has explained why it recently launched key resources to help faith-based groups stay connected and engaged during the current COVID-19 outbreak, reports ITREALMS. 

The resources, ITREALMS gathered included the “Faith on Facebook Resource Hub” and the Faith on Facebook toolkit; both providing guidance and step-by-step tips that faith-based groups could use to keep their communities engaged while observing social distancing. 

Also, ITREALMS gathered that the tools are part of Facebook’s ongoing efforts in keeping communities safe, connected and informed during this pandemic.

Some of the tools that faith-based groups can use to connect with their communities during the COVID-19 outbreak include:

· Facebook Pages: Explore how to build an active and engaged audience of faith communities, advice on posting interesting content, as well as creating events and using Groups for discussions.

· Facebook Groups: Groups allow people to come together around a common cause, discussing issues and ideas, posting photos and sharing related content.

· Facebook Events: Host virtual events using Facebook Events to spread the word.

· Utilising WhatsApp: Consider sending bite sized sermons or recordings through the voice note feature on WhatsApp to members, using either the dedicated broadcast list function or creating a New Group list.

· Watch Party: Host a Watch Party for your Group, choosing videos that are relevant to your community and invite members to join and discuss.

· Facebook Live: Stream live stream events and performances on Facebook, utilizing interactive features such as reactions, shares and comments enabling you to further engage your audience.

Commenting, Facebook Africa Regional Director Nunu Ntshingila said, “At a time like this, our mission has never been more relevant, to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. We know that faith leaders across Africa are grappling with the unexpected challenges in serving their members digitally, and we’re committed to providing them with the resources and tools to support them as much as possible”. She added, “Our ultimate goal is to equip faith-based communities with the tools to help them continue faith conversations throughout the pandemic.”

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COVID-19: Why U.S. repatriated 997 Americans - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria has explained why it assisted some 997 Americans to return home so as to reunite with family and friends during this time of unprecedented challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, reports ITREALMS.

From April 6-8, three U.S. Consulate-organized chartered flights operated by Delta Air Lines and Ethiopian Airlines repatriated 850 American citizens from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos to the United States. This is in addition to the 147 U.S. citizens who departed Abuja on April 4.

These repatriation flights were made possible by a tremendous effort by the U.S. Consulate team and great cooperation from Nigerian partners, including the Ministry of Aviation, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the Lagos State Government.

The State Department’s effort to bring Americans home during the COVID-19 pandemic has required a remarkable diplomatic and logistical effort. As of April 8, 2020, the Department of State has coordinated the repatriation of 50,339 Americans from 94 countries since January 29, 2020.

United States Consul General Claire Pierangelo noted that in times of emergency, the United States Department of State has no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas.

“This has been three weeks in the making. We had more than 50 people working on this on a daily basis to make sure that we can find the Americans, get the planes, secure flight clearances for the planes to land here and also ensure safe passage of the Americans traveling to the airport since the city is on lockdown. It was an enormous effort and I am incredibly proud of my team. We appreciate all the help from our Nigerian partners. We couldn’t have done this without them,” Consul General Pierangelo said.

She noted that U.S. Mission remains committed to working closely with the Government of Nigeria and the various health authorities to keep everyone healthy and safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. government has pledged more than $7 million in health and humanitarian funding to Nigeria in response to the pandemic that will go toward risk communication, water and sanitation activities, infection prevention, and coordination. This assistance joins more than $5.2 billion in health assistance and more than $8.1 billion in total assistance for Nigeria over the past 20 years.

The United States is providing nearly $274 million to help dozens of countries to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), furthering America’s commitment to humanitarian assistance and global health.

U.S. citizens who remain in Nigeria seeking COVID-19 information are encouraged to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov and check the U.S. Mission Nigeria website and social media handles for messages and updates.

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ICT-journalists group floors 5G conspiracy theory, urges Nigerians to embrace new tech - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

With the debate on the health implication of the Fifth Generation (5G) technology, and the purported cabling of 5G fibre optic infrastructure in Nigeria, the Nigeria Information Technology Association (NITRA), an umbrella body for ICT Journalists in Nigeria, has laid out the facts concerning the effect of the technology to human health, reports ITREALMS.

NITRA, in a press statement, the Chairman, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi explained that 5G is expected to connect people, things, data, applications, transport systems and cities in smart networked communication environments. The technology should transport a huge amount of data much faster, reliably connect an extremely large number of devices and process very high volumes of data with minimal delay.

“5G technologies are expected to support applications such as smart homes and buildings, smart cities, 3D video, work and play in the cloud, remote medical services, virtual and augmented reality, and massive machine-to-machine communications for industry automation. 3G and 4G networks currently face challenges in supporting these services,” he explained.

Onwuegbuchi also pointed out that despite the allegations by conspiracy theorists on the availability of 5G services in Nigeria, the cabling for 5G infrastructure, and the link between 5G and the current COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria has not even released spectrum for 5G services to Mobile Network Operators (MNO), therefore it is technically impossible to run a 5G service in the country.

According to the NITRA Chairman, the Nigerian public should only source information from reliable authorities and experts on the issue, such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU); the World Health Organisation (WHO), the nation’s telecommunication regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the supervisory Ministries, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Ministry of Health.

Onwuegbuchi cited expert opinions on the matter, quoting WHO, which has categorically stated that viruses cannot travel on radio waves or mobile networks and that COVID-19 is a respiratory disease.

The technology was approved by the ITU.

ITU plays a leading role in managing the radio spectrum and developing globally applicable standards for IMT-2020. Its activities support the development and implementation of international regulations and standards to ensure that 5G networks are secure, interoperable, and that they operate without causing or receiving harmful interference to or from adjacent services.

Discussing alleged health risks from 5G, the WHO documented that “to date, and after much research performed, no adverse health effect has been causally linked with exposure to wireless technologies.”

However, WHO is further conducting a health risk assessment from exposure to radio-frequencies, covering the entire radio-frequency range, including 5G, to be published by 2022. WHO will review scientific evidence related to potential health risks from 5G exposure as the new technology is deployed, and as more public health-related data become available.

WHO established the International Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Project in 1996. The project investigates the health impact of exposure to electric and magnetic fields in the frequency range 0-300 GHz and advises national authorities on EMF radiation protection.

On exposure levels, the WHO further establishes that currently, exposure from 5G infrastructures at around 3.5 GHz is similar to that from existing mobile phone base stations. “With the use of multiple beams from 5G antennas, exposure could be more variable as a function of location of the users and their usage. Given that the 5G technology is currently at an early stage of deployment, the extent of any change in exposure to radiofrequency fields is still under investigation.”

A spokeswoman for the telecoms trade body GSMA said the new limits showed the safety of current and future technology. “Importantly, the health risk assessment is unchanged. The review found no established health risks to anyone, including children, using mobile phones or living near base stations,” she said.

A GSMA report reiterates that 5G adoption would grow as its benefits become visible. It points to the slow pace of awareness around the technology, suggesting that even increased knowledge about the usefulness need not translate into actions to upgrade or even intentions to do so.

Also, shedding more light on the issue, an independent international standards body, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which was set up in 1992 to assess the impact of electromagnetic and acoustic waves on people and the environment, said its current guidelines are mostly appropriate for the 5G era.

Medical health specialist have also lent their voices to the issue. Condemning the theories as “the worst kind of fake news”, National Medical Director of NHS England, Professor Steve Powis said: “I’m absolutely outraged, absolutely disgusted, that people would be taking action against the very infrastructure that we need to respond to this health emergency.”

Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Bristol, Professor Adam Finn, in his position said: “The internet connections these networks give us are one of the most important tools we are using to co-ordinate our response to the epidemic and efforts to do research to overcome it.”

Also, professor of microbial pathogenesis at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Prof Brendan Wren, said a connection between the phone masts and the virus would be “both a physical and biological impossibility.”

While applauding the people’s need for caution, Mr. Onwuegbuchi called on Nigerians to embrace new technologies as a means of improving the economy and joining global competitiveness.

He reiterated the motive behind the laying of fibre optic cables by MNOs, saying that the new cables are very necessary to improve the quality of service of telecommunication services, especially at the period when the networks are in increased usage. He further explained that the timing was to enable the MNOs work feely without obstructing traffic or easy movement of people.

He stressed that the laid fibre optic cables were for 3G and 4G services and cannot be used for 5G service yet because the operators have not been issued spectrum for the service.

While pledging support for the NCC and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in their bid to position Nigeria among the digitally innovative nations, NITRA urged Nigerians to look beyond the rumours surrounding the 5G technology and support the federal government if, and when they eventually choose to adopt the technology.

“Just like the NCC and the Ministry said, before the country will adopt 5G technology, they will consult all stakeholders, and research further into the implications of the technology,” Mr. Onwuegbuchi encouraged.

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Lessons Nigeria must learn from and after COVID-19 crisis - ITREALMS

Commentary@ITREALMS:

The outbreak of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and national response to it clearly exposed our ill preparedness for its possible spread to Nigeria. Response and management of the crisis also showed our poor strategy to emergency handling as a nation.

Several months after the outbreak of the virus in far away China's town of Wuhan was reported, and its fast spread to other towns and cities across the Asian country and other continents, it is obvious that Nigeria waited too long to initiate strategy and action plans to prevent and mitigate the pandemic.

Perhaps, until the World Health Organisation (WHO) was bold enough to declare Coronavirus a global pandemic, we appeared not to understand the magnitude of the crisis in our hand. Whereas, our response strategy should have been in place several months back even before WHO first classified COVID-19 as an epidemic.

Whichever way we look at it, the lack of preparation or inadequacy of it was manifested when the first index case slipped into the country. Combined with not taking other proactive measures as quickly as we should do, today, we have some hundreds of confirmed cases to deal with. Sadly, it's even a sad trajectory as the chain of transmission has continued to rise geometrically.

This is partly due to the fact that we left our international airspace and seaports open, thus allowing people with travel history to countries where COVID-19 had been reported to come in to our country. In spite of the closure of our land borders, which even preceded the pandemic, people were still coming in to the country freely.

The lack or inadequacy of healthcare infrastructure and medical consumables was also a factor of poor response mechanism. The federal and most state governments had to hurriedly construct isolation and testing centres as well as special hospitals for the management of patients of COVID-19 because we did not have enough of such facilities.

Importantly too, there were no enough test kits that could ensure most suspected cases and the larger population undergo testing for possible Coronavirus infection. Therefore, community infection was easy thus escalating the rate of infection.

Also, the citizens were not sensitised and educated early enough to be responsive and responsible in their obligation towards maintaining social distancing that could have reduced the spread of the virus. Reports indicated that the larger percentage of our national workforce who are mainly in the informal sector, and who live on daily income, were not sufficiently educated before the imposition of lockdowns in most states of the federation. This was evident by the willful non-compliance with the presidential lockdown order in Lagos and Ogun States and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as restrictions of movement directed by state governors.

In terms of the distribution of stimulus packages or relief materials towards cushioning the effect of lockdowns, there was also poor logistics obviously due to absence of reliable data. Many of the targeted beneficiaries reportedly complained of not being reached.

In parts of the country, residents accused government of also violating the social distancing directive in the course of distribution of the relief items. In some instances, few state officials were accused of indulging in corruption with the stimulus packages.

I must however, commend the Lagos State Government under Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for his demonstrable exemplary leadership in the excellent style he and his team have responded and managed the pandemic. Governor Sanwo-Olu's model has inspired and served as the template for other state governments in responding and managing the COVID-19 in their respective domains.

Also, commendable is the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari through the setting up of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 among other measures to combat the pandemic. Many state governments have also done very well.

The drawbacks in our response and management of Coronavirus are, however, too weighty to ignore. Let me clarify here that the objective of my submission is not to castigate anyone, but to see the lessons that we can draw from this pandemic.

There are many lessons to learn both for now and the future. These include leveraging the experiences that have come with our response and management of this pandemic. The lapses, mistakes and mis-steps are good inferences that we should draw from with a view to avoiding a repeat in the future.

Looking at the huge amount of monetary, equipment and material donations to COVID-19 cause by private organisations, institutions and individuals at the federal and state levels, my advice is that these resources must be put to judicious use and well accounted for.

We must begin to invest in the upgrade of our existing healthcare infrastructure, build new ones and put those constructed under emergency for COVID-19 into permanent use. We must begin to build local capacity of our people by strengthening our research institutions and researchers to be able to develop breakthrough vaccines and medicaments for the treatment of both known and unknown diseases ahead of time.

A group of scientists in a Senegal polytechnic produced 3-D ventilators at the cost of US$66 each and capacity to produce 50 ventilators per day. I believe Nigeria has the capacity to do the same and even surpass the feat by the Senegalese. We are blessed with abundance of geniuses and scholars. Some of our universities are also world-class and can bring out innovative solutions that address our healthcare challenges. Increased special funding for healthcare research and development, and increased capacity of our medical professionals are also proactive steps we must take.

We should uptake our emergency preparedness and response generally by ensuring regular procurement and supply of protective equipment such as hand sanitisers, nose/face masks, hand gloves, infrared and body temperature measurement equipment, test kits, protective gears for our emergency responders. The essential items should also be provided in all our health facilities, schools and public offices while private institutions should also be encouraged to do same.

Adequate sensitisation, awareness, education and knowledge sharing for citizens should also be given adequate attention. Engagement of communication marketing professionals, strategic communications thinkers and planners, issue and crisis management experts and reputation management professionals will be my recommendation to government. No matter how best government is doing, low citizen education could be a disincentive.

Above all, homegrown alternatives should be encouraged. Emergency importation of equipment and supplies, and medical personnel from overseas such as China or elsewhere as in our current situation, is only an example of things we didn't get right.

We should rather encourage our local investors, innovators and investors to come in and play active collaboration in our national search for a permanent end to Coronavirus. My reasoning is that we can leverage COVID-19 to further bolster the growth of our Micro, Medium and Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector. We would be amazed at how much App innovators can do by helping to develop surveillance and monitoring apps for contact tracing of persons that have had contacts with Coronavirus index or confirmed cases.

These are just a few among several other ways that we can turn the COVID-19 crisis to our advantage.

*Lere Ojedokun is the Executive Director, Strategic Communications, Chain Reactions Nigeria, the Exclusive Nigerian Affiliate and West Africa's Partner of Edelman, the world's largest PR firm with presence in 65 countries across the globe.

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Anambra COVID-19 index case: St. Joseph Hospital says, we’re not aware - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The authorities at the St. Joseph’s Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu in Anambra State where the suspected first index case for the state purportedly emerged, has reacted to the result announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), saying that they have not been communicated and only heard about the result over the Internet news portals, reports ITREALMS.

Administrator of the hospital, Rev. Fr. Jerome N. Okafor told ITREALMS on Saturday after in reaction to the news that efforts to reach NCDC proved difficult despite intervention of the state government officials including the Commissioner of Health, in order to ascertain the position of their patient, whom NCDC has now declared as COVID-19 victim, even after such patient has since been treated and discharged.

An official press statement available to ITREALMS, the administrator noted that his office has been undated with calls over what actually happened, hence they want to put the records straight, whilst respecting the privacy of its patient.

According to him, “The patient was admitted at Dr. Joe Nwiloh Heart Center of St. Joseph’s Hospital for heart problem on Tuesday April 7, 2020. A Medical Officer who attended to him noticed that he was coughing out blood, and was shivering. He suspected that the patient has symptoms of COVID-19 and informed the Cardiologist who admitted him. He did not think that the symptoms indicated were strong enough to suggest the virus infection.

“However, he authorized the staff of the center to call the office the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC). They did so several times. Each time the office assured them that their staff was coming. After sixteen hour of waiting the authority of the center decided to send a delegation to the office of the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Amaku Universtity Teaching Hospital, Awka.

“The team was able to persuade the CMD to send people to come and take the man’s sample for testing and to transfer him to Government designated isolation centers. It is supposed that he consulted with the Commissioner for Health and the Governor and eventually a team of medical personnel was sent to collect the man’s sample. The team said the result will be ready within forty-eight hours,” he said.

But after 48 hours, he said, the medical team delegated to follow up the case called NCDC office, but all they could get after several phone calls was a verbal report that the index patient is positive.

“Up till now the Hospital Administration has not received any official report of the result of the test. What we have today all over the media is that St. Joseph’s Hospital has a patient with COVID-19 virus,” he decried, wondering what is the motive behind that, stressing that certainly not in the interest of the common people that the hospital serves nor that of the patient.

“The staff of the Center was very professional in their approach to the issue,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, he pointed out that since the office responsible for taking up the matter was duly informed, the sample was taken, but the result was not forthcoming; the staff continued to treat the patient for the symptom of heart disease which he presented.

“He got better and was discharged because he insisted on going back to his house. The patient did not run away from the Hospital. He paid his medical bill. The Center discharged because the major reason why he was suspected of the virus was that he was not forthcoming with the information about his travel history,” he said.

The administrator, maintained that St. Joseph’s has not been “officially communicated that patient whose sample the NCDC collected from one its units tested positive of COVID-19.”



Fr. Okafor further expressed surprise and alleged that suspected blackmail of the Hospital is calculated.

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DEMS Volunteers cautions fake news conveyors over alleged 5G fibre cables in Lagos, says its misleading - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Digital Economy Media Support Volunteers' (DEMS Volunteers') has cautioned conveyors of fake news over the laying of purported Fifth Generation (5G) fibre cables in Lagos, describing it as misleading, reports ITREALMS.

DEMS Volunteers, a non-governmental advocacy group of media and telecoms practitioners creating awareness on digital economy, also described it as strange, the resent social media onslaught on the telecommunications infrastructure deployment in parts of Lagos, urging Nigerians to embrace facts not fictions.

The Volunteers' said it was regrettable that purveyors of fake news have chosen this period of Coronavirus pandemic to misinform millions of internet users in the country, particularly as regards unfounded cases of 5G fibre optic cable deployment in Lagos and other parts of the country.

According to a statement released on Friday and endorsed by the Director-General, Prince Stan Okenwa, DEMS Volunteers, called on Nigerians to disregard the comments, posts (videos) and documentaries by unformed groups and individuals who are arrogating on themselves the roles of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and telecommunication engineers.

“Obviously, 5G is not only crucial to global economy because it has the potential to support millions of devices at ultrafast speeds, but also because it has the potential to transform the lives of people around the world. Improvements in 5G technology can help make life better. Today, telemedicine, e-learning, e-government, teleconferencing, etc., have become more relevant because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Connectivity makes life easy.

“Having said that it is important to state that 5G is not launched in Nigeria yet. Of course, it is not something to be shrouded in secrecy. Therefore, the turn of events in Nigeria in recent weeks is unfortunate.

“Recall that the issue of drop calls was on the front burner not quite long, but have we asked ourselves why this persists! It is basically due to lack of infrastructure and other factors associated with the business of telecoms. Now, telcos have seen a window to expand infrastructure for current 3G & 4G we use and people are making mockery of the system. This must be condemned by every well-meaning Nigerian”.

“NCC had earlier made it clear vide a statement that the ongoing laying of fibre optic cables and the deployment of other telecoms equipment by mobile network operators (MNOs) across Lagos and other states is entirely to expand their networks infrastructure across the country to provide more efficient services to the consumers. What can be more true than this? Okay, the conspiracy theorists are saying the fibres are for 5G, whereas no license has been issued for such. Do you build a house before laying the foundation? How possible is that. Nigerians should ask these purveyors of fake news hard questions to understand their motives.

“Just recently, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami and the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, where also going cap-in-hand engaging the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to grant waivers and still agree to continue with N145 per square meter for right of way. It smacks of sabotage for some people to wake up one morning and begin rubbish of the system without understanding how telecom infrastructure are deployed.

“In other climes, to improve the coverage, capacity, and overall Quality of Experience (QoE) of mobile users, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are adopting small cells, which strategically place radios closer to users. Small cells can be backhauled over copper (xDSL, HFC-based cable modems), air (microwave, millimeterwave), or fiber (Ethernet, PON). These are in public domain. When it’s time for 5G deployment we have the confidence that NCC working stakeholders will choose the best option and not necessarily it must be through fibre optic cable”.

The Volunteers called on Nigerians to rally round NCC and MNOs by protecting telecom infrastructures in their domain as means to ensure 4G infrastructure are deployed in every nooks and crannies of the country for the benefits of e-learning, e-commerce, e-health, connectivity, e-government, access to media for quality news, agritech, amongst others.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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First Covid-19 Case: What Obiano told Ndi Anambra - ITREALMS

ForTheRecords@ITREALMS:

A Special Broadcast on Covid-19 by the Governor of Anambra State, His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano on Saturday April 10, 2020 as Anambra Records her 1st Case

1. Ndi Anambra ekenem unu.

2. I want to update you on the latest developments in our efforts against Coronavirus in Anambra State.

3. First, I have to thank you all for complying with the directive on the Covid-19 pandemic in Anambra State. I must thank the traders in all the 63 major markets in Anambra State for heeding the directive on the closure of our markets.

4. I also thank the traditional rulers, leaders of the church, the PGs and other community leaders who have assisted the government in ensuring that people comply with the directives from the state. However, as it has turned out, the fight has just started!

Anambra’s 1st Covid-19 Case:

5. Ndi Anambra, I regret to announce that despite our proactive measures to insulate our dear state from this pandemic, we recorded the first case of Coronavirus in the state yesterday.

6. The index case came in from Lagos. He has been placed in one of our Protective Care Centers. At the same time, we have commenced aggressive Contact Tracing to ensure that everyone he came in contact with is brought into the net for a professional handling that will save lives.

7. Ndi Anambra, I urge you not to panic over this. It did not take us by surprise.

8. We are adequately prepared to handle the situation. We have trained enough manpower on how to handle Covid-19 cases and our Protective Care Centers are among the best in the country at the moment.

9. On the strength of this, I urge you to stand strong in prayer and faith. We shall flatten the curve on this case to prevent further spread of the virus.

Measures to Prevent Further Spread:

10. Ndi Anambra, following the recording of the first case of Coronavirus in Anambra State, it has become extremely necessary to tighten the measures we had taken earlier on the pandemic. To achieve that, we shall take the following steps –

11. A. The restriction on movement is hereby extended by two weeks. This time, we are placing a comprehensive Lock down on Anambra State.

12. We shall not tolerate any movement across the state by individuals and groups. Only people on essential services are permitted to move around in the delivery of those services to the people.

13. Ndi Anambra are advised to stay indoors to avoid getting contaminated by this virus. The security agencies will enforce the restriction on movement this time and they have my authorization to make arrests where necessary to keep our dear state safe.

14. B. All boundaries with neighbouring states remain closed. There will be no vehicular or human traffic across all the boundaries of Anambra State.

15. Only vehicles delivering essential services are permitted after a comprehensive check and authorization by security operatives at the boundaries.

16. C. Frequent washing of hands with soap for at least 20 seconds as well as the regular use of hand sanitizers are strongly recommended.

17. In fact, everyone is expected to carry a hand sanitizer with him or her at any given time.

18. D. Everyone is expected to stay indoors with their families and loved ones.

19. However, anyone who wishes to step outdoors for any reason at all must wear a face mask. Anyone who violates this directive stands a chance of arrest and prosecution.

20. E. Handshaking, hugging and all other forms of physical contact are strongly discouraged. Ndi Anambra are also advised to minimize contact with door handles and hand rails and commonly used surfaces in different locations.

21. F. A distance of 6-feet must be maintained during interaction with people.

22. Everyone is advised to keep a reasonable social distance when holding a conversation with someone else.

23. G. Ndi Anambra are advised to contact the Anambra State Public Health Emergency Operation Center immediately (PHEOC) once they feel unwell.

24. The PHEOC numbers are 08030953771, 08145434416, 08117567363, 08058967320.

Update on Preventive Care Centers:

25. Our 250-bed Preventive Care Center at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Mbaukwu/Umuawulu and the 16-bed Preventive Care Centre at the General Hospital Onitsha are all up and running at the moment.

26. The two Surge Centers at Ekwulobia General Hospital and Umueri General Hospital that Fidelity Bank and Access Bank offered to equip are almost ready too.

27. So, we are prepared to give ourselves a fighting chance against this pandemic.

Gratitude to Donors:

28. Ndi Anambra, it gives me great joy to see that this pandemic has brought out our well known communal spirit.

29. I am impressed with the way our socially responsible brothers and sisters have responded to the economic hardship imposed by Coronavirus on us all by handing out relief materials and money to their neighbours.

30. That is one of the ways we can ensure strict compliance with the principles of social distancing and overcome this plague.

31. I must thank everyone who has shown compassion to his/her neighbour during this period. That is the spirit of the season. It is also the spirit of Easter!

32. Similarly, I must express our profound gratitude to those who have donated money and other material support to boost our efforts at the state level.

33. So far, we have received the following donations in cash and equipment from the following people –

* UBA Plc – N28, 500,000

* Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo- N10M

* Ibeto Petrochemical – N10M

Prof Chukwuma Soludo – N10m

* J. I Ejison of Ejison International Ltd - N5M

* Chief Clem Nwogbo (Awka Millennium City) N5M

* Chief Daniel Chukwudozie (Dozzy Oil) N2M

* Senator Victor Umeh N2M

* His Royal Highness, Igwe Gerald Mbamalu (Igwe Ojoto) N1M

* Ezeemo Godwin Chukwunenye N500,000

* Obinna Okechukwu Nwosu N3000

* 7Com Enterprises N2000

* Chief Chidi Anyaegbu (Chisco) N10M

* Aguleri World Forum N2M

* Dr Godwin Okafor (WINCO Foam) N2M

Ozonkpu Victor Oye – N3m

* Cutix Plc, Medical equipment and supplies

* Chief Barrister Hyacinth Madagwu N1m

* United Anambra Youth Assembly (U-AYA) and United Anambra Women Assembly (U-AWA) N1m

* Juhel Plc, Chloroquine phosphate that can treat 2,500 patients

* Dr Ernest Obiejesi (Obijackson Group) 4000 Facial Masks and 900 Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).

* Traditional ruler of Alor, Igwe Mark Anthony Chinedu Elibe Okonkwo 50 cartons of hospital equipment comprising doctors’ gloves,face masks and shoes, and a carton of oxygen equipment.

34. * Other illustrious indigenes of the state that have pledged to assist the government with Personal Protection Equipment and other medical supplies are Prince Engineer Arthur Eze, Dr Cosmas Maduka, Chief Innocent Chukwuma (Innoson), Sir Emeka Offor, Emma Bishop Okonkwo (Ekulo Group) and Chief Allen Onyema (Air Peace).

35. Ndi Anambra we are still appealing for donations to boost our capacity to overcome Coronavirus.

36. We especially need ventilators and Personal Protection Equipment like gloves, goggles for the eyes, apparels and masks. Whatever support we get in this area shall be highly appreciated.

37. Umu nnem, now that we have the first recorded incident in Anambra State, our fight against Coronavirus has just started.

38. All hands must be on deck to stamp the pandemic out of our beloved state. Ndi Anambra, I have no doubt that if we work together, we shall win this race.

39. God bless Anambra State

God bless Nigeria

40. Dalunu

*Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra State

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COVID-19: Anambra locks down after recording first index case - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Anambra State has registered its first index case of Coronavirus or COVID-19, just as contact tracing has commenced, according to the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, reports ITREALMS.

Obiano in a state broadcast on Saturday declared that the state is going on total lockdown, noting that the index case was recorded on Friday with a traveler from Lagos, who has since been placed in one of the Protective Care Centers.

"At the same time, we have commenced aggressive Contact Tracing to ensure that everyone he came in contact with is brought into the net for a professional handling that will save lives," he said.

Gov. Obiano also urged Ndi Anambra not to panic over this, noting that the index case "did not take us by surprise" and the state is adequately prepared to handle the situation.

"We have trained enough manpower on how to handle Covid-19 cases and our Protective Care Centers are among the best in the country at the moment," he said.

On the strength of this, he equally urged Ndi Anambra to stand strong in prayer and faith, assuring that with determination the state flatten the curve on this case to prevent further spread of the virus. 

In order to prevent further spread, Gov. Obiano said it has become extremely necessary to tighten the measures Anambra has taken earlier on the pandemic, stressing that to achieve that, the restriction on movement has been extended by two weeks. 

"This time, we are placing a comprehensive Lock down on Anambra State," he asserted, warning that Anambra State would not tolerate any movement across the state by individuals and groups. 

"Only people on essential services are permitted to move around in the delivery of those services to the people," Gov. Obiano said.

Ndi Anambra were advised to stay indoors to avoid getting contaminated by this virus, just as the security agencies, he said, would enforce the restriction on movement this time and they have my authorization to make arrests where necessary to keep the state safe.

"All boundaries with neighbouring states remain closed. There will be no vehicular or human traffic across all the boundaries of Anambra State.

"Only vehicles delivering essential services are permitted after a comprehensive check and authorization by security operatives at the boundaries," he said.

Obiano further advised for frequent washing of hands with soap for at least 20 seconds as well as the regular use of hand sanitizers are strongly recommended.

"In fact, everyone is expected to carry a hand sanitizer with him or her at any given time," he said, stressing that everyone is expected to stay indoors with their families and loved ones.

However, anyone who wishes to step outdoors for any reason at all must wear a face mask. Anyone who violates this directive stands a chance of arrest and prosecution.

"Handshaking, hugging and all other forms of physical contact are strongly discouraged. Ndi Anambra are also advised to minimize contact with door handles and hand rails and commonly used surfaces in different locations.

"A distance of 6-feet must be maintained during interaction with people. Everyone is advised to keep a reasonable social distance when holding a conversation with someone else," he said.

In addition, Ndi Anambra were advised to contact the Anambra State Public Health Emergency Operation Center immediately (PHEOC) once they feel unwell.

"The PHEOC numbers are 08030953771, 08145434416, 08117567363, 08058967320," he said.

Ozo Nweke Ozo/Editor

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Coalition writes Wike, others over ban lifting on public gathering, mosque, churches, invitation to spread COVID-19 – ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC) has written to Nigerian governors who lifted bans on public gathering, markets, mosques and churches in their states over the on-going lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus or COVID-19, reports ITREALMS.
As at press time, ITREALMS gathered that the governors of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, his counterparts in Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello; Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN; and Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari; have lifted bans on public gathering, markets, mosques and churches to name a few.

HSRC in an open letter available to ITREALMS endorsed by its Co-chairs on COVID-19 Response Task Team, Deacon Mike Egboh and Dr. Chizoba Wonodi, said they received with shock, concern and fear, the lifting of bans on some gatherings including Friday prayers and Easter services, by some states.

They also commended some states on lockdown especially the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos among others describing it as welcome development, stressing the importance of containing the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), and avoiding the high number of deaths that might follow and the disastrous effects on the health system and economy, as we are seeing with countries like US, Italy, Spain, UK, amongst others.

HSRC with its membership of over 100 non-governmental actors, working to improve health care and development across every state in Nigeria, recognizes and respects the importance of worship and religious celebrations to Nigerians.

“We acknowledge and value the role of religious leaders and faith-based organizations in providing spiritual support through faith for their followers in a healthy and safe environment,” they said.

Further, HSRC appreciated the socio-economic difficulties being faced by people over the lockdown across the country.

“Unfortunately, options are limited for now in the best ways to fight the spread. Scientific evidence and experience from developed and developing countries reinforce that avoiding crowd, physical distancing, handwashing and respiratory hygiene are still the best ways to prevent the spread and associated deaths. With the high number of people living in poverty, high prevalence of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes (underlying diseases) and very weak health systems, it will be catastrophic if the virus spreads widely in Nigeria.

“Data from the WHO and Johns Hopkins shows that 1.6 million people have tested positive and more than 95 thousand have died from COVID-19 between December 2019 to April 9, 2020. While majority of infections and deaths have been in developed countries, both infections and deaths are also rising in Africa. Cases in Nigeria have multiplied from one to 288 in six weeks with seven deaths. Number of states with established cases have risen from one to 17 within the same period.

“Trends from other countries showed that without drastic measures such as maintaining lockdowns and distancing, the numbers can easily rise exponentially over a short time. Between February 27 and March 27, the US went from 54 to 100,522 cases while Italy went from 593 to 66,414 in one month!

“Because our testing is grossly inadequate, the true numbers of cases in Nigeria may be hidden. It is highly likely that community spread is happening because up to 85% of the infected may be asymptomatic yet capable of transmitting the virus. Our containment is still in the nascent stage, this is not the time to relax our guard. The couple of weeks are very critical in containing an upsurge in the number of confirmed cases.

“As the Health Sector Reform Coalition of Nigeria, we:

A. Implore our governors to cancel all plans or reverse the directives to lift the ban on religious and other gatherings until the NCDC and Federal Ministry of Health advise otherwise – No matter the pressure, this is not the time for populism.

B. Call on the federal government and state governments to increase the delivery of economic mitigation packages to households and individuals that are in need, to reduce the pressure on people to go out for their daily living.

C. Ask all Nigerians to PLEASE continue to listen to the advice of health experts represented by NCDC and WHO at this critical time. Nothing is more important than staying alive.

Furthermore, we need to remind ourselves of the following:

i. COVID-19 (Coronavirus) does not go to sleep at night, market days, Fridays or Sundays

ii. Infected people without any symptoms can still transmit the virus

iii. Over 2500 infections in France was linked to a single religious gathering while about 230 infections in South Korea were linked to a religious group where members continued gathering

iv. Crowd gathering should be avoided, and at all time maintain at least 2 m or 6 feet or two arm’s length of distance between people

v. Religious and faith institutions are encouraged to explore means of conducting faith activities remotely/virtually (as long as required) and provide psychosocial and mental health support and resilience

vi. Cloth face masks might help reduce the spread by those who are infected but does not fully protect healthy people from getting infected, so continue to practice hand washing, respiratory hygiene, physical distancing and crowd avoidance even when wearing a face mask

vii. Clean/disinfectant surfaces such as doorknobs, handles, to remove the virus

viii. Actively promote attitudes and behaviours to uphold the dignity and rights of all people, and counter all forms stigma and discrimination associated with the virus

ix. Even if you have good immunity, you can spread it to children, the elderly and other family members who are vulnerable and more likely to die from COVID-19

x. States that currently have zero recorded cases are still not safe and closing state borders is not enough.

“As the custodian of power in the state, necessity is placed on the governors to make the right decision that will protect the citizens. This is the time to make that difficult sacrifice to protect our future. Our governors and other political leaders should be seen to be leading,” HSRC maintained, urging “Nigerian, please stay at home and stay alive!!!”

Chuks Egbune/DoP

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COVID-19 Lockdown: FirstBank reassures customers, applauds resilience - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

Leading financial inclusion bank in Nigeria, the First Bank Nigeria Limited, has reassured customers nationwide of steadfast service offering at these "unprecedented times" reports ITREALMS.

The chief executive officer, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, in a personally signed statement, hailed its Nigerian customers for their resilience especially in the last two weeks despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ravaging the country.

“As I reflect on the last two weeks, I am comforted by the resilience of our people,” the bank’s chief said.

Commenting on FirstBank’s strides in the last one week, Adeduntan disclosed that the lender has over 53,000 agents across the country who have processed over 5 million transactions with differing values in the last week alone.

"We’ve recorded approximately 2.5 million withdrawals which amounts to N35 billion across our ATMs over the last week.

"Our larger corporate customers have done over 1,700 successful transactions worth N6.8 billion on our e-bills platform during this challenging period.

"Nigerians with FirstBank cards have used them 21 million times to make payments or withdrawals worth N268 million as they rely on us to settle their banking needs.

"Our customers have made transfers over 10 million times with a total value of about N615 billion across our digital channels."

The FirstBank CEO further assured its customers that the bank is working tirelessly to ensure that banking transactions continue seamlessly, and that COVID-19 will neither slow it down nor defeat its workforce.

“Expertise and resilience are in FirstBank's DNA. We are holding up our side; and COVID-19 will not slow us down.”

“More than ever before, the bank will uphold its promise to its customers to be there for them "and put them First.

“We recognize our role in keeping the engine going, keeping society going and recognize further that it is our responsibility to remain at the forefront of this.

"Our unparalleled network and total coverage of the nation serve us all well at this time; ensuring that safe alternative channels are available for our customers 24/7.

"Rest assured that we are in this together and together, we will emerge stronger at the end of this period because this too shall pass," he further assured.

Adeduntan, while reassuring Nigerians of FirstBank’s commitment to support the fight against COVID-19, however said that customers can reach the bank via its email - firstcontact@firstbanknigeria.com and through their relationship managers, throughout the lockdown period.

Since its establishment in 1894 (125 years ago), FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes.

Chuks Egbune/DoP

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