Health
Panic in Ebonyi State as hospital alerts of new COVID variant outbreak

Fear has gripped hospital workers in Ebonyi State following an internal memo within the National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, alerting workers of an outbreak of a new variant of COVID-19 in the State.
The internal memo dated August 22, 2023, emanated from the office of the head of clinical services and was addressed to the hospital community.
It was tiled: ‘FYI: COVID IS ON THE PROWL AGAIN, CAUTION, PLEASE’, and signed by Dr. Yakubu E.N, Head of Clinical Services.
It reads, “With the new variant, BA.4 and BA.5 COVID delta, there is no cough, no fever. It’s a lot of joint pain, headache, neck and upper back pain, general weakness, loss of appetite and pneumonia. Sore throat that resembles strep throat, and of course, more virulent and with a higher mortality rate. It takes less time to go to extremes. Sometimes without symptoms. Be more careful.
“This strain does not live in the naso-pharyngeal region. Now it directly affects the lungs, which means that the ‘windows’ periods of time are shorter. There have been several patients without fever, without pain, but who report mild chest pneumonia on their X-rays. Nasal swab tests are very often negative for Covid-19, and there are more and more false negative results from nasopharyngeal tests.
“This means that the virus spreads and spreads directly to the lungs, causing acute respiratory stress caused by viral pneumonia. This explains why it has become sharp, more virulent and deadly. Please, be extremely careful.
“Avoid crowded places, keep 1.5 distance even in open places, double face masks and wash your hands often (and when we cough or sneeze). Please no hugs, it is very dangerous at the moment, as almost everyone is asymptomatic. This “wave” is much more deadly than the first, so we have to be VERY careful and take every kind of precaution.
“Do not keep this information to yourself; share it as much as you can, especially with your friends.”
It was gathered that the memo has created panic within the hospital community and the entire State.
But a senior health official, who spoke to newsmen under anonymity expressed doubt over the authenticity of the claims by Yakubu.
“That memo has created unnecessary panic in the State. If there is an outbreak of COVID, Dr Yakubu shouldn’t be the one to announce it; the ministry of health is the right authority.
“We don’t know where he got the information from, but I’m not aware of an outbreak of COVID-19 or any of its strains in Ebonyi State,” she stated.
As of the time of filing this report, the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health is yet to react to the memo.

Health
ESUT inducts 70 graduates into nursing profession
The induction ceremony was conducted by the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Alhaji Alhassan Ndagi, formally ushering the graduates into the noble healthcare profession.

The Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), yesterday, inducted 70 pioneer graduates of its Department of Nursing Sciences into the nursing profession.
The induction ceremony was conducted by the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Alhaji Alhassan Ndagi, formally ushering the graduates into the noble healthcare profession.
This was even as the elated inductees, who began their academic journey in 2018 without accreditation for the programme, heaped praises on the Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, for the decisive action and strategic intervention, acknowledging that without the governor’s timely support and provision of the facilities necessary for accreditation, their dreams might have ended in frustration.
The Chairman of the occasion and Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Yomi Jaye, described the event as a celebration of vision, resilience, and political will.
He recounted how the students had been plunged into despair following years of delay due to the lack of accreditation until Mbah assumed office and swiftly ensured the programme met the standards required by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the NMCN.
He said: “At the beginning of this administration, we were saddled with the task of strengthening our nursing and medical education.
We carried out a baseline assessment of all the institutions and discovered there was no accreditation for 19 years. We approached the NUC and the Nursing Council.
The governor backed us with all the necessary resources, and we worked alongside the university day and night. They didn’t just accredit them, they also indexed the backlog.”
Health
Six million donkeys slaughtered yearly for Chinese medicine – Report
It is driven by an increase in China’s production of ejiao – a product marketed as a health supplement that uses collagen from donkey skins – which is a $6.8-billion industry, according to China-based research firm Qianzhan.

(AFP): Almost six million donkeys are slaughtered annually for Chinese medicine, with severe knock-on effects for African villagers who rely on the animals, a UK-based charity said on Thursday.
It is driven by an increase in China’s production of ejiao – a product marketed as a health supplement that uses collagen from donkey skins – which is a $6.8-billion industry, according to China-based research firm Qianzhan.
China, whose donkey population has plummeted from 11 million in 1992 to 1.5 million in 2023, has turned to Africa to meet its demand.
With donkey populations falling, the African Union issued a 15-year moratorium on donkey slaughter last year.
UK-based charity The Donkey Sanctuary said, “the ejiao industry drives a massive global trade in donkey skins, much of it illegal”.
It said around 5.9 million donkeys were killed worldwide last year.
The ejiao trade is expected to require at least 6.8 million donkey skins by 2027. The rising value of donkeys means they have increasingly become targets for criminals.
Business
Lagos State Enforcement Team Busts Illegal Abattoir in Agege, Arrests Operators

The Lagos State enforcement squad of the MOE&WR led by KAI operatives on Wednesday burst an illegal abbatoir which was being operated at a private residence at Succo road directly opposite the RRS Barracks and LASTMA Yard in Oko Oba, Agege, arresting some of those found slaughtering animals for public consumption in the location.
The operation followed a tip-off from a whistle blower.

“The enforcement team said, the contaminated meat from cows and goats have been confiscated to prevent it from entering the food chain”.
“This action of the operators of the abbatoir is in defiance of the closure of the Oko Oba Abbatoir and poses great health dangers and environmental risks to the law abiding residents of the area”.
“We need to make it clear that such disregard for public health and sanitation will not be tolerated in Lagos State” .
“Every Government’s primary responsibility is the protection of lives and properties and we will not shirk that responsbbility.”
“We will continue to ensure that only safe and approved public facilities are allowed to operate within our communities.”the statement reads.
-
Business1 day ago
Lagos Declares Manufacturing, Selling, Distributing single-use Plastics a Crime
-
Business3 days ago
FG Suspends Implementation of Financial Reporting Council (Amendment) Act 2023
-
News1 day ago
UniPort’s Prof Charles Nnolim is dead
-
Politics3 days ago
BREAKING: Rowdy Scene Erupts Before PDP Board of Trustees Meeting
-
Politics21 hours ago
Rauf Aregbesola emerges ADC interim National Secretary
-
News3 days ago
ALLEGED DEFAMATION: Court Grants Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan bail
-
Politics3 days ago
UPDATE: Police mount guard at PDP secretariat in Abuja to stop NEC meeting •Manhandle, arrest staff
-
News1 day ago
GARBA SHEHU: BUHARI IS BROKE