News

China virus death toll passes 1,000, WHO warns of ‘very grave’ global threat

Published

6 years ago

February 11, 2020

The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak surged past 1,000 in China on Tuesday as the World Health Organization warned that the epidemic poses a “very grave” global threat.

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The WHO is holding a conference in Geneva on combatting the virus as Beijing struggles to contain a disease that has now infected more than 42,000 and reached some 25 countries.

Another 108 deaths were reported on Tuesday — the first triple-digit daily rise since the virus emerged in late December.

“With 99 percent of cases in China, this remains very much an emergency for that country, but one that holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the conference, where scientists were discussing how the virus is transmitted and possible vaccines.

Chinese authorities have locked down millions of people in a number of cities, while several governments have banned arrivals from China and major airlines have suspended flights in a bid to keep the disease away from their shores.

The death toll has now reached 1,016, although the mortality rate remains relatively low at 2.4 percent.

But the case of a British man who passed on the virus to at least 11 other people — without having been in China — has raised fears of a new phase of contagion abroad.

– ‘Super-spreader’ –

Most cases overseas have involved people who had been in Wuhan, the quarantined central Chinese city where the virus emerged late last year, or people infected by others who had been at the epicentre.

But the Briton — dubbed a “super-spreader” by some British media — caught the virus while attending a conference in Singapore and then passed it on to several compatriots while on holiday in the French Alps, before finally being diagnosed back in Britain.

Of those infected, five were hospitalised in France, five in Britain and one on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

“The detection of this small number of cases could be the spark that becomes a bigger fire,” Tedros said on Monday, urging countries to seize on the “window of opportunity” to prevent a bigger outbreak.

Michael Ryan, head of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, said it was “way too early” to call the Singapore conference a “super-spreading event”.

– ‘Imminent threat’ –

As the number of cases in Britain doubled to eight, the government called the novel coronavirus a “serious and imminent threat”, and said anyone with the disease could be forcibly quarantined if deemed a threat to public health.

The biggest cluster of cases outside China is aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship moored off Japan, where 135 people have been positively diagnosed.

The ship has been in quarantine since arriving off the Japanese coast early last week after the virus was detected in a former passenger who disembarked last month in Hong Kong.

More than 100 people were evacuated from a 35-storey Hong Kong housing block Tuesday after two residents in different apartments tested positive for the virus.

Residents were forced to leave as health officials in masks and white overalls scrambled to work out whether the virus had spread through the complex of some 3,000 people.

– Torrent of criticism –

Chinese authorities, meanwhile, dismissed two senior health officials from Hubei, the central province where some 56 million people, including in its capital Wuhan, have been under lockdown since late last month.

They also tightened restrictions in the city, forbidding people with fever from visiting hospitals outside of their home districts and sealing off residential compounds.

Local authorities in Wuhan and Hubei have faced a torrent of criticism for hiding the extent of the outbreak in early January. Most deaths and cases are in Hubei.

The death of a whistleblowing doctor from Wuhan has sparked calls for political reform in China.

President Xi Jinping, who has described the battle against the virus a “people’s war”, has largely kept out of the public eye since the outbreak spiralled across the country from Hubei.

But he emerged on Monday, pictured wearing a mask and having his temperature taken at a hospital in Beijing where he spoke with medical staff and patients.

He called the situation in Hubei “still very grave” and urged “more decisive measures” to contain the spread of the virus.

News

Oluwole Foundation Lifts 70 Branch Members Of C&S Church in Ilorin

Published

8 hours ago

August 11, 2025

Our Reporter

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Barely a month after empowering no fewer than 70 members at the headquarters of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, the Oluwole Foundation has extended the noble gesture to 24 branches of the Church within Ilorin metropolis and Oke-Oyi.

In the new dispensation, the Oluwole Foundation provided material and financial support to additional 70 beneficiaries, costing the Foundation about N37m.

Fielding questions from journalists on the sideline of the programme, the Chairman of the Foundation, Pastor Moses Ademola Popoola, said the extension of the empowerment programme this year to the branches of the Church was in obedience to divine instruction and as a means to tackle poverty within the Church community.

“We have 62 branches under our Church, but this is the first time we are going beyond our headquarters. For now, we have covered 24 Churches and empowered 70 people, spending close to N37 million. This is not just charity; it’s also evangelism. Some people will not be converted through preaching but through welfare,” Pastor Popoola explained.

He urged beneficiaries to take the gesture seriously, work hard, and extend help to others, assuring the congregants of further expansion of the empowerment programme to cover more beneficiaries in the coming years.

“They should not see this as a national cake. Be prudent, save, grow your business, and from what you have, help someone else. That way, we help the family, society, and the nation,” he cautioned.

Pastor Popoola also called on other foundations, especially those owned by Christians, to carry out their work with sincerity, rather than for personal gain. “This service is first to God, then to society. When we help people genuinely, we reduce poverty, crime, and unemployment.”

The cleric, however, stressed the need for the government to prioritise agriculture and rural development in order to tackle poverty and unemployment ravaging the nation.

He added: “Every wealthy nation built its economy on agriculture. So, government should secure our farmlands, provide tractors, and support our farmers holistically. Let each region focus on its strength, like cocoa in the West and groundnut in the North. We must also develop rural areas with electricity, motorable roads, hospitals, and jobs to curb rural-urban migration.”

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Janet Shaba, who expressed gratitude to the Oluwole Foundation for the kind gesture, promised that they would make judicious use of the items received.

End

News

Audu Ogbeh’s death a big loss for North Central: Kwara Gov

Published

8 hours ago

August 11, 2025

Our Reporter

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has expressed sadness over the death of former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh.

Governor AbdulRazaq said the death of Chief Audu Ogbeh is a big loss to the North Central Region, calling him a statesman, thoughts leader, and nationalist.

“Chief Audu Ogbeh was a dependable leader of our region. He earned the respect of all on account of his outstanding leadership and service to the nation at different times, especially during his time as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,” the Governor said in a statement on Sunday.

Governor AbdulRazaq has, however, sent his heartfelt condolences to the people and government of Benue State and to his family and associates.

He prayed to God to give the family the strength to bear the huge loss.

End

News

Ambode Declares Total Support for President Tinubu’s 2027 Re-Election Bid

Published

2 days ago

August 9, 2025

milcah

• Dismisses claims of gubernatorial ambition under ADC.

Former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has publicly reaffirmed his unwavering loyalty to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pledging full commitment to the President’s 2027 re-election campaign.

In a strongly worded statement, Ambode dismissed recent speculations linking him to a governorship ambition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing the reports as “false publications” aimed at causing distractions.

“I wish to publicly reaffirm my absolute and unshakable loyalty to the APC, the party under which I had the privilege of serving Lagos State as governor in 2015, and to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my leader, mentor, and a tireless champion for Nigeria’s progress,” Ambode said.

The former governor praised President Tinubu’s leadership style, describing him as a “proven achiever and result-oriented leader” whose administration has delivered significant reforms in pensions, student loan accessibility, youth empowerment, and national economic growth.

Highlighting key achievements of the Tinubu administration, Ambode pointed to the elimination of fuel scarcity, improved security measures, and policies designed to improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

“His focus, determination, and inclusive governance style are restoring hope and delivering tangible results. I am convinced that, given another four years, Nigerians will have even greater reason to celebrate,” Ambode stated.

He urged party faithful and Nigerians at large to ignore political distractions, pledging to work tirelessly to strengthen the APC and ensure President Tinubu’s victory in 2027.

“Let it be clear: I stand solidly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress. We will work together to ensure victory in 2027 to continue delivering the dividends of democracy to all Nigerians,” Ambode concluded.

Ambode’s declaration comes amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the former governor making it clear that his political loyalty remains firmly with the APC and its leader.