204 more persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing to 1,932, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control made this known via its Twitter handle.

It also said that a total of 58 patients have died of coronavirus-related fatalities in the country.

It tweeted, “204 new cases of #COVID19 reported: 80 in Kano, Lagos, 45;

Gombe – 12, Bauchi – nine, Sokoto – nine, Borno – seven, Edo – seven, Rivers – six, Ogun – six, FCT – four, Akwa Ibom – four, Bayelsa – four, Kaduna – three, Oyo – two, Delta – two, Nasarawa – two, Ondo – one, Kebbi – one.

“As of 11:50pm on the 30th April, there are 1,932 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria. Discharged: 319; Deaths: 58.

“34 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria have recorded at least one confirmed case of #COVID-19. 71 per cent of all cases are from three states.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, during a daily briefing on COVID-19, on Thursday in Abuja, expressed concern over the community transmission of the virus.

He said that daily laboratory testing capacity for COVID-19 had been increased to 2,500 in the 15 molecular diagnosis laboratories across the country.

“Active community transmission is illustrated by the increasing number of confirmed persons who have COVID-19.

“This is a major challenge and necessitates a call on all citizens to take COVID-19 infection seriously, and take ownership of their health, and strictly adhere to public health advisories,” he said.

CASE SUMMARY IN NIGERIA AS AT APRIL 30TH 2020

Total Samples Tested     12,828

Total Confirmed cases   1932

Discharged          319

Death    58

Nigeria has recorded 196 new cases of #COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 1728.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control made this known via its Twitter handle.

The NCDC also announced that Nigeria’s COVID-19 fatalities have increased to 51.

COVID-19 has spread to 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Yobe is the most recent state to record a case of COVID-19 in the country.

It tweeted, “196 new cases of #COVID19 reported: 87 were recorded in Lagos, Kano – 24,

Gombe – 18, Kaduna – 17, FCT- 16, Katsina – 10, Sokoto – 8, Edo – 7, Borno – 6, one each in Yobe, Ebonyi, and Adamawa.

“As of 11:55 pm on the 29th of April, 1728 confirmed cases of #COVID-19 reported in Nigeria.

Discharged: 307; Deaths: 51.”

CASE SUMMARY IN NIGERIA AS AT APRIL 29TH 2020

Total Samples Tested     12004

Total Confirmed cases   1728

Discharged          307

Death                    51

 States Affected   No. of Cases (Lab Confirmed)  No. of Active Cases  No. Discharged   No of Deaths

Lagos                     931                                                         718                         192                         21

Abuja FCT             174                                                         135                         36                           3

Kano                     139                                                         136                         0                              3

Gombe                  64                                                           64                           0                              0

Borno                    59                                                           54                           0                              5

Ogun                    50                                                           43                           6                              1

Katsina                 40                                                           38                           0                              2

Edo                      37                                                           25                           9                              3

Osun                    34                                                           14                           18                           2

Kaduna               32                                                           26                           6                              0

Bauchi                 29                                                           23                           6                              0

Sokoto                 27                                                           24                           0                              3

Oyo                     21                                                           10                           9                              2

Akwa Ibom          12                                                           2                              9                              1

Kwara                   11                                                           9                              2                              0

Ekiti                       8                                                              5                              2                            1

Ondo                     8                                                              5                              3                              0

Taraba                   8                                                             8                              0                              0

Delta                    7                                                              1                              4                              2

Rivers                   7                                                              3                              2                              2

Jigawa                   7                                                              7                              0                              0

Zamfara                4                                                              4                              0                              0

Abia                     2                                                              2                              0                              0

Enugu                   3                                                              1                              2                              0

Niger                    2                                                              2                              0                              0

Benue                   1                                                              1                              0                              0

Anambra              1                                                              0                              1                              0

Adamawa             2                                                              2                              0                              0

Plateau                 1                                                              1                              0                              0

Imo                      1                                                              1                              0                              0

Bayelsa               1                                                              1                              0                              0

Ebonyi                2                                                              2                              0                              0

Kebbi                    1                                                              1                              0                              0

Nasarawa               1                                                              1                              0                              0

Yobe                      1                                                              1                              0                              0

Total                    1728                                                       1370                       307                         51

Nigeria has recorded 195 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 1532.

This was announced by the Nigeria Disease for Disease Control on Tuesday.

The NCDC also said four new COVID-19 fatalities were recorded in the country.

It said, “195 new cases of #COVID19 reported: 80 in Lagos, Kano – 38, Ogun – 15, Bauchi – 15, Borno – 11, Gombe – 10, Sokoto – nine, Edo – five, Jigawa – five, Zamfara – two, Rivers – one, Enugu – one, Delta – one, FCT – one, and Nasarawa – one.

“As of 11:50 pm on the 28th April, 1532 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Discharged: 255, Deaths: 44.”

According to data obtained from the centre, Lagos currently has a total confirmed COVID-19 cases of 844; Abuja/FCT, 158; Kano, 115; Borno, 53; Gombe, 46; Ogun, 50; Osun, 34; Katsina, 30; Edo, 30; Oyo, 21; Kaduna, 15; Bauchi, 29; Akwa Ibom, 12; and Sokoto, 19.

It also shows that Kwara has recorded 11 confirmed cases while Ekiti has eight; Ondo, eight; Delta, seven; Rivers, seven; Taraba, eight; Abia, two; Enugu, three; Niger, two; Jigawa, seven; Zamfara, four; Benue, one; Anambra, one; Adamawa, one; Plateau, one; Imo, one; Bayelsa, one; Ebonyi, one; and Kebbi, one and Jigawa one.

NCDC added, “One case previously reported in Gombe State is now recorded as a Borno State case.

Therefore, the total number of cases in Borno is 53 and 46 in Gombe.”

The number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in the United States surpassed one million on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.

There are at least 1,029,179 cases of the virus across the US with 58,412 deaths, according to a tally from health officials by John Hopkins University.

The new figures also showed that about 140,138 people have recovered from Coronavirus.

New York City remains the hardest hit in the US with over 160, 000 cases of Coronavirus and 12, 509 deaths. 

The grim milestone comes after seven coronavirus models anticipate a rise in cases that will depend on how much "contact reduction" Americans practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

"State-level forecasts vary widely, reflecting differences in early epidemic phases, timing of interventions, and model-specific assumptions," the CDC says.

''Models that factor in strong contact reduction suggest deaths will continue to occur, but will "slow substantially over the next four weeks,"

"Conversely, models that do not incorporate as strong contact reductions ... suggest that total deaths may continue to rise quickly." the CDC added

The International Monetary Fund IMF has approved the US$3.4 billion requested by the Federal government to help address the severe economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the financial request today April 28.

The IMF in a statement released, said the financial support will ''help limit the decline in international reserves and provide financing to the budget for targeted and temporary spending increases aimed at containing and mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic and of the sharp fall in international oil prices.''

“The COVID-19 outbreak—magnified by the sharp fall in international oil prices and reduced global demand for oil products—is severely impacting economic activity in Nigeria. These shocks have created large external and financing needs for 2020. Additional declines in oil prices and more protracted containment measures would seriously affect the real and financial sectors and strain the country’s financing.

“The authorities’ immediate actions to respond to the crisis are welcome. The short-term focus on fiscal accommodation would allow for higher health spending and help alleviate the impact of the crisis on households and businesses. Steps taken toward a more unified and flexible exchange rate are also important and unification of the exchange rate should be expedited.

“Once the COVID-19 crisis passes, the focus should remain on medium-term macroeconomic stability, with revenue-based fiscal consolidation essential to keep Nigeria’s debt sustainable and create fiscal space for priority spending. Implementation of the reform priorities under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, particularly on power and governance, remains crucial to boost growth over the medium term.

“The emergency financing under the RFI will provide much needed liquidity support to respond to the urgent BOP needs. Additional assistance from development partners will be required to support the government’s efforts and close the large financing gap. The implementation of proper governance arrangements—including through the publication and independent audit of crisis-mitigating spending and procurement processes—is crucial to ensure emergency funds are used for their intended purposes.”

France's Ligue 1 and Ligue 2  2019/20 seasons have been canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and the current plan is to start the 2020/21 season in the next four months.

The announcement comes a week after the French Professional Football League (LFP) announced plans for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 to resume on June 17, with UEFA setting a deadline of August 2 for domestic leagues to be completed.

However, on Tuesday afternoon, French prime minister Edouard Philippe announced that all sporting events will be cancelled until September, as part of the next stage of their lockdown plans beyond May 11.

Speaking at a press conference, Philippe said: "The big sporting affairs cannot occur before September. The 2019/20 football season cannot return."

French football bosses will reportedly meet in May to determine on how the tables for this season should be defined and which teams will be promoted and relegated. They will also decide who will be given European places at the same meeting and if PSG, who are 12 points clear at the top, will be crowned champions.

NFF president, Amaju Melvin Pinnick Organisers of the Zenith bank sponsored national U-13 and U15 competition also known as ‘Future Super Eagles’, the Nigeria Football Federation has reassured that the annual tournament will be concluded soon as football activities resume after the coronavirus pandemic.

This was one of the decisions arrived at by the football federation over the weekend during the video conference meeting by the Executive Committee members. It will be recalled that all sporting activities have been suspended due to the outbreak of the dreaded COVID-19 Pandemic across the world.

A part of the communiqué released at the end of the meeting reads “The NFF/Zenith Bank Future Eagles Championship, which state competitions have already been concluded (with some zones having also completed their competitions) will run its full course immediately after the COVID-19 and resumption of football activities.”

Reacting to the assurance from the NFF, the CEO of Zenith Bank, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said the outfit was very committed to the development of football in the country and sports in general especially from the grassroots. According to him, the financial institution has already seen the impact of their investment in the Future Eagles as some of the products of the cadet tournament are already playing for the various junior national teams.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus have increased to 1337 in Nigeria

This is after 64 new cases were recorded in four states on Monday.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control made this known via its Twitter handle.

NCDC said, “On the 27th of April 2020, 64 new confirmed cases and no deaths were recorded in Nigeria.

“No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours.

“Till date, 1337 cases have been confirmed, 255 cases have been discharged and 40 deaths have been recorded in 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The 64 new cases are reported from five states- Lagos (34), FCT (15), Borno (11), Taraba (two), Gombe (two).”

According to data from the NCDC, no fewer than 225 patients have recovered and discharged across the country.

Nigeria currently has 1042 active cases.

Data obtained from the centre also shows that Lagos currently has a total confirmed cases of 764; Abuja/FCT, 157; Kano, 77; Borno, 41; Gombe, 37; Ogun, 35; Osun, 34; Katsina, 30; Edo, 25; Oyo, 21; Kaduna, 15; Bauchi, 14; Akwa Ibom, 12; and Sokoto, 10.

It also shos that Kwara has recorded 11 confirmed cases while Ekiti has eight; Ondo, eight; Delta, six; Rivers, six; Taraba, eight; Abia, two; Enugu, two; Niger, two; Jigawa, two; Zamfara, two; Benue, one; Anambra, one; Adamawa, one; Plateau, one; Imo, one; Bayelsa, one; Ebonyi, one; and Kebbi, one.

“One case previously reported as a Lagos State’s case is now reported as an FCT’s case. The total number of confirmed cases in Lagos is now at 764 and 157 in FCT,” the NCDC added.

Of the 40 deaths recorded in the country, 19 were reported in Lagos, three each in Abuja and Edo, one each in Kano, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, and Delta, two in Rivers, Osun, Borno, Katsina and Oyo.

Meanwhile, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said on Monday that Nigeria will start easing its coronavirus lockdown in Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja from May 4.

“I have approved a phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures,” Buhari said in a televised broadcast.

He unveiled new measures including a nationwide night-time curfew, mandatory wearing of facemasks, and a ban on “non-essential” travel between different states.

He also announced an immediate two-week lockdown in Kano after officials said they were probing a spate of “mysterious deaths”.

Daily Mail Columnist, Piers Morgan has ended his 15-year friendship with Donald Trump with a brutal open letter to the US president after Trump unfollowed him on Twitter for criticizing his approach to the Coronavirus.

Recall the Good Morning Britain host wrote an article, where he told Trump to 'shut the f**k up' because his approach to the Coronavirus pandemic was 'batsh*t crazy'.

Few hours later, Trump, who didn't find the article funny, unfollowed him on Twitter.

Piers Morgan ends his 15-year friendship with Donald Trump with a brutal open letter to the US president?

In reply to the US president, Piers Morgan has penned a brutal open letter to Trump, ending their 15-year friendship.

Read his open letter below.

Dear Donald,

On Friday evening, you unfollowed me on Twitter, which given you only follow 47 accounts was not an insignificant decision.

It came a few hours after I posted a column in which I lambasted you for using your daily Coronavirus press briefings to air ‘batsh*t crazy’ cure theories like ‘injecting or ingesting’ bleach into patients with COVID-19.

I used very forceful language to convey my dismay at such reckless, shocking and woefully irresponsible behavior.

Indeed, the column began with the words ‘SHUT THE F**K UP, PRESIDENT TRUMP!’

And for that, I make no apology.

You are the most powerful person in America and your words carry enormous weight and consequence. Within hours of you suggesting it might be a good idea to use bleach, one public health hotline in one state – Maryland – received 100 phone calls asking about whether they should use household detergent to combat the virus, and was forced to issue an alert warning people not to try it.

New York City’s Poison Control Center took 30 similar calls from the moment your briefing last Thursday night ended to 3pm the next day - and was also forced to release an alert saying that using bleach ‘can put people at great risk.’

This latest debacle came after you previously and repeatedly hyped up an anti-malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, as another ‘cure’ - until it turned out to cause more deaths in COVID patients than those who weren’t treated with it.

This is a terrifying illustration of how dangerous your rhetoric can be.

So yes, I think when it comes to floating mad ideas about potential ‘cures’ for coronavirus, you should shut the f*ck up.

I can understand why such direct language from a long-time friend may have offended you, and I understood that when I wrote it. You have a notoriously thin skin and take any criticism very badly.

(Though, from personal experience, I don’t think you’re a stranger to deploying such profane terminology yourself when something angers you.)

But I’ve always believed the best friends are ones unafraid to offer blunt unvarnished criticism to someone who is behaving in a shockingly self-destructive way, especially when that person is the President of the United States during a global pandemic.

We’ve known each other 15 years, and I’ve always tried to be fair and balanced when it’s come to your presidency. I criticize you when I think you deserve it (I’ve written 55 critical columns about you) and I support you if I think you’re right.

That makes me an outlier in current media, the vast majority of whom either implacably criticize you or blindly support you.

But if you can’t handle my criticism, and our friendship is over, then let me mark the end of our relationship with a few home truths about your spectacularly bad handling of this crisis that may yet, if you heed them, still enable you to get re-elected in November.

1) Get serious, very serious. The world leaders that are seeing their approval ratings soar – including Germany’s Angela Merkel, New Zealand’s Jacinda Arderne and France’s Emmanuel Macron - are the ones who realized early on this was going to be the biggest crisis in their country’s modern history and have adjusted their behavior accordingly. Nobody wants to see or hear their leader playing the buffoon when thousands are dying from a terrible virus. They want a gravity that reflects the reality.

2) Show some damn empathy and compassion. You’ve barely mentioned, in any of your long rambling briefings, the terrible impact of this coronavirus on the American people.

In fact, the Washington Post calculated that you’ve spent just 4.5 minutes expressing any condolences, in over 13 hours of talking from the podium. More than 55,000 Americans have now died. Their relatives, friends and co-workers want to hear that you care about them. So, show them that you do, every day. Tell some of their stories, and those who’ve survived too. We need hope amid the despair.

3) Stop warring with the media. There can be no more important job for any journalist than holding a government’s feet to the fire during such a massive crisis where so many lives are dependent on the right decisions being made. The way you’ve been abusing the media during your briefings is repulsively rude and undignified.

Remember the words of President John F. Kennedy about freedom of the press: ‘Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed. That is why our press was protected by the First Amendment - the only business specifically protected by the Constitution – not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants” but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mould, educate and sometime even anger public opinion.’ If you want the press to show you respect, then start showing them some.

4) Cut the briefings to a maximum of 45 minutes and don’t speak yourself for more than 10 minutes. Nobody wants to hear a daily free-wheeling campaign rally other than you and your die-hard base supporters. In a hideously unedifying way, you keep boasting about your brilliant ratings for the briefings, but the only reasons so many are tuning in are because either they’re scared and want accurate information and reassurance. Or because they love car crash television.

At the moment, you’re offering plenty of the latter and none of the former.

5) Tell the truth. In a public health disaster of this magnitude, truth matters more than ever. Yet you’ve offered false or misleading information in 25% of your remarks. This is completely unacceptable in a president during the best of times, but during a crisis like this it’s outrageous. It’s particularly self-defeating when you lie about something that we’ve seen with our own eyes like the bleach moment. It wasn’t ‘sarcasm’, as you claimed later, and you weren’t addressing it to the ‘fake news’ - we could see you asking your experts. So, when you try to excuse your horrendous error like that, you reveal yourself, ironically, to be the purveyor of fake news.

6) Stop constantly praising yourself. It’s nauseating at a time like this. Apart from the fact you don’t deserve much praise for your performance in this crisis due to America’s horribly slow response to the virus and chronic lack of preparedness, it is so diminishing for you to stand there for hour after hour telling us how great you are and what a perfect job you’re doing as America’s death toll rockets ever higher. Macron admitted to his people that his administration had made mistakes in the preparation for this kind of pandemic, and the French people loved his candour. Learn from that; a little humility in your case would go a very long way right now.

7) Leave medical statements to the experts. There have been few more absurd spectacles than watching you at the podium theorizing about any new crazy coronavirus theory you’ve just heard, like you’re Dr House. You’re not a doctor, as you admitted last week. So, stop pretending to be one.

8) Cut tweeting so much irrelevant crap. Last night you embarked on a cringe-making and pitifully petty tweet storm (much of it now deleted) against the media, demanding journalists give back their ‘Noble prizes’. As I pointed out in my reply, it’s ‘Nobel’ and the prizes you were alluding to are Pulitzers. But who the hell cares anyway? There is only one thing you should be laser-focused on right now and it’s how to defeat coronavirus before it slaughters more Americans.

9) I don’t want to hear any more from you about how hard you’re working. I expect, and every American will assume, that the President of the United States is currently working as hard as he possibly can on the biggest crisis to hit the country in modern times. Again, reign in the overly-defensive self-justification and self-aggrandizing, it just irritates people who are suffering massive problems.

10) Forget about the bitter and twisted partisan politics that dominated and scarred your presidency to the point when coronavirus erupted. Everything’s changed. We all have a common enemy now, and it’s one that doesn’t recognize a republican from a democrat. You should be bringing your opponents to the White House and presenting a united front, not continuing to mock and belittle them.

Mr President, nobody pretends that any of this is easy. There can’t be anything worse for any leader than seeing a new, wicked virus ravage the country, killing tens of thousands of people, and the economy suddenly tank to the worst levels in US history.

These are scary times and millions of people are suffering very badly. But you’re making it worse with your dangerously erratic conduct.

And if you continue, it will cost you the election.

Chancellor Merkel is someone whose crisis leadership is a template for what you should be doing.

Germany’s top coronavirus scientist Christian Drosten explained her popularity today in the Guardian: ‘She’s extremely well-informed, it helps that she’s a scientist and can handle numbers. But it mainly comes down to her character – her thoughtfulness and ability to reassure. Maybe one of the distinguishing features of a good leader is they are not using this situation as a political opportunity. They know how counter-productive it would be.

Exactly.

You’ve dug yourself into a horrible hole, Donald, and you’re making it deeper with everything you do and say.

However, if you heed my advice, and begin to guide the country through its darkest hour with a more serious, consistent, determined and empathetic style, then I believe there is still a chance the American people will forgive you and reward you with re-election later this year.

You don’t have to re-follow me Donald, but for old time’s sake I would urge you to listen to me.

Yours respectfully, Piers.

President Buhari has extended the lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun state by one week.

In his broadcast this evening, the President said the lockdown will be phased off gradually beginning from May 4th.

He recognised the economic impact of the lockdown and said no economy can afford a continued lockdown as they await a cure or vaccine for the viral disease. He also approved a total lockdown in Kano for two weeks.

In his words

''Fellow Nigerians, for the past four weeks, most parts of our country have been under either Federal Government or State Government  lockdowns. As I mentioned earlier, these steps were necessary and overall, have contributed to slowing down the spread of COVID nineteen in Nigeria.

However, such lock downs have also coame at a very heavy economic cost. Many of our citizens have lost their means of livelihoods. Many businesses have also shut down. No country can afford the full impact of a sustained lockdown while awaiting the development of vaccines or cures.

In my last address, I mentioned the Federal Government will develop strategies and policies that will protect lives while preserving livelihoods.

In these two weeks, the Federal and State Governments have jointly and collaboratively worked hard on thishow to balance the need to protect health while also preserving livelihoods, leveraging global best practice while keeping in mind our peculiar circumstances.

We looked atassessed how our factories, markets, traders and transporters can continue to function while at the same time respecting adhering to the NCDC guidelines on hygiene and social distancing.

We assessed how our children can continue to learn without compromising their health.

We reviewed how our farmers can safely plant and harvest in this rainy season to ensure our food security is not compromised. Furthermore, we also discussed how to safely transport food items from rural production areas to industrial processing zones and ultimately, to the key consumption centers. 

Our goal was to develop implementable policies that will ensure our economy continues to function with while still maintaining our aggressive response to the COVID nineteen pandemic. These same difficult decisions are being faced by leaders around the world. 

Based on the above and in line with the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on COVID nineteen, the various Federal Government committees that have reviewed socio-economic matters and the Nigeria Governors Forum, I have approved for a phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos and Ogun States effective from  May4 2020 at 9am.

However, this will be followed strictly with aggressive reinforcement of testing and contact tracing measures while allowing the restoration of some economic and business activities in certain sectors.

The highlights of the new nationwide measures are as follows;

a. Selected businesses and offices can open from 9am to 6pm;

b. There will be an overnight curfew from 8pm to 6am. This means all movements are will be prohibited during this period except essential services;

c. There will be a ban on non-essential inter-state passenger travels until further notice;

d. There will be Partial and controlled interstate movement of goods and services will be allowed to allow for the movement of goods and services from producers to consumers; and

e. We will strictly ensure the mandatory use of face masks or coverings in public in addition to maintaining physical distancing and personal hygiene. Furthermore, the restrictions of on social and religious gathers shall remain in place. State Governments, corporate organisations and philanthropists are encouraged to support the production of cloth masks for citizens.

For the avoidance of doubt, the lockdown in the FCT, Lagos & Ogun States shall subsist remain in place until these new ones come into effect on 4th May 2020 at 9am.'' he said

Saudi Arabia is ending the death penalty for crimes committed by minors, the kingdom’s Human Rights Commission has announced.

In a statement published on Sunday, president of the state-backed commission Awwad Alawwad said: “The decree helps us in establishing a more modern penal code.”

“Instead, the individual will receive a prison sentence of no longer than 10 years in a juvenile detention facility,” the statement said.

The decree is expected to spare the lives of at least six men from the minority Shia community who are on death row. The six men were accused of taking part in anti-government protests during the Arab Spring uprisings while they were under the age of 18.

“This is an important day for Saudi Arabia,” said Awwad Alawwad. “The decree helps us in establishing a more modern penal code.”

Details of when the new ruling would come into effect were not provided, but it comes two days after it was revealed that Saudi Arabia would no longer use flogging as a punishment for crimes, bringing to an end the practice for which the kingdom has long been criticised.

A record 184 people were executed in the kingdom in 2019, according to human rights group Amnesty International.

Senegal has reportedly developed one of the world's most affordable Coronavirus testing kits, which costs $1 each and $60 3D printed ventilators.

A laboratory in Senegal used its AIDS and Ebola experience to develop a $1 COVID-19 testing kit and ventilators that cost just $60.

Despite the country's low budget for health, the West African nation has recorded the highest recovery rate in Africa so far and the 3rd highest recovery rate in the world. 283 of its 671 Coronavirus patients have recovered and 9 have died.

The high recovery rate is due to Senegal's affordable Coronavirus test kits which makes it possible to test and treat more people as compared to other countries.

Unlike most countries that wait till patients start exhibiting symptoms before tests are carried out due to shortage of test kits, Senegal is testing everyone who indicates interest, symptoms or not, and this has helped them identify those affected early to allow them begin treatment before the illness progresses.

Also, with a scarcity of ventilators in the country, Senegal's engineers are using a 3D printing machine to produce more ventilators. Imported ventilators cost $16,000 but the one manufactured by Senegal engineers cost only $60.

Senegal has managed to keep the spread of Coronavirus down to one of the world's lowest rates and have developed a cheap, effective test that can be mass produced and globally distributed.

Nigeria has recorded over 1000 confirmed cases of coronavirus

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control made this known via its Twitter handle on Friday.

It also said at least 32 persons have died from coronavirus-related complications in the country.

It said, “On the 24th of April 2020, 114 new confirmed cases and one new death were recorded in Nigeria.

“One new state, Zamfara, has reported a confirmed case in the last 24 hours.

“Till date, 1095 cases have been confirmed, 208 cases have been discharged and thirty-two deaths have been recorded in 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The 114 new cases are reported from nine states- Lagos (80), Gombe (21), FCT (five), Zamfara (two), Edo (two), Ogun (one), Oyo (one), Kaduna (one), Sokoto (one).”

It also said five new cases have been transferred to Ogun.

NCDC added, “Five cases previously recorded in Lagos, are now recorded as Ogun state cases.

“Currently, Lagos has 657 cases, FCT – 138, Kano – 73, Ogun – 35, Gombe – 30, Katsina – 21, Osun – 20, Edo – 19, Oyo – 18, Borno – 12, Kwara – 11, Akwa Ibom – 11, Kaduna – 10, Bauchi – eight, Delta – six, Ekiti – four, Ondo – three, Rivers – three, Jigawa – two, Enugu – two, Niger – two, Abia – two, Zamfara – two, Sokoto – two, Benue – one, Anambra – one, Adamawa – one, and Plateau – one.”

Currently Nigeria has recorded 32 deaths, 16 were recorded in Lagos, three in Abuja, two in Borno, three in Edo, one each in Katsina, Kano, Oyo, Ogun, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti and Delta

Also, of the 208 cases who have been discharged, 116 were in Lagos, 35 in Abuja, five in Ogun, 18 in Osun, five in Oyo, seven in Edo, two in Kwara, three in Akwa Ibom, four in Kaduna, five in Bauchi, two in Ekiti, one in Ondo, two in Enugu, and two in Rivers.

Nigeria currently has 855 active cases while over 10061 samples have been tested.

The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has accused Nigerian elites of infecting and exposing medical doctors to the dreadful Coronavirus.

In a statement jointly signed by its President, Dr. Francis Faduyile and Secretary General, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote, respectively, the association said over 40 medical doctors besides other health workers have been infected with Coronavirus so far.

He said no healthcare worker has contracted the disease at Isolation Centres and that those that tested positive for the virus were infected by Nigerians who avoid the accredited centres and opt for private hospitals, which unknowingly started treating ailments they later found out to be caused by the ravaging virus.

According to the statement, most of the doctors were infected in general public and private health facilities by patients who had refused to disclose important medical/travel information during treatment.

The association appealed to all health workers to consider everyone presenting at the hospital for any ailment, as potential COVID-19 patient until proved otherwise.

The statement titled “As Nigeria hits the 4-Digit COVID-19 Incidence Figure:An Appeal to all Nigerians to help save the lives of Healthcare Professionals.” reads in part

“So far, over 40 doctors and other healthcare workers have tested positive with three doctors and one nurse paying the ultimate price. This very disturbing and unsettling development comes against the unfolding scenario as reported in the media that some VIPs in the society are refusing to report to and be admitted at Isolation and Treatment centres for treatment, rather, prefer to stay at other non-accredited facilities.

The Association perceives that by continued refusal to adhere to instructions, some citizens have vowed to make healthcare workers very vulnerable to contracting the disease.

NMA wishes to re-iterate that none of the infected healthcare workers or those that died contracted the disease at an Isolation and Treatment Centre, but in general public and private health facilities while treating patients many of whom refused to disclose important medical/travel information that would have increased the suspicion and facilitate early diagnosis of COVID-19 infection.

NMA therefore appeals once again to government to expedite action on distributing PPEs to public and private hospitals without delay. We also remind our members all over the federation to consider everybody presenting at the hospital for any ailment as potential COVID-19 patient until proved otherwise. Our lives also matter!”

Kanye West has officially become a Billionaire, making him the second American rapper to reach that status after Jay-Z.

According to Forbes, ’Ye's Yeezy brand, which he owns in its' entirety and falls under the Adidas umbrella, helped push him over the $1 billion mark.

The publication said they dissected the Chicago rapper's success with Yeezy, while also sharing how they tabulated Kanye's net worth.

Nonetheless, a decent portion of Kanye's net worth can be attributed to his royalty agreement with Adidas. West receives a "royalty around 15% of Yeezy revenue from Adidas. Upon closer inspection, it appears some expenses are carved out of that slice, bringing his actual cut closer to 11 percent. At that rate, he would have received royalties of over $140 million from Yeezy sales last year," the report says.

Kanye West's team provided a statement of the rapper's assets, which were listed as $17 million in cash, $35 million in stocks, $81 million in “buildings and improvements,” $21 million in land, as well as his G.O.O.D. label and publishing rights, which is said to be worth at least $90 million. There were also a sizable deduction for $100 million worth of debts, which included mortgages and advances.

Forbes also noted that they gave Kanye's net worth a "50 percent haircut" due to the illiquidity of his assets and the "the lack of independent backup." The team also deducted $100 million for debts, which included mortgages and advances, putting Kanye's estimated net worth at $1.3 billion.

But Kanye reportedly disagreed with Forbes. "It’s not a billion," he allegedly texted the reporters Thursday night. "It’s $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count."

Presidents of West African countries under the aegis of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government have appointed President Buhari as the ''Champion'' that will coordinate the COVID-19 response in the sub-region.

A statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the appointment took place today Thursday April 23, at the Extraordinary ECOWAS Summit on COVID-19 which was held via teleconferencing under the Chairmanship of His Excellency, Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger.

Adesina said during the teleconference, President Buhari called on fellow ECOWAS leaders to look beyond the challenges posed by the COVID -19 pandemic and tap into various opportunities that it presents for the betterment of lives in member states.

“In every challenging situation such as the current one, there are also opportunities. Our region must therefore seek to find those opportunities provided by this gloomy global outlook for its benefit by embarking on the implementation of such critical policies, which before now, will be difficult to accept.” he said

While calling on his colleagues to intensify collaboration in order to save the region from “this deadly pandemic through sharing experiences and best practices,'' President Buhari outlined some measures taken by his government in response to the pandemic. These include:

a. The reduction of interest rates on all applicable Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) interventions from 9 to 5 percent and introduction of a one- year moratorium on CBN intervention facilities;

b. The inauguration of Presidential Task Force to coordinate national efforts to combat the spread of the virus and ensure efficiency and effectiveness in line with the Nigerian Action Plan on Health Security;

c. The provision of relief materials including medical and food supplies as well as conditional cash transfers of N20, 000 each for poor and vulnerable households and ;

d. The establishment of more isolation centers and testing facilities to contain the spread of the virus.

President Buhari affirmed Nigeria’s solidarity with other member states as they battle the virus:

“At a time of global uncertainty such as this, caused by the devastating impact of the COVID-19, let me convey Nigeria’s solidarity with all the Member States as we collectively battle to defeat the pandemic. I am greatly saddened by loss of numerous lives and extend my heartfelt condolences to families of those who have lost loved ones throughout the region. I also wish infected victims speedy and full recovery.” he said

He reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to the well-being and safety of the people in the sub-region and restated support for any initiative that would curb the spread of the pandemic in the region.