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First of all, it's Christmas morning and although you won't get this until after Christmas, Merry Christmas!
I've often said that the holidays can be disaster magnets. This year the snow, the cold, the winds, the power outages, the homeless on the streets, the accidents on the freeways, the list goes on and on.
This vacation has already been amazing just because of the size and scope of the emergency and disaster. Buffalo New York: Wow, maybe four feet of snow and the biggest storm on record, maybe. I know you're working in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Buffalo and many other areas of the USA.
Congratulations to those who have already spent many hours at work and will continue to do so until the emergency passes. I hope you can't even find a pizza place open to pick up for lunch or dinner.
It is a testament to our profession, as well as our allied professions of fire and police, that we are present and ready to help when called upon.
To everyone who had vacations scheduled, thank you for canceling and taking the call to answer. Maybe not everyone appreciates what you are doing and the level of your dedication, but I do!
I wish you all the best in the days to come and maybe New Year's Day will be different. At home, football, good food, friends and family to the party.
Best wishes in 2023! eric
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and a former King County Director, WashingtonOffice of Emergency Management.
See more Eric Holdeman stories
Credit: https://www.govtech.com/em/emergency-blogs/disaster-zone/merry-christmas-to-emergency-managers-everywhere
Credit: https://nnn.ng/merry-christmas-to-emergency-managers-around-the-world/First of all, it's Christmas morning and although you won't be getting this until after Christmas, Merry Christmas!
I've often said that the holidays can be disaster magnets. This year the snow, the cold, the winds, the power outages, the homeless on the streets, the accidents on the freeways, the list goes on and on.
This holiday has already been incredible just because of the size and scope of the emergency and disaster. Buffalo New York: Wow, maybe four feet of snow and the biggest storm on record, maybe. I know that you are working at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Buffalo and in many other areas of the United States.
It is a testament to our profession, as well as our allied professions of fire and police, that we are present and ready to help when called upon.
To everyone who had vacations scheduled, thank you for canceling and answering the call to answer. Maybe not everyone appreciates what you are doing and the level of your dedication, but I do!
Best wishes in 2023! eric
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and a former director of the King County, Washington, Office of Emergency Management.
See more Eric Holdeman stories Credit: https://www.govtech.com/em/emergency-blogs/disaster-zone/merry-christmas-to-emergency-managers-everywhereThe Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said that Kaduna and Oyo states have joined Lagos, the FCT, and Rivers states to top the five states with the highest cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
The Director-General, NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the Ministerial bi-weekly meeting on the update of COVID-19 response and development in the country’s health sector.
The News Agency of Nigeria, reports that the details are also on the NCDC website, which rolled out the breakdown of infections.
It shows that Lagos state has continued to maintain the first position with a huge gap in the country, with about 102, 877, the FCT coming behind with 29, 075, Rivers state follows with about 17, 680, Kaduna with over 11,467 and Oyo State with about 10, 327, since the beginning of the pandemic in the country.
Adetifa said that from the Aug. 13 to 15, the country reported 144 additional confirmed cases.
According to him, 144 new cases were reported from nine States- Lagos (101), Abia (13), Akwa Ibom (10), the FCT (9), Kano (5), Kaduna (3), Bauchi (1), Ekiti (1) and Plateau (1)
He said that since the beginning of the pandemic in the country in February 2020, there has been over 5,441,162 samples tested, 262,748 confirmed cases, 256,518 discharged cases with 3,147 deaths.
He said that a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continued to coordinate the national response activities across the country.
According to the NCDC boss , in 2021 the country had a high burden of cases compared to this year and in weeks past, some states have recorded increase in their confirmed cases.
“Thankfully, we are at a phase in the pandemic where we can utilise COVID-19 vaccines to ensure reduction in the occurrences of severe infectious diseases and hospitalisations.
“We have this, alongside other tools in our toolkit: wearing of facemasks, proper hand hygiene, proper respiratory hygiene – coughing into tissue – therapeutics to lessen symptom severity and testing,” he said.
The NCDC boss disclosed that the agency was engaging with other partners to review the implementation roadmap for enhancing COVID-19 rapid tests and self-testing.
“Work continues as usual with our teams liaising with states for disease surveillance reports, contact tracing and other activities to prevent and respond to COVID-19,” he said.
Addressing the misunderstanding regarding the wearing of facemasks in the country, he said that it was encouraged, particularly indoors and especially rooms that were not well-ventilated.
According to him, as part of surveillance efforts, “we are training community volunteers on active case search and contact tracing as well as carrying out monitoring and supervision of healthcare activities across health facilities,” he explained.
Adetifa said that globally, the COVID-19 pandemic was still exerting its effects.
“An example is that in the Phillippines, students are only now returning to school after two years.
“ Current global epidemiological trends, cases and deaths must be interpreted with care since many countries have varying COVID-19 testing strategies, in turn leading to lower number of tests and thus, cases detected.
“In the US, COVID-19 boosters targeting the omicron BA.
5 subvariant are being developed and due to be available in the coming weeks.
“We continue to hear of various prominent individuals contracting COVID-19 including the US President Joe Biden, his wife, and recently, Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida,” he explained.
The NCDC boss said that SARS-CoV-2 is still present inspite of desires and many actions to return to normalcy worldwide, with many countries easing restrictions to increase economic activity.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has issued a public health advisory on its website to members of the public to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. The Director-General, NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, issued the guidelines in view of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the country and globally.
“In addition to the COVID-19 situation in Nigeria and globally, the upcoming Eid-El-Kabir celebrations against a backdrop of suboptimal COVID-19 vaccination uptake and increasing COVID-19 case numbers calls for increased individual and collective responsibility.
“The virus that causes COVID-19 is more likely to spread in mass gatherings and when people do not adhere to preventive measures such as physical distancing, mask use, and hand hygiene,” he said.
Available data from the NCDC website showed that there was a 390.4 per cent increase in testing, which has led to an increase in the report of positive cases.
It stated that “in weeks 23 and 24, the number of samples tested increased to 75,277 from 15,347 reported in weeks 21 and 22. These were reported in the 36 states and FCT.”
The report further said, “In weeks 23 and 24, the number of confirmed cases in absolute numbers increased to 445 from 267 in weeks 21 and 22(May 23 to June 5).
“In weeks 23 and 24, discharged cases increased to 185 from 47 in weeks 21 and 22.
Adetifa said that the guidelines were based on the prevailing risk from the virus and the need for religious organisations, community leaders, and Nigerians, in general, to take necessary precautions ahead of the upcoming Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
He urged Nigerians to celebrate, to prevent the onset of a full-fledged fifth COVID-19 wave by remaining mindful of the high risk of spread of COVID-19 and acting in tandem by adhering to recommended public health safety measures.
“How you can protect yourself and those around you: Visit the nearest government health facility to get vaccinated if you have not been previously vaccinated. If you received your first two vaccine doses up to six months ago, please go and get your booster dose.
“Maintain a physical distance of at least 1.5m from others, even if they do not appear to be sick. Avoid crowding (indoors and outdoors) and close contact. Wear a properly fitted face mask when in crowded open and closed places, especially in poorly ventilated settings.
“Wash hands frequently with soap under running water or clean your hands frequently with an alcohol-based sanitiser.
Cover your mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze.
“Dispose of used tissues immediately and clean hands regularly. If you develop symptoms or test positive for COVID-19, self-isolate until you recover,” he explained. (
According to him the latest situation report from the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of weekly COVID-19 cases has increased globally for the third consecutive week.
”Similarly, our national surveillance system has detected a gradual increase in the daily COVID-19 cases recorded in the country.
”Although confirmed cases increased from 267 to 445 between weeks 21 to 24, hospitalisation and fatalities have remained low suggesting these were mostly mild to moderate cases of the country were in the lag phase before it see the accompanying increase in severe disease and hospitalisation.
“Since Nigeria’s first case was detected on Feb. 27, 2020, we have had 256,695 confirmed cases with 3,144 deaths across 36 states and the FCT.
“Genomic surveillance confirms Omicron and its various offspring (sub lineages) remain the dominant circulating variant of concern associated with the spread of the disease in the country.
“The recent increase in cases may be in part or whole due to increased testing over the last few weeks, increased circulation of Omicron sub-lineages (BA.4 and BA.5 as seen elsewhere), and an increase in seasonal illness with cold and cough symptoms as well as poor adherence to preventive measures such as the use of masks,” he explained.
He said that over the last two years, the country, just like the rest of the world has battled a pandemic that led to the hospitalisation and deaths of thousands and beyond health, also disrupted livelihoods and economies.
“The national multisectoral response is coordinated by PSC-COVID-19 with the NCDC leading the public health response.
In April 2022, due to the declining number of COVID-19 cases, the availability of vaccines, and the increasing number of people vaccinated in the country and globally, there was a further easing of the COVID-19 restrictions and protocols.
The PSC removed the limit on attendance for social gatherings and the curfew on midnight movements it announced two years previously to curb the spread of COVID-19.
He said that the national EOC maintains active surveillance in conjunction with State Epidemiologists, supports states to ensure that access to testing is provided for prompt management of confirmed cases, and coordinates genomic surveillance to detect emerging variants. (NAN)
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
The Nigerian Center for Disease Control, NCDC, said an additional 385 COVID-19 infections were recorded in 11 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory on Monday.
The NCDC said this on its website Tuesday morning, adding that there were two deaths on Monday.
The state of Lagos did not report to the agency the cases of COVID-19 that it registered on Monday.
This gave a distorted picture of daily COVID-19 cases, as the NCDC announced just 385 cases, up from 612 on Sunday.
Lagos is expected to submit his record Tuesday as a backlog; it did the same on December 10 when it reported 595 cases covering December 8 and 9.
The NCDC said the 385 new cases were reported by the FCT with 116; Delta (115), Akwa Ibom (41), Ogun (33), Cross River (23), Edo (23), Kaduna (10), Ríos (7), Plateau (5), Bayelsa (5), Oyo (5 ) and Kano (2).
It stated that 116 cases reported to the FCT were for December 12, December 17, and 97 for December 13. 115 cases reported for Delta were delays as of October 31; 61 for November, the rest are: December 7 (4), December 8 (6), December 9 (5), December 10 (2) and December 12 (6).
According to the NCDC, to date 217,866 cases have been confirmed, with 210,076 cases discharged and 2,982 deaths registered in the country.
He also said that the country had a total of 4,566 active cases of COVID-19 and that they were being treated in various isolation centers across the country.
In total, he added that the country had conducted a total of 3,686,403 sample tests since the virus was announced on February 27, 2020.
The agency noted that a multisectoral national emergency operations center, EOC, activated at Level 2, continued to coordinate national response activities.
YAYA
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said that Nigeria recorded 65 additional cases of COVID-19 infections and eight COVID-19 related deaths on Wednesday.
The NCDC made the disclosure in its daily COVID-19 report on Thursday morning .
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 65 additional cases reported on Wednesday indicate an increase from the 64 cases reported in the country the previous day.
The public health agency noted that with the new fatalities recorded, the death toll from the virus now stood at 2,914.
It also revealed that the total infection from the pandemic currently stood at 212,894 while a total of 204,675 Nigerians had been discharged across the country.
According to the agency, Plateau topped the infection chart with 22 cases, FCT followed with 21, North-central and Rivers, South-south reported 12 cases each.
Bauchi State recorded four cases, Lagos had two cases while Kaduna, Bayelsa, Edo, Jigawa reported a single case each while the states of Delta and Sokoto registered zero cases on Wednesday.
It noted that a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continues to coordinate the national response activities.
According to it, the country currently has 5,297 active coronavirus cases, while a total of 3,392,457 blood samples have been tested since the pandemic began across the country.
Source: NAN
By Abujah Racheal
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said cholera had claimed 2,791 lives in 28 states and the Federal Capital Territory since the start of 2021.
NCDC Director General Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu told Nigeria's News Agency in Abuja on Wednesday that a total of 81,413 suspected cases were recorded during the nine-month period.
Ihekweazu identified affected states as: Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, FCT, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun , Osun, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Rivers and Zamfara.
“As of September 19, 2021, a total of 81,413 suspected cases, including 2,791 deaths (CFR 3.4%) have been reported in 28 states and FCT in 2021.
"Among the suspected cases since the start of the year, the 5-14 age group is the most affected age group for men and women," he added.
The NCDC boss added that of all suspected cases, 50% were men and 50% women.
Ihekweazu added that the multisectoral national EOC, activated at level 02, continues to coordinate the national response.
reports that cholera is a water-borne disease and that the risk of transmission is highest where there is poor sanitation and an interruption in the supply of drinking water.
Poor waste disposal and practices, such as open defecation, endanger the safety of water used for consumption and personal use.
These lead to the spread of water-borne diseases, such as cholera and without water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Nigeria remained at risk of cholera cases and death.
Source: NAN
By Abujah Racheal
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says it has recorded more deaths from COVID-19 complications as infections continue to surge in the country.
The NCDC confirmed 650 new cases in 16 states of the federation and the FCT, with 56 deaths across the country on Saturday, via its verified website on Sunday morning, adding to the recent surge in infections driven by the spread of the Delta variant in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 650 fresh cases reported on Saturday was an increase from the 618 cases posted the previous day in Nigeria.
It added that the 56 additional COVID-19 related deaths reported on Saturday also increased the country’s fatality figure to 2,361.
The agency noted that the number of the country’s active coronavirus infections had, however, dropped from 18,210, reported on Friday to 10,575, reported on Saturday.
It did not indicate if majority of the known active cases were from the contagious Delta variant, or other variants of concern as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the latest NCDC data, Lagos had the highest number of infections with 281 cases. Ondo Followed with 95 infections, while Rivers had 80.
Amongst others were; Akwa Ibom (59), Oyo (24), Ekiti (22), Delta (20), Edo (18), Enugu (15), Bayelsa (14), Ogun (11), Kaduna (8), Plateau (7), Kano (6), the FCT (5), Gombe (3), and Abia (2).
It noted that Borno, Nasarawa and Sokoto states reported zero cases.
The NCDC added that over 2.7 million samples of the virus out of the nation’s roughly 200 million population were tested and 178,047 cases treated with 8,232 discharged on Saturday, the highest number of cases discharged since the advent of third wave of the pandemic.
It noted that the multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continued to coordinate the national response activities.
As at Saturday, the public health agency also reported that the country’s total COVID-19 cases stood at 199,983 infections reported across the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Source: NAN
By Abujah Racheal
The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country increased to 15,200 with 304 new cases confirmed in 12 states and the FCT on Aug. 20, according to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC).
“Rivers (154), Ekiti (33), Edo (20) FCT (18), Oyo (17), Cross River (15), Delta (15), Akwa Ibom (13), Ogun (11), Bayelsa (4), Sokoto (2), Gombe and Nasarawa reported (1) each.
The NCDC , who stated this on its verified website on Saturday, reported that the number of confirmed cases in the country increased to 185, 571 with 168,124 recoveries.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the additional number of known active cases in the country is an increase from 15,100 reported on Thursday.
The Public Health Agency did not state if majority of the infections were from the contagious Delta variant.
The agency had on Aug. 2 reported that 32 Delta variant cases of COVID-19 were detected in five states, Lagos, Rivers, Akwa- Ibom, Oyo and the FCT, where at least one case of the Delta variant of COVID-19 had been confirmed with Akwa Ibom state alone registering 19 cases.
”The trajectory of the active cases in Nigeria is “steep” and “worrying”. There has been a very steep rise in the country’s active cases in the last one month”, the NCDC said.
The latest data further showed that three more COVID-19 patients succumbed to their infections, increasing the nation’s death toll from the pandemic to 2,247.
According to NCDC, over 2.6 million samples of the virus out of the nation’s roughly 200 million population were tested, with an average test positivity rate of six percent, although not everyone infected with COVID-19 showed any symptoms.
It also stated that the multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continued to coordinate the national response activities.
The public health agency, however urged Nigerians to remember to maintain a high index of suspicion for COVID-19 and adhere to all preventive measures, by wearing a face mask properly in public places, while maintaining a physical distance of 2 metres.
It also recommended home-based care to be provided to COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms only at the advice of a trained and designated health workers.
“Patients and caregivers should adhere strictly to the home-based isolation criteria and other infection prevention and control measures,” the NCDC said.
Source: NAN
By Abujah Racheal
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country’s COVID-19 infections continue to rise as the total number of cases hits 178, 096, as at Aug. 8.
The NCDC, which made this known via its wedsite on Monday morning, confirmed additional 471 infections.
It named Lagos and Akwa-Ibom as states leading the bulk of the nationwide surge.
The News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new infections indicate a decrease from the 473 cases announced a day earlier.
The agency said the 471 additional infections were recorded in 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It noted that Lagos State emerged as an early hotspot for coronavirus and had continued to have some of the highest cases in the country.
It said the state with an ambitious plan to fight back the virus, reported the hghest infections of the day with 219 new cases and had continued to lead the country’s chart both in confirmed and active cases.
The public health agency stated that nearly half of the new COVID-19 Delta Variant infections nationwide were in Akwa Ibom, a situation that made the Federal Government to consider changing its vaccine distribution mechanism to hot spots.
The health institute added that the spike in cases had been pronounced in Akwa Ibom.
It noted that though the state had seen the highest rate of new infections in the past two weeks it, however, registered 102 cases.
Others included; Ondo (37), Oyo (33), Kwara (19), Rivers (16), Ekiti (15), Delta (14), Ogun (7), FCT (5), Niger (2), Edo (1) and Katsina (1).
It stated that 291 people had recovered and were discharged from various isolation centres in the country on Saturday.
The agency said that till date, 165,763 recoveries had been recorded nationwide in 36 states and the FCT.
The NCDC added that the country had also tested more than 2.5 million samples for the virus out of the country’s roughly 200 million population.
It stated that the country’s COVID-19 average test positivity rate was six per cent.
The health agency said two new deaths were recorded on Saturday raising the total number of fatalities in the country to 2,187.
The NCDC said a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continued to coordinate the national response activities.
Meanwhile, in spite of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic causing havoc in the country, the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 has announced the postponement of distribution of the second batch of COVID-19 Moderna vaccines doses donated by the United State of America.
The exercise was earlier scheduled to begin on Aug.10, at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja.
It postponed the exercise due to some unforeseen circumstances.
The NCDC advised Nigerians to get vaccinated regardless of whether they had COVID-19 or not.
With the COVID-19 cases rising and vaccination rates on the decline, health experts say they are concerned about the next chapter in the pandemic, especially for Nigerians with underlining sicknesses. (NAN)
Source: NAN
