BIGDREAM

FILES) This file handout illustration image obtained February 3, 2020, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Lizabeth MENZIES / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / AFP From a mother unable to smell her baby’s nappy to a lawmaker who suddenly could not taste food, some coronavirus patients have described a loss of olfactory senses — and experts say this might be a new way to detect the virus. Ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists in Britain, the United States and France have noted a growing number of patients in recent weeks with anosmia — the abrupt loss of smell — and have said this could be a sign of COVID-19 in people who otherwise appear well. Official figures suggest the coronavirus has infected some 380,000 people as the pandemic proliferates around the world, but with many cases going undetec...

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to no later than the summer of 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, the International Olympic Committee announced Tuesday. The Games were scheduled for July 24-August 9, but after telephone discussions between IOC president Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a historic joint decision was taken for the first postponement of an Olympics in peacetime. Abe had earlier said Bach was in “100 percent agreement” when Japan asked the IOC to push back the Games. The IOC had come under pressure in recent days to postpone the world’s biggest sporting event, with teams, athletes and sports bodies all calling for a delay. The postponement comes after top federations announced they would pull out of the Tokyo Games, the highest-profile event to be affected by a virus that has decimated the sporting calendar. Around 1.7 billion people across the world are in lockdown to prevent the further spread of a ...

A member of the Syrian Civil Defence known as the “White Helmets” disinfects a hospital room, as part of preventive measures taken against infections by the novel coronavirus, in the Syrian town of Dana, east of the Turkish-Syrian border in the northwestern Idlib province, on March 22, 2020. AAREF WATAD / AFP Another 514 people have died in Spain over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 2,696, as the number of infections surged towards 40,000, the government said Tuesday.  As the health authorities step up the number of tests, the number of people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 rose by nearly 20 percent to 39,673, the health ministry said. At the same time, the death toll showed an increase of 23.5 percent over the figures from Monday. The new figures came as the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was to seek parliamentary approval to extend the state of emergency for an extra two weeks, until April 11, in a bid to slow the spread of the virus. O...

A file photo of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Abba Kyari, during a meeting of the Federal Executive Council held at the State House in Abuja. An unconfirmed report says the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Abba Kyari, may have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). However, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, is expected to clarify the controversy surrounding the report at a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon. Details later…

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has placed a ban on the public gathering of more than 30 people and ordered all public and private schools in the state to be closed until after the Easter celebration. The governor gave this directive in a public address on Monday following the confirmation of the first case of COVID-19 in the state. He also announced the postponement of scheduled events including the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Summit and the Agribusiness Summit in the state. “I am obligated to place a ban on gatherings such as religious services, weddings, parties, burial ceremonies and so on, gatherings should be limited to 30 persons or less. Nightclubs will have to remain closed. These measures will be reviewed in two weeks. “I have already directed that all public and private schools in Oyo State should be closed until after Easter. The ongoing workers’ verification exercise has been suspended. The Free Health Mission has also been suspended. “All returning exp...

More than 200,000 coronavirus cases have been declared in Europe, with Italy’s 63,927 infections and Spain’s 39,673 accounting for more than half of the total, according to an AFP tally on Tuesday. With at least 200,009 cases, including 10,732 deaths, Europe is the continent worst hit by the pandemic, ahead of Asia with 98,748 cases and 3,570 deaths. The first outbreak was in China in December. The official figures reflect only a fraction of the total cases as many countries only test for the disease when people are hospitalised.

The health agency explained that one of the cases was a returning traveller while the second case was a contact of a previously confirmed case. It stressed that as of 1:00pm on March 24 in Nigeria, there are 42 confirmed cases of COVID-19