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Nigeria recorded 87 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Friday. 

EU recommends use of Pfizer COVID pill

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended that Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral pill be authorised for use in the European Union.

In a statement on Thursday, the EU drug regulator said giving the green light to Pfizer’s Paxlovoid could help people infected with COVID-19 avoid more serious disease and hospitalisation.

The EMA’s expert committee recommended the pill be given to adults who do not require oxygen and who are at a higher risk of severe disease.

Finland to ease COVID restrictions from February 1

Finland will begin gradually easing COVID-19 restrictions from February 1 instead of mid-February as initially planned, as the burden on its hospitals eases.

“The burden on intensive care units has taken a turn in a better direction,” Hanna Sarkkinen, Finland’s minister of health, told reporters.

Sarkkinen said the government decided to start the cautious easing by loosening restrictions on the hours restaurants can remain open to 9pm from a mandatory 6pm closure currently in place.

It also recommended local authorities allow reopening of cultural and sports venues such as gyms, swimming pools and theatres from the beginning of February.

Nigeria records 87 infections

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 87 cases were recorded in 10 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).

A breakdown of the new cases is shown below:

Lagos-25

Rivers-16

FCT-15

Delta-9

Edo-7

Gombe-5

Nasarawa-4

Bauchi-3

Kano-1

Oyo-1

Borno-1

According to the agency, 267 persons were discharged after recovering from the infection.

There were no fatalities on Thursday, leaving the total number of deaths at 3,134.

The NCDC said nine and seven cases reported for Delta and Edo state respectively are for January 26.

So far, 252,840 cases have been confirmed with 228,404 recoveries.

Greece allows music in bars and restaurants as COVID cases decline

Greece will now allow music in bars and restaurants amid declining COVID-19 cases

Owing to a surge in cases, country had forced bars, nightclubs and restaurants to close at midnight last month, with no standing customers and music.

But on Thursday, Thanos Plevris, the country’s health minister, said: “We have decided to scale back the restrictions, taking into consideration the course of the pandemic in terms of cases which have been declining in recent weeks.”

He added that despite ongoing pressure on the health system, the rate of hospital admissions, discharges, and a shorter duration and less severe illness for the Omicron variant compared to Delta had allowed the authorities to ease the curbs.

Sweden decides against recommending COVID vaccine for five to 11 year olds

Sweden has decided against recommending COVID vaccines for children aged five to 11.

The country’s health agency said on Thursday that the benefits did not outweigh the risks.

“With the knowledge we have today, with a low risk for serious disease for kids, we don’t see any clear benefit with vaccinating them,” Britta Bjorkholm, a health agency official, said at a news conference.

She added that the decision could be revisited if the research changed or if a new variant changed the pandemic.