TheCable

Nigeria on Friday recorded 39 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates about the pandemic. 

Canadian police arrest protesters to end tucker protest in the capital city

Law enforcement officers in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, have begun arresting protesters and towing vehicles that have been stationed in the area for weeks.

The development occurred after the police asked truck drivers blockading the city to leave “immediately” or face arrest.

The demonstration tagged “Freedom Convoy” began on January 9 over a new rule stipulating that all truckers must be vaccinated to cross the US-Canada border.

Efforts to end the demonstration had failed as the protests grew to include ending all such mandates nationwide.

Nigeria logs 39 new cases of COVID-19

Nigeria on Friday recorded 39 cases of COVID-19 across the country.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the new infections were recorded in three states and federal capital territory (FCT).

A breakdown of the infections showed that Lagos logged 25 cases of coronavirus, followed by Rivers with six cases. Delta and FCT reported four each.

The agency said the 25 infections in Lagos were logged on January 17 (14 cases) and January 18 (11 infections).

The NCDC data showed that 19 persons were discharged after they recovered from the virus.

Meanwhile, one person was said to have died of COVID complications.

With the new infections, Nigeria now has a total of 254,221 cases, 230,549 recoveries and 3,142 fatalities.

Nigeria to receive technology for producing COVID-19 vaccines

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says Nigeria has been selected as one of six countries to receive the technology that is needed to produce mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccines.

The technology is used in producing COVID-19 vaccines.

According to a statement by the organisation, Tedros Ghebreyesu, its director-general, disclosed this at the European Union — African Union summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Israel to stop end vaccine passport, says PM

Naftali Bennett, Israel prime minister, said the COVID-19 green pass required to access some public venues will be suspended soon.

Israel has been at the forefront of the pandemic response, vaccinating residents against COVID to tackle the spread of infection.

Bennett said the country would “stop using the green pass” as infections continue to decline.

WHO: Countries may shorten 14 days of quarantine

WHO said countries battling the surge in COVID-19 infections may shorten the quarantine duration of 14 days “in some cases”.

“With the rapid spread of Omicron cases worldwide, contact tracing capacities of many countries have been rapidly overstretched,” the agency said in a statement.

“Given this situation, countries may consider a pragmatic approach, considering that contact tracing and quarantine requirements in the community may lead to significant disruptions of essential services, including health services.”