Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja, Gyang Bere, Jos
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to pick up Covid-Organics, Madagascar’s self-proclaimed plant-based remedy for coronavirus.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, made the disclosure at yesterday’s briefing. 
He said Madagascar donated some of the products to Nigeria through Guinea-Bissau and arrangements were being made to pick them up.
Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina had three weeks ago officially launched a medicine he believed can prevent and cure patients suffering from COVID-19.
Developed by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research and branded COVID Organics, President Rajaolina, while presenting the remedy to the media, said it contains Artemisia, a plant cultivated on the Big Island to fight against malaria.
“All trials and tests have been conducted and its effectiveness in reducing the elimination of symptoms has been proven for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 in Madagascar,” President Rajaolina had said.
Mustapha, while responding to a question on if Nigeria had ordered for the syrup said: “It’s been sent to Guinea Bissau by the President or Prime Minister of Madagascar and certain allocations have been made to different countries. We have an indication of the quantity that has been allocated to Nigeria and we are supposed to make an arrangement to freight it out of Guinea Bissau to Nigeria.
“I’ve received instructions from Mr. President to make arrangements to freight it home, with a clear instruction that I should subject it to the validation process similar to what will happen to any other medicine or syrup or vaccine that is discovered or created internally. So, it will be subjected to the same process before it is put into any form of use. There’ll be no exception for that. Madagascar has made allocations to various countries, and sent them to Guinea Bissau. We’re supposed to make arrangements to freight Nigeria’s allocation from Guinea Bissau; it’ll be subjected to the standard validation process for pharmaceuticals.
“Mr. President has given instructions for the airlifting of Nigeria’s allocation of the Madagascar COVID-19 Syrup and clear instructions that it must be subjected to the standard validation process for pharmaceuticals; there will be no exceptions for this.”
The SGF reiterated that Nigeria has only one national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Whereas there are differing strategies is in the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions, but as far as the (health) response is concerned, there is only one National Response.”
Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said the extract of the plant used for the herbal drug grows in the country.
According to him, the herbal drug will be subjected to analysis by the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) to determine its efficacy and safety before it can be adopted for the treatment of COVID-19.
“We are going to get samples of the herb of the botanical product for analyses and also probably use that opportunity to speak with the health authorities there particularly the scientific community on how they use it. We will also give it to the research community here with us to examine and see what they can do with it.
“We understand that it is something called Artemisia Annua, which also grows here. But we would like to get that sample and compare it with the strain here to know if they are exactly identical or similar and then see what properties it has.
“It will be subjected to analysis to find out what works in there and how it works and is used in getting a cure. All countries around the world are interested in finding a cure and we are not different; So, we will look at all options and promises that have been made. Before we give any of these medicines to our people, we will make sure they are actually safe and that they work,” Ehanire said.
The Federal Government also condemned in strong terms the challenges facing the frontline health workers, including receiving threats from patients in their care.
According to the SGF, the PTF COVID-19 viewed such behaviour as reprehensible and should be deprecated. He called on state governments to take this up appropriately.
Lagos, FCT, Ogun, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kano for WHO drug trials
Lagos, FCT, Ogun, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kano states have enrolled on the World Health Organisation (WHO) treatment regimen on solidarity drug trials, Ehanire revealed.
The four drugs that will be monitored in the solidarity trial are Remdesivir, Chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir and Ritonavir.
The Federal Government, he said, is cooperating with the WHO on treatment regimen solidarity trial in the six states. This is even as he said that as at Sunday, the country has ramped up testing by additional 1,127 to make a total of 27,078, which yielded 4,399 cases in 35 states, with a gender ratio of 70 to 30 percent for men and women.
He also said 778 persons have been discharged and that the nation recorded 143 deaths.
“The new cases breakdown are Lagos 81, Jigawa 35, Bornu 26, Kano 26, Bauchi 20, FCT 13, Edo 12, Sokoto 10, Zamfara seven, Kwara seven, Kebbi four, Gombe two, Taraba two, Ekiti two, Ogun two, Osun and Bayelsa one each.
“Kogi and Cross River states have not reported any cases, but we are optimistic that we can work with the state Health Ministry to validate this in due course, when we engage the state authorities. A team from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) made up of experts from various specialties, including NCDC, is on standby to proceed to Calabar (Cross River) as soon as travel arrangements can be made, taking with them resource to support the health system,” Ehanire said.
He added that senior management of the FMoH and clinical case managers in the hospitals participated in a multinational teleconference with Chinese medical and academic experts in Beijing, where much insight was gained into the treatment strategy of China and other matters of common interest were discussed, yesterday.
“The learnings from this intervention are invaluable in re-examining our methods. It is important that our response to COVID-19 be a concerted national, collaborative drive, to stand a better chance of being effective… It must be sustained and or extended, with room for interstate collaboration. So far, our efforts are yielding result as shown in states where panic and scare were initially rife, but now subsumed,” he added.
FG to use local airlines to evacuate Nigerians abroad
He said the PTF would henceforth use Nigeria carrier to airlift returnees to reduce unnecessary burden over the fate of Nigerians abroad.
“Government is mindful of need to use local carriers. Arrangements for Airlines for first batch of flights were not done by government. Flights being arranged henceforth are all Nigerian carriers; we intend to use only Nigerian Airlines henceforth.”
While apologising for what went wrong with the transfer from Lagos to Abuja for the evacuees from the UK on Friday, and also the hitches faced when they arrived in Abuja, he assured that mechanisms have been put in place to ensure nothing of such happens against.
He said there were still many Nigerians out there, who want to return home, from China, India, France, Canada, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan and other countries.
Lagos, Abuja isolation centres saturated
With 600 evacuees from Dubai, London and New York, he said the isolation centres in Abuja and Lagos have reached saturation point and would not be able to take more
“The number we are able to care for are limited, this means we are going to be staggering flights before bringing others back to the country.
“Many Nigerians willing to come home are still in China, India, Sudan, Lebanon, Egypt among others; this calls to question our capacity to absorb all of them and also ensure we deliver optimally,” he said.
Catholic Church donates 425 hospitals as isolation centres
The Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has offered all its 425 health facilities across the country as isolation centres for COVID-19.
Mustapha said state governments can now take advantage of the facilities.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had said no state in the country has enough bed spaces for COVID-19 patients.
But Mustapha said the recent donations would add as support for the state governments.
“As part of efforts to support the states in the establishment of the isolation and treatment centres, I wish to remind our governors that the Catholic Bishops Conference has volunteered all the 425 hospitals and clinics nationwide for adaptation and use as isolation centres,” he said.
“Governors are encouraged to please approach Catholic Bishops in their states to access these facilities.
“As a further cost-effective measure, I also wish to remind subnational authorities that the Nigeria Institute of Architects has pledged the pro bono services of their members to modify, design and supervise all COVID-19 related projects nationwide. Again, we urge that this offer be taken up speedily.”
Lagos discharges 33
Lagos Government has announced the recovery and discharge of 33 new COVID-19 patients, increasing the number of recoveries in the state to 502.
The state Ministry of Health, through its verified Twitter handle said the patients were nine females and 24 males, all Nigerians.
It said that 17 of the patients were from Onikan and 16 from Eti-Osa (LandMark) Isolation Centres had tested negative twice consecutively for COVID-19.
“With this, the number of patients successfully managed and discharged in Lagos has risen to 502,” it said.
I’ve lost 2 bosom friends in Lagos, Bauchi –Lalong
Plateau Governor, Simon Lalong, said he has lost two friends in Lagos and Bauchi.
He described as unfortunate the situation where some people violate laid down regulations aimed at tackling the virus and tried to persuade others to disregard government directives on the claim that the pandemic is not real.
Lalong in a statement said the state is taking stringent measures to curtail the spread of the virus at the community level.
“It is sad and unfair for people to take this position and try to instigate others to disregard our regulations. COVID-19 is real and for me, I lost two friends recently, one in Lagos and the other in Bauchi. They were both classmates and lawyers. Let us not put people at risk by not only being careless, but discouraging them from doing the right thing. I appeal to our people to take serious precaution and stay at home while observing all the regulations”, the Governor said.
Governor Lalong asked citizens not to panic, but to continue to strictly adhere to regulations put in place to contain the disease and curtail community spread.
He said the rise in the number of cases in the state calls for concerted efforts to achieve effective contact-tracing and stop community spread which is now the major challenge.