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Countries start thinking about easing up on restrictions

Published

3 years ago

April 9, 2020

Andrew Cuomo
New York Governor

Even as coronavirus deaths mount across Europe and New York, the U.S. and other countries are starting to contemplate an exit strategy and thinking about a staggered and carefully calibrated easing of the restrictions designed to curb the scourge.

“To end the confinement, we’re not going to go from black to white; we’re going to go from black to gray,” top French epidemiologist Jean-François Delfraissy said in a radio interview.

At the same time, politicians and health officials emphatically warn that while deaths, hospitalizations and new infections may be leveling off in places like Italy and Spain, and even New York has seen encouraging signs amid the gloom, the crisis is far from over, and a catastrophic second wave could hit if countries let their guard down too soon.

“We are flattening the curve because we are rigorous about social distancing,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “But it’s not a time to be complacent. It’s not a time to do anything different than we’ve been doing.”

In a sharp reminder of the danger, New York state on Wednesday recorded its highest one-day increase in deaths, 779, for an overall death toll of almost 6,300.

“The bad news is actually terrible,” Cuomo lamented. Still, the governor said that hospitalizations are decreasing and that many of those now dying fell ill in the outbreak’s earlier stages.

In Britain, meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care but was improving and sitting up in bed, authorities said.

In China, the lockdown against Wuhan, the industrial city of 11 million where the global pandemic began, was lifted after 76 days, allowing people to come and go. The reopening was seen as a positive sign but also reflected the communist state’s extensive surveillance apparatus and powers of coercion.

Wuhan residents will have to use a smartphone app showing that they are healthy and have not been in recent contact with anyone confirmed to have the virus. Even then, schools remain closed, people are still checked for fever when they enter buildings, and masks are strongly encouraged.

In the U.S., with about 13,000 deaths and 400,000 infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was considering changing self-isolation guidelines to make it easier for those exposed to someone with the virus to return to work if they have no symptoms.

New York City: Ravaged by Covid- 19

Under the proposed guidance, aimed at workers in critical fields, such people would be allowed back on the job if they take their temperature twice a day and wear a mask, said a person who was familiar with the draft but was not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-diseases expert, said that the Trump administration has been working on plans to eventually reopen the country and restart the economy amid “glimmers of hope” that social distancing is working to stop the virus’s spread.

“That doesn’t mean we’re going to do it right now,” he said on Fox News. “But it means we need to be prepared to ease into that. And there’s a lot of activity going on.”

The U.S. is seeing hot spots in such places as Washington, D.C., Louisiana, Chicago, Detroit, Colorado and Pennsylvania. The New York metropolitan area, which includes northern New Jersey, Long Island and lower Connecticut, accounts for about half of all virus deaths in the U.S.

In Europe, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte is expected to announce in the coming days how long the country’s lockdown will remain in place amid expectations that some restrictions could be eased. Discussions are focused first on opening more of the country’s industries.

Proposals being floated in Italy include the issuing of immunity certificates, which would require antibody blood tests, and allowing younger workers to return first, as they show less vulnerability to the virus.

Italy, the hardest-hit country, recorded its biggest one-day jump yet in people counted as recovered and had its smallest one-day increase in deaths in more than a month. Nearly 18,000 have died there.

In Spain, which has tallied more than 14,000 dead, Budget Minister María Jesús Montero said that Spaniards will progressively recover their “normal life” from April 26 onwards but warned that the “de-escalation” of the lockdown will be “very orderly to avoid a return to the contagion.”

The government has been tight-lipped so far about what measures could be in place once the confinement is relaxed, stressing that they will be dictated by experts

Without giving specifics, French authorities have likewise begun to speak openly of planning the end of the country’s confinement period, which is set to expire April 15 but will be extended, according to the president’s office. The virus has claimed more than 10,000 lives in France.

France’s Delfraissy, who leads the scientific council advising the president, said three things are necessary for people to start leaving home regularly: intensive care beds need to be freed up, the spread of the virus must slow, and there have to be multiple tests to see if people are or have been infected and to trace them. He said the French will also need to wear masks in public.

Earlier this week, Austria and the Czech Republic jumped out ahead of other European countries and announced plans to relax some restrictions.

Starting Thursday, the Czech government will allow the reopening of stores selling construction materials, hobby supplies and bicycles. Currently only grocery stores, pharmacies and garden stores are open. The reopened businesses will have to offer customers disinfectant and disposable gloves and enforce social distancing.

Austria will begin reopening small shops, hardware stores and garden centers on Tuesday, and shopping malls and hair salons could follow two weeks later. People will be required to wear face masks.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said authorities will watch carefully and will “pull the emergency brake” if the virus makes a comeback.

British government officials, beset with a rising death toll of more than 7,000, said there is little chance the nationwide lockdown there will be eased when its current period ends next week.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Admitted in hospital for Coronavirus

The European Union expressed privacy concerns about virus-tracking mobile apps that governments are developing or deploying. Such apps use smartphone data to track virus carriers’ movements in order to alert people they may have infected. The EU said the technology raises questions of “fundamental rights and freedoms.”

The desire to get back to normal is driven in part by the damage to world economies.

The Bank of France said the French economy has entered recession, with an estimated 6% drop in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, while Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, is also facing a deep recession. Expert said its economy will shrink 4.2% this year.

Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, could contract by a record 25% this quarter, the highest since gross domestic product began to be tracked in 1955.

Worldwide, more than 1.4 million people have been confirmed infected and over 80,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are almost certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different rules for counting the dead and concealment by some governments.

For most, the virus causes mild to moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. But for some older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia and death. Over 300,000 people have recovered

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Eid-ul-Mawlid: FG Declares Wednesday Public Holiday

Published

4 days ago

September 26, 2023

Sunrise Nigeria

By Ojone Grace Odaudu
…

The federal government has declared September 27 as a public holiday to mark this year’s Eid-ul-Mawlid celebration.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, announced the holiday on Monday in a statement by Oluwatoyin Akinlade, permanent secretary of the ministry.

The Eid-ul-Mawlid celebration is in commemoration of the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Tunji-Ojo congratulated all Muslims in the country and in the diaspora for witnessing this year’s occasion.

The minister urged Nigerians to embrace the virtues of hard work and peaceful disposition towards one another.

“His admonition to Nigerians is to imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance, and perseverance which are deep spiritual virtues that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) exemplified,” the statement reads.

“Tunji-Ojo also urged Nigerians, especially our youths, to embrace the virtues of hard work and peaceful disposition toward fellow humans, irrespective of faith, ideology, social class, and ethnicity, and join hands with President Bola Tinubu’s administration in its effort to build a progressive and enviable Nation that all citizens will be proud of.”

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Female wrestler Adekuoroye Obtains 2024 Olympics Spot

Published

1 week ago

September 21, 2023

Sunrise Nigeria

Female wrestler Adekuoroye obtains a spot in the 2024 Olympics.

By Ojone Grace Odaudu

Odunayo Adekuoroye, a female wrestler representing Nigeria, won the bronze medal in the women’s 57kg division at the upcoming World Championships in Belgrade on Wednesday. She therefore became the nation’s first grappler to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Adekuoroye overcame Turkish opponent Elvira Kamaloglu in the third-place match 9-5 to earn a spot in Paris.
Adekuoroye will compete in her third Olympic Games in Paris in 2024, aiming to win a medal after obstacles in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020.

The 29-year-old, who missed the African Wrestling Championship earlier this year, was charged with winning her first world title but dropped 6-4 in the quarter-finals against world No. 1 and India’s Sarita Mor on Tuesday.

She was however able to compete in the repechage on Wednesday, securing her third World Championships bronze medal and a spot to per take in next year’s Olympics.

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Presidential Election: Atiku, PDP Give Supreme Court 35 Grounds for Nullification of Tinubu’s Declaration

Published

1 week ago

September 20, 2023

Sunrise Nigeria

● Says PEPC erred in law in not taking into cognisance the Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his party, have stormed the Supreme Court with 35 grounds of appeal seeking nullification of the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as winner of last February’s presidential election.

Atiku and PDP said that the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) erred in law by not taking into cognisance the Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to conduct the election in accordance with its own guidelines and the Electoral Act 2022.

The doctrine of legitimate expectation was first developed in English law as a ground of judicial review in administrative law to protect a procedural or substantive interest when a public authority rescinds from a representation made to a person. In Nigeria, the doctrine of legitimate expectation demands that a public authority shall respect and apply its stated position or sustained practice in exercising its powers on members of the public.

Atiku and PDP requested the apex court to void and set aside the September 6 judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which upheld the declaration of Tinubu as President by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1.

In the Notice of Appeal, Atiku prayed the Supreme Court to declare him the authentic winner of the February 25 presidential election based on lawful votes cast by Nigerians during the poll.

He said that in the alternative, the apex court should order a rerun election to be conducted for him and Tinubu being the 1st runner up in the last presidential election.

While challenging the entire judgment of the tribunal, Atiku claimed that the lower court erred in law when it failed to determine his case with respect to the mandatory verification and confirmation required before the announcement of the results of the presidential election, pursuant to Section 64(4) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

He averred that all the Collation Officers, Returning Officers and INEC Chairman are under a statutory obligation to confirm and verify that the results being collated were consistent with the results directly transmitted from the polling units before making final announcement on the general elections.

Faulting the entire decision further, the appellant in ground eight claimed that the lower court erred in law when in its interpretation of Section 134(2) of the 1999 Constitution held that Tinubu does not need to score 25% of lawful votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to Atiku, the issue submitted to the tribunal called for the interpretation of the material word “and” in the said Section 134(2), adding that the provisions of the Section are clear and unambiguous.

Atiku contended that the tribunal made grave error and miscarriage of justice in striking out the witness statement on oath and the entire evidence of his subpoenaed witnesses on the erroneous grounds that the said statements were not filed along with the petition.

According to him, the subpoenaed witnesses were essentially persons whose witness statements on oath could not practically be ready and available at the time of preparing and filing of his petition.

“PW 21 and PW 26 were witnesses whose witness statements on oath and experts reports were predicated upon the order of the same tribunal made pursuant to Section 146(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, which authorized them on behalf of the appellants to proceed to inspect electoral documents in the custody of the 1st respondents (INEC) for the maintenance of the petition.

“The said witnesses’ statement on oath and the reports were products of the inspection conducted pursuant to the order of court and could not have been produced in advance before the filing of the petition, same being dependent on access to electoral documents in the possession of an adverse party “.

Atiku further argued that the striking out of the evidence of the subpoenaed witnesses of the appellant was in breach of their rights to fair hearing and was to amputate the evidential limbs of the case of the appellant and peremptorily and technically knock out the case of the appellant.

In ground 7 of the appeal, Atiku/PDP averred that the lower Court erred in law when it failed to nullify the presidential election held on 25th February 2023 on the ground of non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 when by evidence before the Court, the 1st Respondent (INEC) conducted the election based on very grave and gross misrepresentation contrary to the principles of the Electoral Act 2022, based on the “doctrine of legitimate expectation”.

It listed the particulars of the error as follows:

(1). Pursuant to the introduction of technology by Electoral Act 2022 into the conduct of election in Nigeria, the 1st Respondent (INEC), in exercise of its constitutional responsibilities and mandate, enacted its Guidelines and Regulations for the presidential election 2022 and Manual for Election Officials 2023 for the use of BVAS machines and IReV technologies for the transmission and collation of results of general elections, including the presidential election.

(2). The 1st Respondent, through its Chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmoud, publicly gave guarantees, undertakings, clear and unambiguous representations to candidates and political parties, including the Appellants, that results of the presidential election shall and must be transmitted electronically to its collation system and uploaded real time to the IReV for transparency and integrity, having received huge, massive investment of public funds and taxpayers money to the tune of N355 billion.

(3). The 1st Respondent in Paragraph 2.9.0 of its Manual for Election Officials 2023 (Exhibit PAE 2) for the said election, admitted and indeed stated clearly that the said requirement of the electronic transmission of the result of the said election, was for the purpose of guaranteeing the integrity of the said election and in particular to avoid the rampant incidents of tampering with the results of the said election between the polling units and the collation centers.

(4). Pursuant to the above representations and assurances, the Appellants participated in the election, with the 1st Appellant contesting on the platform of the 2nd Appellant for election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, placing reliance on the said representation in furtherance of a legitimate interest.

(5). The Appellants participated in the said election based on the said representation by the 1st Respondent that its Presiding Officers were going to electronically transmit the results of the election directly from the polling units to the 1st Respondent’s Collation System and upload same unto the IReV.

(6). The Appellants tendered in evidence as Exhibits PAF1(A), PAF(B) and PAF(C), the undisputed video recordings of the 1st Respondent’s Chairman, Professor Yabuku Mahmud’s representations and the undisputed video recordings of its National Commissioner, Mr. Festus Okoye as Exhibits PAF2(A), PAF 2(B) and PAF2(C).

(7). The 1st Respondent in the course of the proceedings and contrary to its public statements and Guidelines and Regulations for the said election and in particular in paragraphs 25 and 28 of its Reply to the Petition and paragraphs 10 and 14 of the witness statement of its only witness (RW1), denied the existence of the said much publicized procedure of electronic transmission of the results of the said election directly from the polling units to its collation system claiming that the 1st Respondent had no collation system to which ‘polling units results were mandatorily required to be electronically transmitted or transferred directly by the Presiding Officers’.

(8). There was no evidence before the lower Court that the 1st Respondent altered its aforesaid Guidelines and Regulations to remove the said requirement of electronic transmission of the results of the election directly from the polling units to the 1st Respondent’s Collation System.

(9). The 1st Respondent conducted the said Presidential Election based on the gross misrepresentation to the Appellants and the general voting public that the Presiding Officers were going to electronically transmit the results of the said election directly from the polling units to the 1st Respondent’s Collation System.

(10). Contrary to the above unambiguous representations, undertakings and guarantees, the 1st Respondent neither deployed the electronic transmission of election results nor the electronic collation system in the said election, sabotaging the raison d’etre for the enactment of the new Electoral Act 2022 and the introduction of the technological innovations.

(11). Rather than hold the 1st Respondent (INEC) as a public institution accountable to the representations that it made pursuant to its statutory and constitutional duties which created legitimate expectation on the part of the Appellants, the lower court wrongly exonerated the 1st Respondent of any responsibility by holding that the use of the technological innovations to guarantee transparency was not mandatory.

(12). The said election was conducted based on very grave and gross misrepresentation and was therefore oppressive to the Appellants and thus not free and fair, and not in accordance with the principles of the Electoral Act 2022, and not protected by the presumption of regularity, as well as the preamble and the fundamental objectives and directive principles of State policy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) adopted by the lower court.

(13). The grave misrepresentation negated the legal presumption of official regularity in favour of the 1st Respondent.

(14). The 1st Respondent as a public institution is not above the law, and not entitled to breach its own regulations with impunity, after clear and unambiguous representations upon which parties have placed reliance and entitled to legitimate expectation.

(15). The said election ought to have been nullified by reason of the said gross misrepresentation by a public institution based upon the “doctrine of legitimate expectation” as applied by the Supreme Court as a policy Court in STITCH VS. AG, FEDERATION (1986) 5 NWLR (Pt. 46) 1007.

In grounds 31, Atiku and PDP further contended that the tribunal erred in law when on the preliminary objection of INEC that one honourable Friday Adejo Chairman of Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi State and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State ought to have been joined as respondents in the petition on the grounds of not infringing on their fundamental rights to fair hearing.

Atiku said that the said persons are not necessary or statutory respondents as envisaged by Section 133 of the Electoral Act, adding that no relief whatsoever was claimed against the said persons for which their non-joinder will affect their rights to fair hearing.

Atiku, therefore, maintained that the Supreme Court should nullify the declaration of Tinubu as winner of the presidential election on the grounds that he did not score the majority of the lawful votes in the February 25 presidential election.

Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for hearing in the appeal by the Supreme Court.
Source: https://everyday.ng