ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: TUESDAY

30 Nov ALL THE RELEVANT NEWS: TUESDAY

🌍The PSC COVID Briefing:
Nigeria, yesterday, insisted that there was no reported detection of the of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron in the country.
* On Sunday, Canadian authorities said the country had detected cases of the new strain in two people who had traveled recently to Nigeria. But the PSC said they were waiting on their Canadian counterparts for more details since there are no direct flights between Nigeria and Canada.
* Also yesterday, Moderna’s CEO Bancel set off fresh alarm bells in financial markets after he warned that COVID-19 vaccines were unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant as they have been against the Delta version.
*At a media briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, the National COVID-19 Incident Manager, Dr. Mukhtar Muhammad, said “the PSC has continued to review our risk of this latest information and take every necessary step to stop it from being imported into the country.”
# Director-General of the NCDC, Ifedayo Adetifa, said, “I think what we need to do is to focus on what we actually know. And what we know, for now, is that we do not have a case in Nigeria at the moment. Now, we have a pipeline of samples that are in process, whose results will be ready tomorrow (today); so this situation, of course, can change.”
# Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said authorities were “adopting a watchful, waiting posture.”
# Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, PSC on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, urged Nigerians to exercise extra caution and vigilance in practice and enforcement of preventive measures. He said PSC is reviewing the situation around the world and putting in place measures to curtail the impact of the variant on the country and that new travel protocols would cover travels, testing, enforcement, surveillance and risk communication.
# Elsewhere, U.S. President Joe Biden urged Americans not to panic and said the government was working with pharmaceutical companies to make contingency plans if new vaccines were needed. The US is one of the several countries that have blocked entry for most visitors from eight southern African nations. Biden said the travel restrictions would give the U.S. time to get more people vaccinated.
* Nigeria Caseload: Nigeria reported 21 new cases, 38 recoveries and zero deaths on Monday. So far, there are 214,113 confirmed cases, 207,292 recoveries and 2,976.

🌍Oil prices tumbled more than 3% on Tuesday after Moderna’s CEO cast doubt on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against the Omicron coronavirus variant, spooking financial markets. Brent crude futures fell $2.32, or 3.2%, to $71.12 a barrel at 0729 GMT after slipping to an intraday low of $70.52, the lowest since Sept. 1. U.S.

🌍AfDB has postponed the 2021 Africa Investment Forum, scheduled to hold between December 1 and 3, 2021 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, until further notice over rising global travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

🌍VP Osinbajo, yesterday, unveiled a new Delta State secretariat, saying conducive environments inspire workers.

🌍The Nigerian Communications Commission says it is set for the second trial of 5G in Nigeria on Thursday towards the validation of the national policy on 5G for the digital economy.

🌍Seplat Energy is in the race to acquire the shallow water business of the local unit of American multinational oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, Chief Financial Officer Emeka Onwuka confirmed in a statement on behalf of management on Monday.

🌍FirstBank Nigeria Limited is holding a non-oil export webinar series to discuss opportunities that will enhance Nigeria’s drive towards diversifying the national economy to reduce the reliance on oil.

🌍Twitter’s chief executive officer, Jack Dorsey, announced Monday that he has resigned from the company; former chief technology officer, Parag Agrawal, takes over as the new CEO and a member of the board.