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India’s COVID-19 cases worsen as 3,980 die in 24Hrs
India saw record new jumps in Covid-19 cases and deaths on Thursday, dashing tentative hopes that a catastrophic recent surge that has stretched hospitals to the limit might be easing.
Health ministry numbers showed 3,980 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the national total to 230,168, and 412,262 new cases, taking India’s caseload since the pandemic began over 21 million.
Many experts suspect that with low levels of testing and poor record-keeping for cause of death — and crematoriums overwhelmed in many places — the real numbers could be much higher.
The rise follows several days of falling case numbers that had raised government hopes that the virus surge may have been easing.
Having hit a high of 402,000 last Friday, the daily number of cases eased to as low as 357,000 before creeping up again on Tuesday.
Senior health ministry official Lav Aggarwal had told reporters on Monday that there was a “very early signal of movement in the positive direction”.
The sharp rise in cases since late March has overwhelmed hospitals in many places, with fatal shortages of beds, drugs and oxygen.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has resisted imposing a new lockdown although several regions including the capital New Delhi, Bihar and Maharashtra have imposed local shutdowns.
Until now the worst-hit areas have been Delhi and Maharashtra but other states including West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka are now reporting sharp rises.
Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Twitter Thursday a week-long lockdown in the southern state of 35 million people, which has one of India’s best health care systems.
Health workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) suits attend to a Covid-19 coronavirus patient inside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Teerthanker Mahaveer University (TMU) hospital in Moradabad on May 5, 2021. Prakash SINGH / AFP
West Bengal, which controversially just completed an eight-phase election, on Wednesday announced tighter curbs including a suspension of local trains. Weddings are still allowed, however, with a maximum of 50 people.
K. Vijay Raghavan, the Indian government’s principal scientific advisor, said Wednesday that the country of 1.3 billion had to be ready for another wave of infections after the current one.
“Phase 3 is inevitable given the high levels of circulating virus. But it is not clear on what timescale this phase 3 will occur. We should prepare for new waves,” Raghavan told a news conference.
With the government facing criticism as patients die outside hospitals, consignments of oxygen and equipment have been arriving from the United States, France, Britain, Russia and other countries in recent days.
But India will need yet more oxygen from other countries to fight the surge until numbers stabilise, another government official said Monday.
“We did not and do not have enough oxygen,” the top government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “If we could get more oxygen more lives would be saved.”
Overnight, 11 people died in a hospital near the southern city of Chennai after pressure dropped in oxygen lines, the Times of India reported, the latest in a string of similar incidents.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called for “urgent” international action to prevent “a worsening human catastrophe” across South Asia.
It highlighted the case of Nepal, where it said “many hospitals are full and overflowing” with Covid-19 patients and the daily caseload is 57 times higher than one month ago.
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Wednesday meanwhile that the UK strain of Covid-19 was declining but that the Indian variant known as B.1.617 was being increasingly detected.
It stopped short of saying the Indian variant was to blame for the current rise.
“The current surge in cases over the last one and a half months in some states show a co-relation with the rise in the B.1.617 lineage”, local media quoted NCDC chief Sujeet Singh as saying.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the B.1.617 variant has now been reported in more than a dozen countries.
But it has not said whether the variant is more transmissible, deadlier or able to evade vaccines.
-AFP
Leaders and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo South Senatorial District have endorsed a member of the House of Representatives, Aderemi Oseni, as their consensus candidate for the 2027 senatorial election.
The endorsement was announced on Wednesday at a stakeholders’ meeting held at Alice Hall, Ibadan, with party leaders, stakeholders, local government chairmen and state executive members from the nine local government areas in attendance.
The councils represented at the meeting are Ibadan North, Ibadan North-East, Ibadan North-West, Ibadan South-East, Ibadan South-West, Ibarapa Central, Ibarapa East, Ibarapa North and Ido.
The stakeholders expressed satisfaction with Oseni’s aspiration, describing it as timely, credible and anchored on tested leadership and grassroots appeal.
Those present at the meeting included Chief Timothy Jolaoso (Ibarapa East); Alhaji Kamorudeen Ajisafe (Ido); Chief Abdulrauf Bello (Ido); Alhaji Muili Oluokun (Ibadan North-West); Alhaji Mufutau Adisa (Ibadan South-East); Alhaji Bello Oladeji (Ibadan North); Prince Gbade Lana (Ibadan North-East); Engr. Olatunji (Ibadan South-West); Comrade Wale Gbadamosi (Ibarapa North); and Alhaja Moji Adetona (Ibarapa Central).
Other party officials in attendance were the senatorial chairman, Alhaji Mojeed Adebayo; the secretary, Fatai Adesina; Welfare Officer, Sunday Babalola; Deputy Women Leader, Alhaja Fatimah Hassan; Auditor, Alhaja Tinu Adigun; Youth Leader, Lekan Adebayo; Ex-Officio member, Kola Amoo; Treasurer, Lateef Ajiboye; and Senatorial Youth Leader, Olalekan Olowe.
A chieftain of the party in Ibadan North Local Government, Hon. Shina Alabi, moved the motion for the lawmaker’s endorsement, which was seconded and unanimously adopted by the stakeholders.
Alabi said Oseni’s decision to abide by President Bola Tinubu’s directive to step down his governorship ambition for the senatorial race underscored his loyalty and commitment to party unity.
He said, “Hon. Oseni has demonstrated uncommon commitment to the welfare of the people. His leadership style is inclusive, responsive and development-driven. We are convinced that his emergence as the APC candidate for Oyo South Senatorial District will strengthen the party’s chances and guarantee effective representation.”
He also urged party members to remain united and rally behind credible aspirants with proven capacity and electoral value.
In his remarks, Hon. Aderemi Oseni said his decision to pursue the senatorial seat followed the presidential directives, noting that he accepted the decision in the interest of party cohesion, progress and stability. He recalled that he had earlier prepared for the Oyo South senatorial race in the 2023 general elections, having already purchased the nomination and expression of interest forms as part of an arrangement reached, before stepping down following appeals by party leaders.
The lawmaker, who chairs the House Committee on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), said the party must close ranks to reclaim political dominance in the senatorial district.
According to him, “There is a huge task ahead, especially with several House of Representatives seats in the district currently held by the opposition. We must work together, mobilise effectively and secure victory for our party and leader, President Bola Tinubu”.
Oseni thanked party leaders and stakeholders for the confidence reposed in him and assured them of his commitment to advancing the interests of Oyo South Senatorial District.
The meeting also had representatives from all nine local government areas, with about 10 leaders from each council in attendance.
The lawmaker representing Akinyele/Lagelu Federal Constituency of Oyo State, Olafisoye Akinmoyede, has denied allegations of violence at the All Progressives Congress (APC) state secretariat, describing claims that he assaulted a party member as false and politically motivated.
An online platform, IMPARTNEWSNETWORK, had alleged that Akinmoyede assaulted one Gafar Oyebade during a meeting convened by the state chairman of the party, Alake Adeyemo, to resolve issues surrounding the executive list of the APC in Lagelu Local Government Area.
However, Akinmoyede, in a statement on Tuesday, said the meeting was peaceful and attended by key members of the state executive, including the chairman, deputy chairman, and secretary, who witnessed the proceedings.
He clarified that contrary to Oyebade’s claim of being the party secretary, the official list presented by the state leadership recognised him as the Public Relations Officer.
According to the lawmaker, following the clarification, the state executive directed the Lagelu Local Government chairman, Fatai Awoyoola, to proceed with the swearing-in of other party officials.
Akinmoyede also faulted attempts to link the incident with the 2019 killing of a former federal lawmaker, noting that a court of competent jurisdiction had already ruled on the matter.
He said, “In Suit No. I/70c/2019, delivered by Justice Mufutau Adegbola on January 23, 2020, all those accused were discharged and acquitted.”
The lawmaker expressed concern over what he described as a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, alleging that Oyebade, a public school teacher under the Oyo State Government, should not be involved in partisan politics.
He described the allegation as a “recycled script” aimed at tarnishing his image ahead of political activities, urging constituents to remain calm.
Akinmoyede also called on journalists to verify information before publication and urged security agencies to take action against individuals who file false reports.
“These tactics surface every election cycle. Those behind them should learn to accept the outcomes of political processes. They failed before and will fail again. Power comes from God,” he added.
The lawmaker representing Akinyele/Lagelu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Olafisoye Akinmoyede, has denied allegations of assault levelled against him by a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagelu Local Government Area, Mr. Gafar Oyebade.
Akinmoyede described the allegation as “false” and “a lie taken too far,” insisting that no physical altercation occurred.
The denial was contained in a statement issued on Monday by his Legislative Aide, Dr. Isiaq Akintunde.
Oyebade had alleged that he was hospitalised following a confrontation during a meeting held at the office of the state party chairman in Oke-Ado, Ibadan, convened to resolve a leadership dispute in the local government.
But the federal lawmaker maintained that the meeting was peaceful and attended by top party officials.
“The meeting was convened to clarify Mr. Oyebade’s position within the local executive, and it was attended by the State Party Chairman, his deputy, the secretary, the publicity secretary, and other key state executives, all of whom witnessed the peaceful proceedings,” the statement read.
He added that contrary to Oyebade’s claim of being the party secretary, the official list presented by the Lagelu Local Government Party Chairman, Hon. Fatai Awoyoola, identified him as the Public Relations Officer.
According to Akinmoyede, the state executive thereafter directed Awoyoola to proceed with the swearing-in of the remaining members of the local government executive.
The lawmaker accused Oyebade of fabricating the allegation to advance political interests.
“I wonder why Mr. Gafar Oyebade, a secondary school teacher, would claim he was assaulted in the presence of the State Executive. This is an attempt to justify money allegedly collected from an aspirant to tarnish my image,” he said.
Akinmoyede further claimed that Oyebade was seen walking freely after the meeting and was not hospitalised as alleged.
He also raised concerns over Oyebade’s involvement in partisan politics, noting that civil servants are restricted from active participation in political activities.
The lawmaker called on security agencies and the media to investigate the incident at the party’s Oke-Ado office to ascertain the veracity of the claims.
Efforts to reach Oyebade for comments were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
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