President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, signed Coronavirus (COVID-19) Health Protection Regulations 2021 as part of efforts to boost the COVID-19 response in the country.
The introduction of the Regulations is a welcome development, according to Nigerian Medical Association and other stakeholders in the health sector.
Buhari said the regulations, which would take immediate effect, were given urgent consideration to safeguard the health and ensure the well-being of Nigerians, especially in the face of rising COVID-19 cases in the country.
The guidelines state that any person that contravened provisions of the regulations commits, upon conviction, risked a fine or a term of six months imprisonment or both in accordance with Section 5 of the Quarantine Act.
The President directed the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, and other relevant local government, state and Federal governments’ agencies to enforce the regulations, warning that any officer that failed, neglected, or refused to enforce the provisions of the regulations would be subjected to disciplinary actions.
“Any person who, without reasonable cause, contravenes a direction given under Parts 1 and 2 of these regulations commits an offence. Any person who, without reasonable cause, obstructs an authorised official from enforcement of these regulations commits an offence,” the document states.
According the regulations, persons confirmed positive for COVID-19 by an NCDC accredited laboratory, may not refuse isolation and or admission to a designated health establishment for management of the disease.
The regulations also state that physical distance of no less two metres shall be maintained at all gatherings between persons and no gathering of more than 50 persons shall hold in an enclosed space, except for religious purposes, in which case the gathering shall not exceed 50 per cent capacity of the space.
It also stipulates that all persons in public gatherings, whether in enclosed or open spaces, shall adhere to the provisions of the regulations, which may be varied by guidelines and protocols as may be issued, from time to time, by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on the recommendation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Others are that no person should be allowed within the premises of a market, mall, supermarket, shop, restaurants, hotels, event centres, gardens, leisure parks, recreation centres, motor parks, fitness centres or any other similar establishment (hereinafter collectively referred to as “establishments”) except he wears a face covering that covers the nose and mouth, washes his hands or clean the hands, using hand sanitiser approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and his body temperature checked.
It reads, “Any person found to have body temperature above 38 degrees Celsius shall be denied entry and advised to immediately seek medical attention. Every establishment occupier shall make provision for regular hand hygiene for any person coming into the premises during opening hours. This includes a hand-washing station with soap and running water, or hand sanitiser approved by NAFDAC.
REGARDING places of worship, the regulation states that all worshippers and users of places of worship shall comply with the provisions of Parts 1 and 2 of the Regulations and should, where and whenever possible, avoid sharing worship items such as mats, bottles, and hymnal materials, among others.
“It is the responsibility of the person in charge of a place of worship to ensure compliance with the provisions of these Regulations within the worship centre,” the Regulations states.
In workplaces and schools, all persons are also required to comply with the provisions of Parts 1 and 2 of the Regulations.
The Regulations add that it is the responsibility of the person in charge of a workplace or a school to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Regulations.

Two states in Nigeria have asked civil servants to work from their homes as of Monday, following a surge in coronavirus cases in the country.
Osun, a state in the country's southwest region, directed its junior and middle cadre workers to work remotely until further notice.
Wole Oyebamiji, secretary to the Osun state government, in a statement said: “Officers below Level 12 are expected to work from home with effect from Monday, January 25th, till further notice.”
He urged people to wear masks, wash their hands regularly and abstain from crowding, adding anyone having symptoms similar to COVID-19 should visit designated testing centers.
Osun, which recorded 41 confirmed cases on Monday, followed southern state Edo, which has already asked civil servants to work from home.
According to an update by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, 964 new cases were reported on Monday, taking the tally to 121,566, including 1,504 deaths.

Being at the forefront of covid-19 vaccine development in the world, India, the second-most populous country in the world, is not only aiming to inoculate maximum number of its people against coronavirus but is also aggressively conducting research on decoding the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Dr Renu Swarup, secretary, department of biotechnology (DBT), ministry of science and technology, and a member of the Centre’s National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration (NEGVAC) for covid-19, spoke in an interview with Mint about the latest developments on vaccine development, export and research on the coronavirus.
The Vaccine Maitri Initiative has been launched in line with the principle of contributing to the healthcare needs of the global community and as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the UN Summit and Vaccine Summit. Free supplies of covid-19 vaccine have been sent to neighbouring countries including Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
Consignments are also being made available to Myanmar, Mauritius, and Seychelles. Vaccine supplies to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are also being considered. Commercial supplies are also being considered for Brazil, Morocco, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.
Covax is in discussion with many countries and decisions will depend on vaccine manufacturing capacities and availability. Under Vaccine Maitri, the DBT along with the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), is working closely with the ministry of external affairs and has launched the Partnerships for Accelerating Clinical Trials (PACT) programme for strengthening clinical trial capacity for covid-19 vaccine development in neighbouring and friendly countries.
The PACT initiative has two major components, facilitation of phase III clinical trials of Indian covid vaccines whereby phase III clinical trials of Covaxin in Bangladesh and Myanmar are under consideration, and training for strengthening clinical trial capacities.The training is being organized to build capacities of the investigators, health workers, technicians, nurses and support staff from hospitals, community health centres, other health agencies, and field sites to gain knowledge of the processes for conduct of trials in compliance with International Conference on Harmonisation- Good Clinical Practise (ICH-GCP) guidelines.
The first series of this training programme received a very encouraging response from our neighbouring countries. Nearly 700 candidates participated across the 10 sessions in the first series from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The second series has been launched with representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Bahrain, Bhutan, Oman, Nepal, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

Among several executive orders to be signed on his first day in office, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. pledged that the United States would split with the Trump administration and “re-engage” with WHO.
The order will “cease the previous administration’s process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization — an entity that is critical to coordinating the international response to COVID-19, advancing preparedness for future epidemics and pandemics, and improving the health of all people,” the Biden-Harris transition team said in a release.
Announced in July, the Trump administration’s plan to withdraw from WHO was criticized by experts as dangerous and counterproductive to efforts to fight the pandemic. Trump earlier cited WHO’s relationship with China and its criticism of the administration’s travel bans early in the pandemic as reasons to stop funding the agency.
The Biden-Harris team said that National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD, would lead a U.S. delegation that will participate in the WHO executive board meeting this week, and would be delivering remarks to that meeting on Jan. 21.
“The U.S. rejoining WHO and being able to voice and have influence on the organization, as well as being able to support some of its core missions is going to be better for this pandemic and the next potential pandemic,” Amesh A. Adalja, MD, FIDSA, FACP, FACEP, senior scholar in the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Healio. “The only way that we're going to be ready for the next pandemic is going to be having a proactive approach. That includes engaging with partners around the country and internationally, and WHO is an important venue for that.”
The Biden-Harris administration said it will work with WHO to “strengthen and reform the organization, support the COVID-19 health and humanitarian response and advance global health and health security.”
“Reengaging WHO is critically important, and it is particularly important during a pandemic,” echoed Infectious Disease News Editorial Board Member Carlos del Rio, MD, distinguished professor of medicine and executive associate dean at Emory University School of Medicine. “There is no doubt many problems with WHO but the way to ‘fix it’ is by driving the change from inside — not by abandoning the most important U.N. agency working on health.”

Nigeria’s health minister, Osagie Ehanire, has said efforts are ongoing to secure about 10 million more doses of the approved COVID-19 vaccines for Nigerians.
Mr Ehanire while speaking at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing, on Monday, said the country is expecting 10 million doses of the viral vector vaccine, which could be supplied as from March 2021.
He said Nigeria is participating in the African Union initiative called “African Vaccine Availability Task Team”, which has secured 270 million doses of various types of vaccines.
“Bearing in mind options suitable for our environment and the available infrastructure, as well as Investment in delivery, Nigeria has written to express interest in 10 million doses of the viral vector vaccine, which could be supplied as from March 2021,” Mr Ehanire said.
“Apart from the COVAX facility, which is billed to cover just 20 per cent of our population, we plan to increase our chances of getting enough vaccines to meet the country’s need to cover an additional 50 per cent of the population.”
The Nigerian government had said it will receive at least 100,000 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech approved COVID-19 vaccines by the end of January through COVAX, an initiative run by the vaccine alliance, GAVI, to ensure equitable access to vaccine.
It also said the country is expecting ‘free’ 42 million doses of vaccines in the second phase through the COVAX facility.
These vaccines will cover only about 20 per cent of Nigeria’s over 200 million estimated population.
Mr Ehanire said preparations are ongoing to receive the COVID-19 vaccines. 
He said this requires countries to develop a procurement, supply chain and distribution plan for commodities and devices, as well as a sustainability plan.
“These we are already working on so that we are ready when the vaccines arrive,” he said.
He said the government will engage other agencies, religious and traditional leaders in the plans for vaccines distribution.
He explained that their role is critical to the orderly and successful deployment of vaccines.
“We must be able to reach all those eligible to receive the vaccines,” he said.
It is a good development to allow most people to be vaccinated. At present, the capacity is limited and the front-line staff can be vaccinated first. Vaccines have been gradually improved in the process of development and experimentation. I believe that soon everyone will receive the vaccine and the virus will disappear as soon as possible.

Nigerian authorities have warned against fake coronavirus vaccines in the country where 10 million real doses of the shots are expected to arrive in March.

“There are reports of fake vaccines in Nigeria,” Director General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food Drug and Administration Control (NAFDAC) Mojisola Adeyeye said on Friday.

“NAFDAC is pleading with the public to beware. No COVID vaccines have been approved by NAFDAC. Fake vaccines can cause COVID-like illnesses or other serious diseases that could kill.”

Nigeria’s anticipated vaccines add to 100,000 expected doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine although it was not specified which type of jab would be used for the 10 million doses.

It was also unclear whether the batch would be financed by the African Union (AU) or as part of COVAX, which links the World Health Organization (WHO) with private partners to work for pooled procurement and equitable distribution.

Nigerian authorities recently announced they hope to vaccinate 40 percent of the population in 2021.

But the challenges of transporting and storing vaccines for many millions of people are enormous in a country where adequate hospital facilities are lacking.

In April last year, black market coronavirus tests flourished in Nigeria because citizens were reluctant to be subjected to mandatory quarantine.

The most populous nation in Africa, with about 200 million people, Nigeria has officially reported some 104,000 COVID-19 cases, with 1,382 deaths.

But these figures are believed to fall short of the real toll since the number of tests in low.

Cases have risen sharply since the end of November, notably in the economic capital Lagos, a city of about 20 million people. The death rate has also increased.

A variant strain of coronavirus has been discovered in recent months. It was found in two patient samples collected on August 3 and October 9 in Nigeria’s Osun state, according to a working research paper seen by The Associated Press news agency.

The FIRS has added additional 35 tax audit units nationwide, to stem the high rate of illicit financial flow in the country.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) announced the creation of 35 new Tax Audit Units to combat illicit financial flow across the country.
The FIRS Chairman, Mr. Muhammad Nami, also disclosed that Nigeria lost $178 billion through tax evasion of foreign multinationals between 2007-2017.
This was disclosed by Director, Communications and Liaison Department, Mr Abdullahi Ahmad, in a statement in Abuja on Monday.
FIRS said that creation of the units was also in a bid to improve tax compliance in the country, citing the Chairman’s statements at a workshop in Abuja on Monday on “Effective Audit of Multinational Corporations for Domestic Revenue Mobilisation in Nigeria.”
The FIRS Chief noted that a few multinational firms were leading in tax compliance in Nigeria, however, he also noted that a lot of multinationals are not paying their fair share of tax and don’t even do it voluntarily.
The FIRS Chairman also disclosed that Nigeria lost $178 billion ( N5.4 trillion) through tax evasion of Multinationals operating in Nigeria, citing a 2014 report by High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, stating that Nigeria accounts for 30.5% of illicit financial flows in Africa.
Nami said:
“At the FIRS, we are paying greater attention to tax audit in general and Transfer Pricing audit in particular in order to improve the level of tax compliance in the country. As a result, in the last one year, we have created more than 35 additional Tax Audit Units and deployed experienced and capable staff to take charge of these offices.”

By pontificating, as he did recently, that Nigeria’s elite are responsible for what their country is and what it can become, President Muhammadu Buhari was only suggesting the obvious. The elite can claim to be part of the country’s success, but they are definitely an inherent part of its problems. And they can do a lot better than they do at present to lift the country from its low ebb into a more befitting status.
Speaking at the graduation of the 78 participants of the Senior Executive Course 42 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Buhari told the graduates the other day that ‘the bureaucracies to which you belong will either rise or fall on how ably you wield your powers’. The president spoke to a most appropriate audience. But it is not only the fate of the bureaucracy that hangs upon the quality of the elite. The fate, for good or for ill, of the whole society, is large, dependent on the quality of its elite, its body of leading lights.  Indeed, as elite theorist James H.  Meisel once observed: ‘the history of all societies, past, and future is the history of its ruling classes…’ 
Who are the elite? The elite as defined by various authorities are ‘the socially superior part of society; a group of persons who, by virtue of position or education, exercise much power or influence’.  They are a small group [relative to the entire population] of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in society’.  
 
For good reason, President Buhari rightly counseled the products of NIPPS to ‘wield your discretionary powers’ in the best interest of their country in their respective places of duty. The NIPSS is an institution where a selected group from the country’s elite – elite of the elite, so to speak – is further ‘refined’ to, in Buhari’s words, ‘exercise …official discretion with sound judgment and strategic discernment’. The 1979 Act that established the institute said that it is meant ‘to serve as centre where representations from all walks of the Nigerian life could come together by way of workshops, seminar, and other action-oriented courses, studies and conferences to analyse and exchange views as to long term national goals’. 
Section 3(1) of the NIPSS Act stipulates that ‘the institute shall serve as a high-level centre of reflection, research and dialogue where academics of intellectual excellence, policy initiators and executors, and other citizens with a high level of practical experience and wisdom drawn from different sectors of national life in Nigeria would meet to reflect and exchange ideas on the great issues of society, particularly as they relate to Nigeria and Africa, in the context of the dynamics of a changing world’. To this end,  the institute is charged by Section 3(2)(d) ‘to identify, encourage, stimulate, assemble, organize, and help deploy to the best national advantage, the country’s intellectual talents and experienced policy analysts who are likely to make positive contributions to the treatment of complex problems’. The institute is the veritable training ground of Nigeria’s power elite.
By definition, the elite possesses the means to define the values and the direction of the polity. And, the expected positive role and the duty of the elite in society is, in one important sense, to aggregate, articulate the yearnings, and harness the energies of the people to achieve the highest good of the greatest number.
 collectively, the leaders of the country. As many discerning and objective minds suggest, the Nigerian state appears to be failing; this is directly attributable to leadership failure and ipso facto, of the Nigerian elite. And, lest anyone forgets, Mr. Buhari has been a member of this disappointing group for decades. Indeed, as Nigeria’s president and commander-in-chief, he currently sits atop the elite community, with all the power, authority, and influence this position commands.  
Corruption, in its multifarious forms, is arguably the No.1 bane of Nigerian society. It has, in the words of Prof. Itse Sagay, ‘gotten worse and worse … with each new change in governance…’ He reportedly said the elite are to blame for the prevailing decadence because it sets the bad example. Sagay should know: he chairs the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).
It is apposite to ask if NIPSS, in its rarefied position as the highest training ground of Nigeria’s elite has, in over 40 years, discharged its mandate creditably. Regrettably, the state of the country does not earn this institution’s praises. What is the problem then? NIPSS must do an honest self-examination of its mandate, its operational processes and procedures, and also its impact on the polity. Only then can it redefine itself to effectively make ‘positive contributions to the treatment of complex policy problems’ of this polity. That is also when it can lead the larger body of elite to catalyse the development and the progress that Nigeria so desperately needs in this 21st century.

A biometric screening conducted on primary school teachers in the state of Borno, Nigeria discovered that only 60 percent (10,103 out of the 26,250 screened) possess the required teaching qualifications, Punch reports the Committee on Verification and Biometric Data Capture of Local Education Authority Staff has revealed.
The committee discovered reasons behind the lack, such as teachers with fake certificates, those due for retirement but who had refused to go, questionable appointment letters, underage teachers, and those working in multiple places.
Due to the findings, the committee has cut the monthly wage bill of primary school teachers after the screening from N693.1m to N427.8m (US$112 million).
Meanwhile, Nigerian local government staff in 27 areas have also been sent for biometric verification by the Committee. Out of the 71,558 staff submitted for verification only 63,291 presented themselves for the exercise and of whom 56,806 were cleared for biometric data capture that has yet to be conducted, reports Vanguardngr.
Some were similarly found to have fake certificates and bank statements; also finding staff who were either over-aged and those who overstayed in their positions. Committee Chairman Kaka Mallam-Yale recommends setting up of a new committee for the pending biometric data capture of already cleared staff.
“The salary wage bill for the 27 local government areas was N1.1 billion ($288 million), but the figure dropped to N965 million ($253 million) after the verification exercise” says Kaka-Yale, saving the Borno government N237 million (roughly $621,700) every month.
‘Ghost workers’ have plagued Nigeria’s public service and education system, prompting identity checks in various areas.

Alliance for Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) and leading health workers’ unions have said that with close to 100,000 COVID-19 infections, Nigeria is in a state of war with the pandemic.
The groups made this declaration in a communiqué after a one- day national meeting themed: “The Citizens Response to the Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic and the State of the Health Sector in Nigeria,” organised by ASCAB which drew participants from leading health unions across the country, warning that the second wave of the pandemic may record higher tolls unless immediate and drastic efforts were taken.
The meeting held via Zoom on December 30, was, according to the statement signed by ASCAB Interim Chairman, Mr Femi Falana, attended by health-driven unions, including the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM).
Others are the Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), National Association of Community Health Practitioners (NACHP) and the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) converged via Zoom on December 30 for a public meeting on the Citizens Response to the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the State of the Health Sector in Nigeria.
This was just as they chided the Nigerian authorities for not including scientists in its various committees, and further warned that such approach would undermine efforts to develop an indigenous vaccine as a long term strategy of fighting the pandemic.
ASCAB and the leading health unions, while noting that COVID-19 is real and has inflicted horrors across the world, posited that those in the informal sector would suffer far more from any possible return to lockdowns especially with the new strains from South Africa and Britain which are far more infectious.

The pandemic has never ended, and COVID-19 still threatens the lives of all of us. The only thing we can do now is go out less.

A representative-elect from Louisiana died of Covid-19 Tuesday, the first member of Congress to succumb to the disease.
Republican Luke Letlow, 41, had been elected to Louisiana’s 5th district and was due to be sworn in on Sunday.
“It is with heavy hearts that @FirstLadyOfLA and I offer our condolences to congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s family on his passing after a battle with Covid-19,” Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards tweeted.
“I am heartbroken that he will not be able to serve our people as a US Representative, but I am even more devastated for his loving family,” Edwards said.
Letlow is survived by his wife, Julia Barnhill Letlow, and two young children.
“The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time,” his family said in a statement to US media.
“A statement from the family along with funeral arrangements will be announced at a later time.”
Edwards said he has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on the day of Letlow’s funeral.
Letlow had announced on Dec 18 that he had tested positive for Covid-19 and was quarantining at home. He was hospitalised three days later.
Letlow is the first member of the US Congress to die of Covid-19.
The US has seen a troubling surge in coronavirus cases in recent months. As of Monday evening, the country had recorded 19,526,228 cases with 337,918 deaths, both by far the worst tolls in the world.

President Trump on Sunday night signed a massive coronavirus relief and spending package, relenting on a measure he had called a "disgrace" days earlier.
The legislation, which combines $900 billion in COVID-19 aid with government funding through September 2021, was passed by large majorities in both houses of Congress on Dec. 21 — only to see Trump blindside legislators the next day and blast the bill.
In a statement Sunday night, Trump said lawmakers will pursue some of his sought-after changes.
His signature avoids a partial government shutdown, as spending was set to run out Tuesday, and it puts an end to days of uncertainty over when millions of Americans will receive the desperately needed economic relief provided by the bill.
Among its many provisions, the package includes direct payments to qualifying Americans, worth up to $600 per adult and child; a boost in weekly unemployment benefits; and funds for small-business aid and vaccine distribution.
But his delay in signing the package has cost millions of Americans a week of unemployment benefits, as two pandemic-related programs expired Saturday.
In a statement Sunday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., alluded to those expired benefits.
"The signing of the bipartisan, bicameral coronavirus relief legislation is welcome news for the fourteen million Americans who just lost the lifeline of unemployment benefits on Christmas Weekend, and for the millions more struggling to stay afloat during this historic pandemic and economic crisis," she said.
In a statement of his own, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., applauded Trump for signing the package, without mentioning any of Trump's demands.
"The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the country who need help now," McConnell said.
How we got here
The path to the president signing the first major piece of pandemic relief legislation since the $2 trillion CARES Act in March was a long and circuitous one.
After months of bitter negotiations between Republicans and Democrats, Congress passed the combined coronavirus aid and spending bill last Monday.
But on Tuesday, Trump blasted the legislation, calling it a "disgrace."
He criticized Congress for not providing more in direct payments for Americans, suggesting the number should increase to up to $2,000 per qualifying individual and $4,000 for couples.
That's despite the fact that it was members of Trump's own party who had rejected proposals for higher payments during negotiations. Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan effort to include $1,200 direct payments in the relief deal.
Trump also complained that too much money was being allocated to foreign aid and domestic projects not related to the coronavirus pandemic. The reality is that congressional leaders passed the relief bill in combination with a broader spending bill that funds the government. The president has signed bills including money for these programs in the past couple of years.
On Christmas Eve, House Democrats sought to follow Trump's lead and pursue larger direct payments by unanimous consent, while House Republicans attempted to revisit the foreign aid section of the omnibus bill. Both changes were blocked by the other party.
In his statement Sunday night, Trump said the House will vote Monday on a previously planned bill to increase payments to individuals from $600 to $2,000. Trump added: "The Senate will start the process for a vote that increases checks to $2,000."
The president also said that he "will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed."
The Democratic-led House is highly unlikely to take up those spending items.
Trump's statement also includes items that are not part of the relief and spending measure.
"Congress has promised that Section 230, which so unfairly benefits Big Tech at the expense of the American people, will be reviewed and either be terminated or substantially reformed," he wrote. "Likewise, the House and Senate have agreed to focus strongly on the very substantial voter fraud which took place in the November 3 Presidential election."
There's no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the election, which Trump falsely claims he won. President-elect Joe Biden is set to be sworn in in weeks.
A lack of a repeal of Section 230, which provides some legal protections for technology companies, was one of the reasons Trump said he vetoed the annual defense authorization bill. Both congressional chambers are planning to return to Washington, D.C., in the coming days to attempt to override that veto.

Nigeria is currently experiencing its worst stretch to date of COVID-19 with the recent surge in new infections.
Last week alone, 5,176 fresh COVID-19 infections were reported – the highest weekly figure so far.
Last Thursday, the country registered its latest highest daily figure of 1,145, a record likely to be broken going by the way the disease is spreading. The total number of infections in the country has jumped to over 78,000.
The deaths from the disease are also piling with Nigeria recording 24 deaths last week. With nine deaths reported on Sunday and Monday, the total fatalities are now 1,227.
But despite the significant increase officially declared the second wave of the pandemic by the federal government last Thursday, Kogi State has not recorded a single infection or death from the pandemic in about 175 days, PREMIUM TIMES’ review of official data shows.
Kogi in retrospect
Since the beginning of the pandemic in Nigeria, the spread has significantly been unequal among the country’s 36 states with Lagos and Abuja bearing much of the brunt of the disease.
Nearly half of Nigeria’s total infections – 36,000 – were found in both states, with over 26,000 cases in the nation’s commercial nerve centre and nearly 10,000 in the country’s capital.
Experts believe this is largely because both states are the country’s two main entry and exit points. Weak enforcement of COVID-19 protocols are rife at the Abuja and Lagos international airports, a PREMIUM TIMES check revealed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the coronavirus pandemic roared to new record highs across the United States, it lit a fire in the U.S. Congress, where Republicans and Democrats were scrambling to pass a new round of aid after months of partisan finger-pointing and inaction.
Even as they contemplated passing a third stopgap measure to give them a few more days to agree on final amounts, lawmakers from both parties said COVID-19’s worsening toll meant that failure to agree was no longer an option.
Multiple lawmakers floated the possibility the federal government would run out of money early Saturday morning while the COVID-19 relief negotiations continue, if Congress is unable to pass a temporary government funding bill before Friday at midnight.
The Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Thune, said there could be an objection to passing such a stopgap measure from those who want to keep the pressure on for a deal on COVID-19 aid.
“Government shutdowns are never good. If it’s for a very short amount of time on a weekend, hopefully it’s not going to be something that would be all that harmful, but that being said, the preferable route is to keep the government open and get this done and get it done quickly,” Thune said.

The Luozi pharmaceutical research centre (CRPL), on Tuesday, approved the “MANACOVID” drug to treat the coronavirus (COVID-19) in DR Congo.
A statement issued in Kinshasa said the results were observed by three teams of doctors on a total of 300 cases that tested positive to COVID-19.
All these cases proved negative with the disappearance of symptoms and a good tolerance, within five days of treatment or 100 per cent recovery.
Approved on 24 November 2020, with a certificate of invention as evidence, “MANACOVID” is a product based on local medicinal plants.
It was discovered in March 2020 by Congolese chemist-doctor, Etienne Flaubert Batangu Mpesa, following his work with a team of pharmacist researchers, the statement said.
MANACOVID is one of three projects selected and recommended by the Ministry of Scientific Research and Technologic innovation since 14 April 2020, for clinical tests.
Before its approval, all the processes were respected, particularly the approval of the MANACOVID protocol by the National Health Ethics Committee (CNES).
The clinical tests were carried out from June to October 2020 through three independent teams of Congolese investigative doctors registered with the DRC Doctors Order under the coordination of a principal-investigator.
Pharmacist Etienne Flaubert Batangu Mpesa graduated at Lovanium University since 1971, now University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN). He became a teacher of Pharmaceutical sciences at Montreal, Quebec/Canada University in 1980.
Mpesa, now chairman of the board of directors of CRPL, is the inventor of the products Manadiar (against amebic diarrhoea) and Malaria (anti-malaria).

Jessica Ross, a 23-year-old Black woman in Atlanta, said she – and many other Black women in her circle – are nervous about getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
She's a graduate student in public health at Emory University and has been closely following news of the vaccine's development. But that doesn't shake off the fear history has imprinted on her community.
Medical testing such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study on Black men, which did not provide them with treatment to cure the disease, and the case of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cancer cells were used for research without her or her family's permission, many have cultivated distrust in public health systems.
Many in her circle of family and friends "are nervous about, 'Is this going to be ... tested out on minority groups?'" she said. "They fear something similar happening again with the COVID-19 vaccine."
Several polls have shown the ambivalence surrounding the vaccine among people of color. Half of surveyed Black adults aren't planning to take the vaccine, even if it's available free and scientists assure it's safe, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Undefeated, ESPN's race, sports and culture website.

The United States on Wednesday crossed an ominous new threshold of more than 3,250 lives lost to COVID-19 in a single day while public health officials stepped up preparations for a vaccine campaign of historic scope ahead of final regulatory review.
Steady movement toward a vaccine rollout on the eve of a critical review by leading U.S. medical experts comes as COVID-19 caseloads surged alarmingly higher, straining healthcare systems in some pandemic hot spots to the breaking point.
Intensive care units at hundreds of hospitals in cities and rural communities across the country were reported to be at or near capacity, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data showed.
Ten mostly rural counties scattered across California reported having no ICU beds whatsoever on Wednesday, according to state health figures analyzed by Reuters. In Fresno County, home to 1 million people, only seven ICU beds remained unfilled on Wednesday. Largely agricultural San Joaquin County just to the north was down to just five ICU beds.
The number of COVID patients hospitalized nationwide grew to a new all-time high of 106,217 by late Wednesday, up some 18% over the previous two weeks.
The United States also has documented an average of 2,259 deaths and 205,661 new infections each day over the past week, a toll that U.S. health officials warn is likely to accelerate in the coming months before a vaccine becomes widely available to the public.
At least 3,253 U.S. patients perished on Wednesday alone, according to a Reuters tally of state-by-state data.
The latest figure surpassed the previous Dec. 3 record of 2,861 COVID deaths and marked the first time the virus has claimed 3,000 American lives or more in a single day - exceeding the death toll from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America by suicide hijackers.
To date, the highly contagious respiratory illness has killed more than 289,000 Americans, out some 15 million known to have been infected since January.
Medical experts have said the crisis will only worsen in the weeks ahead amid colder weather, especially if Americans continue to disregard warnings to avoid unnecessary travel and large gatherings over the holidays.
Besides the monumental human cost, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the economy, forcing millions out of work as public health authorities imposed sweeping restrictions on social and economic life in an effort to tamp down the contagion.
Congress, meanwhile, has struggled to end a months-long political stalemate over an economic assistance.
The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a one-week extension of federal government funding, giving lawmakers more time to haggle over a broader spending package with coronavirus relief.
The Republican-led Senate was expected to vote on the measure as early as Thursday and send it to President Donald Trump in time to avoid a government shutdown.
But disagreements remain over business liability protections demanded by Republicans and aid to state and local governments sought by Democrats before a final deal is reached on economic assistance.

The largest mass vaccination campaign ever attempted in the United States could begin as soon as this week, with the federal government turning over millions of doses to the states and territories.
Everything depends on them. 
But days before the first COVID-19 vaccine is cleared for use, an exclusive USA TODAY Network survey of health officials in all 50 states revealed a patchwork of preparations and different distribution plans that may mean wide variations in what the rollout looks like as it expands across the nation.
Many states are struggling to prepare because information about what, when and how much vaccine is coming constantly changes, and extra funding to make the undertaking possible depends on Congress. Preparedness varies widely depending on how well a state's health department is funded, how hard the pandemic has hit  and how robust its immunization system was pre-pandemic. 
Overall, state officials express confidence for this month's launch. They're meeting two and three times a week to prepare for the onslaught, hiring more people, beefing up computer systems, requisitioning or buying everything from all-terrain delivery vehicles for remote places to dry ice machines for keeping the precious vaccine at its required sub-zero temperature. 
Most expect to be able to immunize the relatively small first round of health care workers and nursing home residents. The complexity, however, ratchets up considerably when the numbers go from uniform groups of tens of thousands per state to millions of essential workers, people 65 and older and those with multiple underlying illnesses. 
As Hawaii's planning document says, quoting boxer Mike Tyson, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

The Akwa Ibom Government has cancelled the hosting of this year's annual Christmas Carol festival to curtail the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.
The cancellation was made known in statement issued by the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Orman Esin, in Uyo on Thursday.
Esin said this was due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he noted had hindered preparations for the festival, which usually takes about six months ahead.
He said that in obedience to the WHO, NCDC and the State Government protocols on social distancing and the threat of a second wave of the virus, the festival had to be put on hold.
"The Government of Akwa Ibom State wishes to inform the general public that the 2020 Edition of the state's award winning Christmas Carols festival has been cancelled.
"This development is hinged on the logistics challenge posed by the global lockdown and international travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the bourgeoning threat of a second wave of the virus.
"As expected of world class event of that magnitude, its preparation starts at least six months before the date.
"The global travel restrictions and closure of factories earlier in the year, made it impossible to commence the planning of this annual soul lifting spiritual event this year.
"The government deeply regrets this development and urges citizens to take personal responsibility, in addition to government restrictions, to prevent the transmission of the dreaded virus," he said. (NAN)
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the last time the state government held the event was December 2012.

If a large number of infections occur because of this festival, the consequences will be very serious. Now we are facing a very dangerous time in winter. It is not suitable to hold this music festival. There are already many European and American infections that are very serious. We must not put ourselves in a dangerous situation and must be careful.

Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has said tax evasion was responsible for the current economic downturn in the country.
He argued that poor remittances made the economy “very feeble and unknown to the citizens, they are indirectly contributing to the government’s low performance, which is occasioned by their refusal to remit accrued taxes to the government as when due.”
Mustapha stated: “Citizens’ continued tax default has further plunged developing nations into recession even when the economy is said to be out of recession. The obvious fact is that the economic operations of developing nations with citizens’ low tax remittances make the countries economically feeble”
Represented by the Principal Administrative Officer in his office, Mrs. Chinyere Onyegbule at the second Civil Society Tax Compliance Advocacy Workshop in Abuja, the SGF noted: “It is a two-way thing. When one fulfills his/her statutory obligations of tax remittance to the government accurately, the other one will have a positive impact to keep the economy stable.”
He admitted the need for a cordial relationship between government and citizens to enhance collection, adding: “It is also the responsibility of citizens to pay their taxes and also behoves us as a government to ensure that the taxes paid by citizens are adequately used to develop the country for the general economic wellbeing of the society.”
While blaming the low remittances on lack of information, Mustapha harped on the need to urgently bridge the information gap for better outcome.
In his contribution, Executive Director, Initiative for Leadership and Economy Watch in Nigeria, Splendour Agbonkpolo, said his organisation was planning a nationwide tax compliance advocacy outreach survey.
He solicited government’s support, stating that tax revenue generation could only improve with a corresponding awareness on compliance.
IN the meantime, the Federal Government granted over N341.94 billion waivers on imports and duty in the last two years as part of incentives to ease means of doing business in the country.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, made the disclosure yesterday while opening a stakeholders’ awareness programme on digitalisation of Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) in Kano.
She explained that the waivers, offered between August 2017 and August 2019, were leased to private sector and government agencies, especially those involved in agriculture, power, textile, cement, solid minerals, gas and modular refineries among others sectors.
A cordial relationship must be established between the government and citizens to increase taxation levels. Citizens pay taxes in accordance with the law, and at the same time, they must also ensure that the taxes are used by the people. It is hoped that the government can increase its credibility and ensure the steady development of the national economy.

Nigeria recorded 168 new cases of COVID-19 in 11 states on Saturday, new data by the country’s infectious disease agency, NCDC, showed Saturday night.
With the latest update, Nigeria’s COVID-19 total case count increased to 67,330, keeping it fifth on the list of African countries hit hardest, behind Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.
The total death toll remains 1,171 after no fatality was added to the tally on Saturday.
The 110 new cases are reported from 11 states- Lagos (26), FCT (23), Kaduna (20), Katsina (11), Ogun (7), Ekiti (6), Plateau (5), Rivers (4) Kano (3), Nasarawa (3) and Niger (2).
Amid fears of a possible second wave of COVID-19 in the country, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has advised Nigerians to suspend their Christmas and New Year travel to limit the risk of contracting the virus.
But despite the increased infections, Nigeria has witnessed a significant reduction in deaths in recent weeks.
Nigeria recorded three deaths last week compared to nine persons that died from COVID-19 complications in the previous week.
Meanwhile, of the 67,000 total, about 62,819 persons have been discharged from hospitals, after treatment, while a little over 3,000 active cases remain in the country.
Currently, Nigeria has tested over 755,000 of its 200 million population.

Noah Dallaji urges all to heed the call for action, particularly for the sake of the children
In a moving narrative, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently drew attention to the dire plight of children around the world who may suffer a generational loss except a coordinated global action is taken to prevent, mitigate and respond to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The consequences, UNICEF said, could be devastating for children and for the future of humanity.
To avert this ugly situation, the global body has proposed a six-point action plan which could reunite the world around the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Convention of the Rights of the Children,
Of critical concern here are children subjected to poverty, exclusion or violence, those with disabilities; children affected or displaced by humanitarian crisis and children without parental care who, UNICEF said, could live with the impact of this pandemic for decades to come, hence the call for global action.
The plan of action proposed include: Ensure all children return to school and learn and closing the digital divide; guarantee access to health and nutrition services and make vaccines affordable to every child; support and protect the mental health of children and young people and bring an end to abuse and gender-based violence. Others are access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene; reversal in the rise of child poverty and ensure inclusive recovery for all as well as redoubling efforts to protect and support children and their families living through conflict, disaster and displacement.
Altogether these are very relevant suggestions by UNICEF towards a pragmatic answer to the varied fallouts of the Covid-19 scourge which ravaged the world and hopefully could help to move the world closer to the attainment of the laudable contents of the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is pertinent to state that many of the issues raised by UNICEF had been with many countries before Covid-19 but it is true that they were actually exacerbated by the pandemic, leading to untold deprivations, disruptions and sheer misery. Covid-19 compounded the vulnerabilities with scarcity of life-saving services, and children were particularly hard hit worldwide.
It is estimated that at their peak, school closures disrupted the learning of 91 per cent of students worldwide and some 463 million young people were not able to access remote learning during school shutdowns.

Africa's largest economy, Nigeria, has been hit hard by falling oil prices on the world market. The country officially entered recession for the second time since 2016 after its gross domestic product (GDP) contracted for the second quarter in a row, according to new data released by the National Statistical Office on Saturday, November 21.

This is the worst downturn in its economy in nearly four decades. The report questions the prolonged period of low prices that the global oil market is going through, exacerbated by the dire economic situation resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. For Africa's largest oil producer, oil sales account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings, even though they only represent 10% of GDP.

Nigeria recorded two consecutive quarterly declines in its GDP in 2020 and posted - 6.1% in the second quarter and - 3.62% in the third quarter. Before the pandemic, the country's production averaged two million barrels per day, with the effects of the pandemic and low oil prices, production plummeted to around 1.4 million barrels.
According to forecasts by the World Bank, the Nigerian economy is expected to contract by 3.2% in 2020. More alarmist, the International Monetary Fund has forecast a decline of 5.4% in Nigeria's GDP this year.

Closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced an additional 39 million students out of school. Country representative at Malala Fund, Crystal Ikanih-Musa, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja.
She said this was in addition to the over 13.2 million children that were already out of school before the pandemic.
Ikanih-Musa, who said this at a press conference to launch a report titled: ‘Girls education and COVID-19 in Nigeria,’ regretted that the pandemic was frustrating girls’ education crisis in Nigeria, warning, “If leaders don’t act now, we risk losing another generation of girls.”
A report presented by Malala Fund, which analysed survey data collected from 2,253 respondents in Kaduna State, revealed a widening gap in girls learning access during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The report disclosed that girls surveyed in Kaduna State experienced less access to learning resources, increased domestic burdens and lack of academic support from their families.
It said girls in Nigeria face distinct gendered impacts during the pandemic, with over 50 per cent of girls receiving no help to continue education during school closure.
The government should ensure how to provide gender-equitable distance education during covide-19.

Nigeria recorded zero death from COVID-19 on Tuesday, making it four consecutive days without a record of death from the virus, according to official data.

The last time Nigeria recorded death from the virus was last Friday when one patient died, taking the tally to 1, 163, according to data by the country’s infectious disease agency, NCDC.

Nigeria also recorded 152 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

With the latest update, Nigeria’s COVID-19 total case count increased to 65,457, keeping it fifth on the list of African countries hardest hit, behind Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.

Meanwhile, more people have recovered amid fears of an imminent and more devastating second wave of infections.
Of the over 65,000 total, about 61,337 persons have been discharged from hospitals, after treatment, while nearly 3, 000 active cases remain in the country.

The 152 new cases were reported from 12 states. These are Lagos (61), Oyo (39), FCT (13), Yobe (10), Bauchi (6), Kaduna (5), Kano (4), Kwara (4), Plateau (4), Edo (2), Ogun (2), Rivers (2).

With 61 new infections on Tuesday, Lagos further stretched its lead on the number of infections to over 22,000, about a third of the country’s total.

Currently, Nigeria has tested nearly 720,000 of its 200 million population.

Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have said that while some persons were in strict compliance with the safety guidelines by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), some were indifferent.
Chief Ugochukwu Nnam, President of Initiative for Leadership Development and Change (ILDC), an Abuja-based NGO, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that many people doubt the existence of the pandemic.
Nnam, who said that he and his family were committed to all the safety guidelines, decried the unsafe attitude of some Nigerians toward the pandemic.
"Many people today don't care even in churches and gatherings, they don't wear face masks, while some wear the mask on their chins instead of the face.
"I wonder if they really know the dangers of this pandemic, I wonder if they know that countries like Germany have entered into another phase of lockdown.
"As for me and my family, we use our face masks, I gave hand sanitizers to all my children as they go to school, I ensure they wash hands regularly even in their school through a steady reminder to their teachers," he said.
Mrs Ogechi Osuoha, a teacher, called for intensive advocacy to change the perception of people about COVID-19, especially in the markets.
Osuoha, who emphasised the imperatives of sensitisation and awareness to contain community spread, said that the carelessness of market women could trigger another phase of community infection.
"Many of the women in the market don't use face masks not to talk of washing hands or hand sanitisers before or after selling or buying.
"This is why I use my hand sanitisers always and cover my nose because many of them even sneeze freely while attending to a customer."
Mr Nurudeen Ahmed, a resident, blamed the indifference on ignorance and some sort of cultural beliefs.
Ahmed said that he had at a time doubted the existence of the pandemic until he witnessed those that died of the disease.
"Honestly, I used to live my life freely without protection until I heard of a person I know well that died of symptoms and complications from the disease in Spain."
Mr Nelson Udunna, a laboratory scientist, said that the pandemic was real and capable of wiping out communities.
Udunna said that he had cultivated the culture of washing his hands more than four times a day as well as protecting his nose and mouth with face masks whenever he mingled with other people.

The drug company Pfizer said Monday that early analysis showed its vaccine candidate for Covid-19 is more than 90 percent effective at preventing infection.
The news from the U.S. pharmaceutical giant and its German partner, BioNTech SE, was welcomed as a major step in the fight against a virus that has plagued the global economy, upended daily life for billions and killed 1.26 million people — nearly 240,000 in the United States alone.
Pfizer and BioNTech said in a joint statement that their preliminary findings have shown higher success rates than many had expected. People who received two doses as part of the trial saw 90 percent fewer symptomatic cases of Covid-19 than participants who were given a placebo, they said.
President-elect Joe Biden said he welcomed the news, which he said he learned Sunday night, but warned it was "important to understand that the end of the battle against Covid-19 is still months away."
Even if "some Americans are vaccinated later this year, it will be many more months before there is widespread vaccination in this country," Biden said in a statement. "Today's news does not change this urgent reality. Americans will have to rely on masking, distancing, contact tracing, hand washing, and other measures to keep themselves safe well into next year."
The companies have not released the data backing up the study, and many experts urged caution before those details have been independently scrutinized.
Still, Albert Bourla, Pfizer's chairman and chief executive, called the news "a great day for science and humanity."
"We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen," he added.
John Bell, an Oxford University professor and vaccines adviser to the U.K. government, also welcomed the news, and went as far as to say life could begin to return to normal by spring.
"Yes, I'm probably the first guy to say that but I will say that with some confidence," he said when asked by the BBC whether that timeline was now realistic.
In spite of the optimism, the news does not mean a vaccine will be immediately available. And many observers are holding judgment until more is known about this vaccine candidate.
Eleanor Riley, a professor of immunology and infectious disease at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, cautioned that the details released so far did not say how old the participants were, or the severity of the cases observed.
President-elect Biden said he welcomes the news, but he warned that it is "it is important to understand that the end of the Covid-19 battle is still a month away."
Even if "some Americans are vaccinated later this year, it will be many more months before there is widespread vaccination in this country," Biden said in a statement. "Today's news does not change this urgent reality. Americans will have to rely on masking, distancing, contact tracing, hand washing, and other measures to keep themselves safe well into next year."
In the most developed medical country，Americans need to emphasize again, wash their hands and no touch, which is sad to say

The United States added 126,480 new coronavirus cases on Friday, according to data released Saturday by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. It's the third day in a row that the U.S. has set a daily record, bringing the total number of infections in the country to more than 9.7 million. More than 236,000 have died.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have laid out a comprehensive plan to try to get the virus under control, including the creation of a pandemic testing board to produce and distribute tens of millions of tests, and a U.S. public health jobs corp to mobilize at least 100,000 Americans to help with contact tracing and protecting at-risk populations.
But it's unclear how effective these steps will be against a virus poised to surge even more as colder weather sets in and people retreat indoors.
"You have to be really worried what January is going to look like, what December is going to look like right now given the way this is rising," former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday.
More than half the country is seeing unchecked community spread, defined as more than 25 daily new cases per 100,000 people. Close to 55,000 people were in the hospital Friday with COVID-19, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
"Hospitals are definitely strained and societal measures remain relatively liberal," Dr. David Brett-Major, professor of epidemiology at the University of Nebraska, told The New York Times. "You just don't get the feeling that folks are committed to enforcing taking it seriously."
The challenge of containing the latest surge in cases has extended to the White House, with the news late Friday that President Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Meadows is the latest member of the president's circle to contract the virus. Multiple White House staffers and campaign aides have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks, and the president was hospitalized for COVID-19 in October.
Although America is the world leader in coronavirus infections, other countries are catching up. Many European countries have seen exponential growth in recent weeks. National lockdowns are in effect in several countries there, including England, Greece and Italy. Charts of the virus's spread in France, Poland and Germany all show classic hockey-stick shaped graphs, indicating the virus is nowhere near under control.
France had the second-highest rate of infections in the world Friday, with 60,727 cases and 828 deaths. French nursing homes alone have seen more than 400 COVID-19 deaths in the past week, with some residents once again cut off from their families.
"I cry every day," Paris nursing home resident Patricia Deliry, 81, told The Associated Press.
France is among several European countries that have imposed new lockdowns in the face of continued infections. But at least in France, the public isn't observing the lockdown as stringently as it did during the country's first lockdown in March. According to Le Monde, during the week since the latest lockdown has been in place, there has been about a 30% drop in vehicle traffic — compared with an 80% decline in traffic during the first lockdown.