The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has urged healthcare workers to strictly adhere to Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures when handling Mpox cases to prevent further spread.

Dr Jide Idris, Director-General of NCDC, emphasised the importance of frontline workers prioritising their own safety while providing care for patients in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

“Protect yourself while caring for Mpox patients. Your safety is just as important as your patients’,” he stated.

Mpox, a viral disease caused by the Monkeypox virus, spreads primarily through close contact with infected individuals, contaminated materials, and respiratory droplets.

Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, body aches, and a rash that progresses to painful lesions.

Idris also urged hospitals and clinics to reinforce IPC measures to protect both healthcare workers and patients.

He outlined several key safety precautions for healthcare workers, including: wearing gloves, masks, face shields, and gowns while handling patients.

“Regularly wash hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based sanitisers.

“Avoid direct contact with bodily fluids and use barrier nursing techniques.

“Properly disinfect hospital surfaces and equipment to prevent contamination.

“Identify suspected cases early and ensure proper isolation to curb further transmission,” he said.

Idris assured Nigerians that the NCDC was monitoring the Mpox situation and remained committed to providing regular updates and technical support to health facilities.

He urged healthcare workers to stay vigilant, report suspected cases promptly, and seek medical attention if they experience symptoms of Mpox.

He also called on the general public to stay informed, avoid close contact with infected individuals, and practice good hygiene to reduce the risk of infection.

As part of its ongoing response, he said that the NCDC had been working with state health authorities, training healthcare workers, and strengthening laboratory capacity for Mpox diagnosis.

Idris reiterated that preventing the spread of Mpox required collective effort from both healthcare workers and the public, encouraging Nigerians to remain cautious, follow public health guidelines, and support efforts to contain the virus.

He advised healthcare workers and the public to visit the NCDC’s official website or follow its verified social media handles for more information and updates.

The National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC), says it will partnership with the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) in supporting the welfare of aged inmates.

Dr Emem Omokaro, the Director General of the Centre, said this on Tuesday in Abuja, during a meeting with the acting Comptroller General of the NCoS, Mr Sylvester Nwakuche.

Omokaro said that the partnership became imperative; in order to address the welfare issues affecting older persons in correctional centres across the country.

She explained that the welfare packages for the older inmates would include training them in their specific areas of need, as well as bringing them medical outreaches and other social welfare to improve their wellbeing.

The NSCC director general who expressed concern over the pathetic conditions of aged inmates in correctional facilities, also called for urgent action to support them.

She said a technical working team would be set up with a view to undertaking a need assessment and articulating the priority areas for the training.

Omokaro added that the mandate of the NSCC was to cater for the welfare of older persons including those in the correctional facilities, hence the need to initiate programmes that would promote their wellbeing.

”The Technical Working Group is expected to structure and initiate impactful programmes that will address the specific needs of inmates at the Nigeria correctional facilities who are 60 years and above,” she said.

In his response, Nwakuche thanked the director general for identifying with the NCoS and expressed readiness to support all efforts towards improving the quality of life and wellbeing of inmates.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called for the revival of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to the U.S.

Trump took to his online platform Truth Social to urge the company building the pipeline to come back to America.

“The Trump administration is very different, easy approvals, almost immediate start.

“If not them, perhaps another pipeline company. We want the Keystone XL pipeline built,’’ he said.

The pipeline, first proposed in 2008, has been controversial from the start.

It would carry crude oil from oil sands in Alberta, Canada to Nebraska in the Midwestern U.S., where it would link up existing pipelines that connect to the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River.

It was opposed by environmental groups and Native American tribes.

A long-standing battle between the oil industry and environmentalists trickled into politics and U.S. and Canadian courts.

Then U.S. president, Barack Obama, rejected the project in 2015 due to environmental concerns before Trump revived it during his first term in office.

Then, in one of his first actions as U.S. president in 2021, Joe Biden revoked Trump’s permit for the pipeline, stating that its construction was not consistent with his administration’s economic and climate goals.