THE INTENSIFIED REPORT

Tennis Star Novak Djokovic, has revealed that he is ready to skip upcoming major tournaments if getting vaccinated is a prerequisite to play in those tournaments. Djokovic spoke to BBC on Tuesday, stating he is still unvaccinated and plans to remain that way, even if it means foregoing major tennis competitions. Missing competitions and foregoing defending his titles are “the price that I am willing to pay,” Djokovic said. Djokovic, who has been treated as a hero by the anti-vaccine community after he was denied entry into Australia last month for the Australian Open, stated that he is not part of that movement, but thinks people should have the "freedom" to choose what is "appropriate for them." “Everyone has the right to choose, to act, or say what ever they feel is appropriate for them," Djokovic said, adding he thinks everyone should have, "the freedom to choose what you put into your body. And, for me, that is essential.” “Based on all the

The Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) has announced additional 166 COVID-19 new infections from 14 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the country.  The NCDC, via its verified website on Thursday, notes that the 166 fresh cases indicate an increase from the 159 cases posted on Tuesday. The Public Health Agency noted that till date, 211,496 cases have been confirmed, 202,930 cases discharged and 2,886 deaths recorded in 36 states and the FCT. It added that the 166 new cases were in Delta-36, the FCT-22, Rivers-21, Lagos-20, Anambra-18, Ondo-17, Oyo-8, Kebbi-6, Enugu-5, Plateau-5, Ebonyi-3, Kano-2, while, Bayelsa, Ekiti and Jigawa reported one case each. “Today’s report includes: 6 confirmed cases reported from Kebbi state for Oct. 26, 2021, and the five confirmed cases reported from Enugu state on Oct. 26, 2021. “Twenty discharged cases were reported from Enugu state on Oct. 26, and five discharged cases reported from Taraba state the same day are commu

The Japanese capital has recorded more than 1,000 coronavirus infections for the sixth time in the past week, with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reporting 1,387 new cases on July 20. The new cases came after Tokyo registered 727 infections on July 19. Tokyo remains under a fourth COVID-19 state of emergency as it prepares to launch the Olympic Games on July 23. The capital saw an average of 631.7 coronavirus cases per day in the first week of July. The daily average for the second week rose to 823.3. In June, Tokyo recorded a total of 12,979 new coronavirus cases, or a daily average of 432.6, down from the daily average of 705.8 in May. By July 19, a total of 2,270 people had died of COVID-19 in Tokyo since the pandemic began in the spring of 2020. Tokyo has recorded 191,230 infections to date, the most of any of Japan's 47 prefectures. As of July 19, there were 2,346 COVID-19 patients in hospital, 60 with severe symptoms. (Mainichi)

Millions of Muslims in Indonesia on Tuesday celebrated Eid al-Adha, one of the most important Islamic festivals, as President Joko Widodo pledged that tighter coronavirus restrictions would remain in place until infections dropped. Indonesia is now Asia’s COVID-19 hot spot with the most confirmed daily cases, as infections and deaths have surged over the past three weeks and India’s massive outbreak has waned. Most of Indonesia’s cases are on the densely populated island of Java, where more than half of the country’s 270 million people live. Authorities in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation have banned many of the crowd-attracting activities that are usually part of Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice that marks the end of the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. Authorities allowed prayers at local mosques in low-risk areas, but elsewhere houses of worship had no congregations, including Jakarta’s Istiqlal Grand Mosque, the largest in So

Ban on religious gatherings in Nigeria has been lifted. The Federal government through the secretary to the government and the Chairman of the presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, made the announcement at the daily media briefing on Monday June 1, in Abuja. “The PTF submitted its recommendations and the PRESIDENT has approved the following for implementation over the next four weeks spanning 2nd – 29th June, 2020, subject to review-: “Cautious advance into the Second Phase of the national response to COVID-19; application of science and data to guide the targeting of areas of on-going high transmission of COVID-19 in the country; “Mobilisation of all resources at State and Local Government levels to create public awareness on COVID 19 and improve compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions within communities; sustenance of key non-pharmaceutical interventions that would apply nationwide and include: ban of gatherings of more than 20 people outside