Doctors handling cases of the Novel Coronavirus in Bayelsa on Wednesday appealed to the Bayelsa COVID-19 Task Force to ensure adequate supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Dr Ebidimie-Divine Irole, President of Federal Medical Centre, (FMC) Yenagoa chapter of Association of Resident Doctors made the appeal in an interview in Yenagoa.

Irole said the appeal was premised on the recent upsurge in the spread of the coronavirus infections in Bayelsa with more than 20 doctors exposed to COVID-19 patients already infected.

BAYELSA COVID-19 ISOLATION CENTRE

COVID-19: Bayelsa Govt wades into Resident Doctors strike

 THE COVID-19 ISOLATION FACILITY AT NDUTH OKOLOBIRI YENAGOA LGA,BAYELSA

The Bayelsa government has taken steps to end ongoing strike by Resident Doctors at Bayelsa government owned Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) Okolobiri.

The doctors said they have yet to resume from the indefinite strike called off on Sunday by the national body over several outstanding issue with the health sector.

Dr Oru Oru Inetsol, President of chapter of ARD  on Tuesday that the Bayelsa government was in talks with the resident doctors to resolve the labour dispute.

He noted that following the goodwill shown by the government in the negotiations, the resident doctors deployed to the COVID-19 isolation centre were rendering services.

“The Bayelsa Deputy Governor and the Speaker of the House of Assembly led the government team that met with us on Monday and we are making progress with the negotiations.

COVID-19:Resident Doctors at Bayelsa Isolation Centre yet to suspend strike over hazard allowance

Resident Doctors at Bayelsa government owned Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Okolobiri, have yet to resume from the indefinite strike called off on Sunday by the national body.

The leadership of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) had on Sunday directed its members across the country to return to work as the Federal Government said it has cleared outstanding hazard allowances, amongst others.

NDUTH hosts the 100 bed capacity COVID-19 isolation centre located at the outskirts of Yenagoa, Bayelsa capital.

The rising spread of confirmed cases to 169 from 130 in Bayelsa with less than 200 bed isolation capacity has raised concerns of an impending crisis in the coming days.

COVID-19 suspected patients, Bayelsa Govt lament delays in confirming status of samples

Patients suspected to be infected by Coronavirus in Bayelsa have bemoaned the delays in getting results from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) laboratories in Benin and Port Harcourt.


Investigations indicate that worst affected are medical personnel with contact with confirmed cases who went into self isolation for two weeks and the test results still being awaited.



A medical practitioner who spoke on the development said that the delays had caused some stress on medical manpower at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa and the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital Okolobiri, Bayelsa.



The doctor who spoke with NAN and wished to remain anonymous said more than 10 of them who had completed the two weeks isolation cannot go back to work until the results are out.

Delayed response to leak at Taylor Creek oilfields due to security concerns says Agip

The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) on Wednesday explained that it responded within 24 hours after a pipeline blast by vandals at its Taylor Creek oilfields in Aug 2019 and shut the facility to curtail further degradation of the environment.

The explanation is coming on the heels of outcry that the oil firm abducted its responsibility of operating in an environmentally sustainable manner by leaving the site without remediation for close to one year.

Eni, the Italian parent company of NAOC in a statement issued by a spokesperson said delays in the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) and fixing pipeline in May 2020 were caused by security concerns and not negligence by NAOC.

Coalition Against COVID-19 donates Isolation Centre, Medical Equipment to Bayelsa Govt

The Bayelsa government on Saturday received a 48 bed Isolation Centre to boost the total capacity at the state owned Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital , (NDUTH),Okolobiri to over 100.

The facility donated by the private sector led Coalition Againstvirus. COVID-19  -CAVID) to increase capacity in the state compliments another 70 bed facility donated by Chevron and a 20 bed isolation ward at the Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa.


The intervention by CA-CAVID compliments an existing 60 bed capacity isolation centre built by the Bayelsa government.

Dr Nathaniel Akpoku, Co-Chairman of the Bayelsa Task Force on COVID-19 applauded the coalition put together by Dangote Group and Access Bank for their thoughtful intervention to strengthen the capacity of the public health system in Bayelsa.

He noted that the centre would improve care provided to patients infected with the corona virus and assured that medical personnel managing COVID-19 cases would put the facility to good use.

Gov. Diri committed to socio-economic development of Bayelsa- UN Peace Envoy

Mr Miebi Bribena, United N s Peace Ambassador on Sunday expressed confidence in the capacity of Governor Douye Diri to make Bayelsa one the leading economies in the country.

 

Bribena who spoke on Diri's leadership style on the sidelines of his 61st birthday anniversary called on the people of the state to be patient and as well support his  laudable programmes.

   

He disclosed that one of the programmes of the Diri administration is to diversify the economy of the state from oil and gas to Agriculture leveraging on the enormous fertile arable land as well as the rich biodiversity of its water resources.

Eni says it remains committed to remediating environmental impact of Agip’s Brass export terminal

Eni, the Italian parent company of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC)  has denied abdicating its duties in the remediation of the adverse impact of its oil export terminal located in Brass, Bayelsa.

The  position followed a letter by the oil firm’s host community in Bayelsa,  seeking expedited action on remediation of a 48 year old impact on the Brass settlement.

ANOTHER WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, ANOTHER SPEECH MAKING BAZAAR IN BAYELSA? By Iniruo Wills

ANOTHER WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, ANOTHER SPEECH MAKING BAZAAR IN BAYELSA?

By Iniruo Wills

___________________________________________________________________________________

Barely half way gone and still fairly young, the year 2020 is already uniquely historic in many ways. Easily forgotten now is the infectious affection with which an enthusing world welcomed it at birth, for as simple a reason as the nice ring of its twin name, Twenty-twenty. The ritual of New Year resolutions was expressed in momentous tones and portrayed with the finest memes across social media.

Then came coronavirus from the shadows of 2019’s evening, breaking out onto the morning of this year. Nothing has since remained the same. The world has literally stood still. The buzzword in recent years being disruption, coronavirus has become the world’s dominant Disruption. All are agreed that the one overarching lesson from the pandemic is that the world must rethink and reset its ways; so too its rituals.

Brass Community seeks remediation of environmental impact of Agip's Export Terminal

The Brass Community in Bayelsa has demanded the remediation on the environmental and economic damages to the Brass Canal by the Brass Crude Export Terminal for the past 48 years.

The demand was contained in a letter to the Managing Director of Nigeran Agip Oil Company (NAOC) by a law firm Ntephe, Smith and Wills for the Brass settlement dated May 25, 2020.

NAOC, an affiliate of Italian Energy firm Eni operates the offshore oil terminal along with some onshore oil block in the swamps of Bayelsa in addition to Joint Venture stakes in other fields operated by Shell in Bayelsa.

According to the letter, made available in Yenagoa on Wednesday, the remediation of the Brass Canal is overdue and being delayed by the oil firm.

      

Nigerian Content Board intervenes in NLNG’s N970m dispute with Nigerian company, Macobarb

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has waded into the dispute between the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and a Nigerian company, Macobarb International.

It was gathered that the N970 million contractual dispute is being mediated by the NCDMB as reconciliatory meetings have been held at NCDMB’s headquarters in Yenagoa.

Macobarb wants to be paid about N970m by the NLNG for what it termed wrongful termination of a contract and value for downtime and equipment on site over some period of time.

Bayelsa seals 6 churches for breaching COVID-19 protocols

The Bayelsa Government has sealed  six churches in the state for breaching ”operational protocols” required to conduct services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state government on May 7,  relaxed its restriction on social gatherings and allowed churches to hold services with up to 50 worshipers.

The relaxation was granted, subject to compliance to strict conditions on provision of  hand washing facilities, wearing of face masks and observance of social distancing in the seating arrangements.

Mr Freston Akpor, Permanent Secretary, Bayelsa Ministry of Information, however, said on Monday in Yenagoa,  that the Security Sub – Committee of the state’s Task Force on COVID- 19, sealed the churches during its surveillance on Sunday.