U.S. health authorities on Monday shortened the recommended isolation time for Americans with asymptomatic cases of Covid-19 to five days from the previous guidance of 10 days. Center for Disease Control and Prevention also said the asymptomatic people after isolation should follow five days of wearing a mask when around others. It also recommended a five-day quarantine for those exposed to the virus who are unvaccinated or are over six months out from their second mRNA dose or more than two months after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and not yet boosted. The quarantine period should be followed by strict…

South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a veteran of the struggle against white minority rule, died on Sunday aged 90. Following are reactions to his death. PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA "The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation's farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa. "Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead." U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND FIRST LADY JILL BIDEN "On this morning after Christmas, we…

The rampaging wave of the dangerous coronavirus pandemic has hit Nigeria’s State House, otherwise called Presidential Villa, as many aides of President Muhammadu Buhari and top officials of government are said to have contracted the virus. But the Nigerian government is keeping a sealed lip on the matter, even as newspapers correspondents are advised against reporting the surge in infections at the villa. Investigations by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that apart from the permanent secretary in the State House, Tijani Umar; the President’s Aide-de-camp (ADC), Yusuf Dodo; his chief security officer (CSO), Aliyu Musa, and his senior special assistant on media…

Faruk Yahaya, chief of army staff, has ordered the release of Sofiyat Akinlabi, the female soldier detained for accepting a corps member’s marriage proposal while on official duty. Sofiyat had accepted a marriage proposal from a male corps member at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Yikpata, Kwara state. According to reports, the army chief ordered Sofiyat’s release from detention in the spirit of Christmas. NAN quoted a source as saying the soldier had been warned and reprimanded for breaching the extant rule guiding the conduct of military personnel. The army had earlier said Sofiyat violated military…