COVID-19 - The African Mirror

Jan

14

2021

Data on AstraZeneca vaccine and S.African variant should come soon – UK expert

COVID-19

DATA on the highly contagious COVID-19 variant identified in England do not suggest that vaccines will be less effective against it, while data on the South African variant should be available within weeks, a top British vaccines expert has said. "We have the most data on the UK variant. That doesn't suggest that it will be any less well protected against by the vaccine," said Wei Shen Lim, chair of Covid-19 Immunisation on Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Asked specifically about the South African variant, he said that Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine trials had been conducted in South Africa which…

Jan

14

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal in talks to buy vaccine from China

COVID-19

SENEGAL is in talks to buy at least 200,000 doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm, Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr has announced. Senegal this month said it would buy extra vaccines to complement those it will get through the World Health Organization-backed COVAX scheme, which aims to deliver 1.3 billion doses this year to 92 low- and middle-income nations. A deal with Sinopharm could help Senegal start vaccinations before COVAX kicks in, a small boost for a country where cases this month have surged to record highs and intensive care beds are full. But it would cover…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria working procuring vaccines

COVID-19

CHIJIOKE OHUOCHA NIGERIA is working on what type and quantity of COVID-19 vaccines to procure and will make financial provision for them in its 2021 budget, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed has said. Africa's most populous nation has not been as hard-hit by the pandemic as others on the continent, such as South Africa, but it is in the grip of a second wave of infections. Nigerian authorities have previously said the country is working with the COVAX programme backed by the World Health Organization and expects to receive its first doses in January. Ahmed said the finance and health ministries…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal’s hospitals stretched

COVID-19

EDWARD McALLISTER and DIADIE BA SENEGAL is rushing to provide more hospital beds for coronavirus patients as infections soar and a lack of capacity means doctors are only able to admit the most severe cases, health officials said. A second wave of new infections and deaths hit record highs this month, forcing President Macky Sall to reimpose a state of emergency that bans gatherings and enforces mask-wearing. Doctors hope that will buy authorities enough time to install new facilities and reopen health centres that were active during the first wave last year but were shuttered as cases dropped in the…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Liverpool striker Salah donates oxygen to support his Egyptian village’s COVID fight

COVID-19

LIVERPOOL striker Mohamed Salah has donated oxygen and an ambulance to his home village in the Egyptian region of Gharbia, helping locals treat people suffering with COVID-19 as the country battles a second wave of infections. The 28-year-old himself tested positive for the coronavirus last November. "We have 14 oxygen cylinders inside the Mohamed Salah Charity Foundation. These help people in the village of Nagrig [Salah's hometown], as well as those from surrounding villages," said Hassan Bakr, the head of the charity. Bakr delivers oxygen cyclinders direct to patients homes. "We also have an ambulance unit built by Mohamed Salah,…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisia to lock down for four days from Thursday

COVID-19

TUNISIA will impose a four-day national lockdown from tomorrow along with lesser measures lasting until January 24 to combat a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, Health Minister Fouzi Mehdi has announced. "The situation is very critical and the vaccination will not come before February," Mehdi said. Other measures will include rotating staffing in-state jobs to reduce people in offices and transport, school closures, longer curfew hours and the removal of all chairs from cafes. On Monday Tunisia announced a new record high for confirmed cases in a day of 3,074 and said the intensive care units in most public hospitals…

Jan

18

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Let us be safe and save lives’

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa has used the eulogy to one of the country’s prominent traditional leaders to reinforce the dangers of COVID-19 and the need for South Africans to follow government protocols in order to reduce infection levels. Ramaphosa spoke at the funeral of King Thulare Thulare III, the King of Bapedi, who died of COVID-19 at the age of 40. The funeral was held in Mohlaletsi, in Ga-Sekhukhune, in the Limpopo Province. He said South Africa was in the midst of a second wave of coronavirus infections, far greater and far more destructive than what…

Jan

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisia reports daily record of 4,170 cases

COVID-19

TUNISIA has recorded 4,170 new confirmed coronavirus cases, a record since the start of the pandemic. The country on Thursday imposed a four-day national lockdown and closed schools until Jan. 24 to combat a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases. Other measures included rotating staffing in state jobs to reduce people in offices and transport, longer curfew hours and the removal of all chairs from cafes. Coronavirus cases have been rising fast in Tunisia, which had managed to contain the virus last year. They have now reached 175,065 cases and 5,528 deaths. With intensive care units in most public hospitals full…

Jan

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Push for digital COVID-19 record

COVID-19

MANAS MISHRA and AMRUTA KHANDEKAR MICROSOFT Corp, health insurer Cigna Corp and Mayo Clinic are part of a coalition pushing for digital records of people who get vaccinated against COVID-19. A key aim of the project, called Vaccination Credential Initiative, is to help people store encrypted digital copies of their immunization records in a digital wallet of their choice, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. These records could eventually be used, with an individual's consent, by colleges that are trying to re-open or even for entry into concerts in the future, Joan Harvey, an executive at Cigna…

Jan

15

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 stops Zondo Commission

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER COVID-19, the virus that has killed over 34 000 South Africa and infected over 1.2-million has put brakes on the Zondo Commission into state capture. Presiding officer, Deputy Judge President Judge Zondo was forced to stop the hearings after the lunch break because he had come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Zondo, following the government’s COVID-19 protocols, stopped the hearing and has gone into isolation. It is expected that the commission staff that has been in contact with him would also go into isolation. “We are supposed to continue but we are…