COVID-19 - The African Mirror

Oct

15

2020

Thousands more underfed children may die due to COVID

COVID-19

AN extra 10,000 children per month may die this year from malnutrition due to the COVID-19 crisis, the head of the World Health Organisation has warned. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a U.N Food and Agriculture (FAO) conference that due to the pandemic he expected a 14% rise in cases of severe child malnutrition this year - or 6.7 million more people - mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. "We cannot accept a world where the rich have access to healthy diets while the poor are left behind... the rich can afford to stay home, the poor must go out…

Nov

16

2020

By The African Mirror

Algeria to reimpose restrictions after coronavirus cases rise

COVID-19

ALGERIA will reimpose restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19 from November 17, including closing gyms, cultural centres, leisure venues and used car markets, and limiting opening hours for some businesses, the prime minister's office said on Sunday. The new measures are aimed at coping with "the worrying phase that the country is experiencing in terms of the evolution of the epidemiological situation," it said in a statement. Under the restrictions, businesses such as cafes, restaurants, hair salons and toy shops will be ordered to close at 3:00 p.m. The North African country had started easing restrictions in June after…

Nov

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Vaccine alliance secures $2 bln to fund COVID shots for poor nations

COVID-19

KATE KELLAND and STEPHANIE NEBEHAY A facility set up by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the GAVI vaccine group has exceeded an interim target of raising more than $2 billion to buy and distribute COVID-19 shots for poorer countries but said it still needs more. The GAVI alliance has announced that the funds for an advance market commitment (AMC) will allow the COVAX facility to buy an initial one billion vaccine doses for 92 eligible countries which would not otherwise be able to afford them. "We've seen sovereign and private donors from across the world dig deep and meet…

Nov

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Ethnic minorities disproportionately affected by coronavirus -The LancetE

COVID-19

ETHNIC minority groups are disproportionately affected by the novel coronavirus, with Blacks and Asians at increased risk of COVID-19 infection compared to white individuals, according to an analysis published in The Lancet medical journal About 18.7 million patients from 50 studies were included to establish the findings, the analysis said. Forty-two of the studies were from the United States and eight from the United Kingdom. "Asians may be at higher risk of ITU (intensive therapy unit) admission and death," the analysis read. "These findings are of critical public health importance in informing interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality amongst ethnic…

Nov

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Liverpool’s Salah tests positive for coronavirus says Egyptian FA

COVID-19

LIVERPOOL striker Mohamed Salah has tested positive for the coronavirus on the eve of Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Togo, the Egyptian Football Association has announced. "The medical swab conducted on the mission of our first national football team showed that our international player, Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool star, was infected with the Coronavirus, after his test came back positive," the federation said in a statement on its Facebook page. "The player does not suffer from any symptoms. The other members of the team tested negative. Salah underwent the medical protocol after the team's doctor coordinated with his…

Nov

13

2020

By The African Mirror

What it would take to get super-cold COVID-19 vaccine to W. Africa

COVID-19

NELLIE PEYTON HOPE is rising that a new vaccine could halt the COVID-19 pandemic - for some - but lessons learnt from past vaccine programmes in West Africa suggest millions more might miss out. The super-cold storage temperature required for the new vaccine will make it near impossible to deliver in rural parts of Africa, said public health expert Evelyn Castle. "We would need all new infrastructure," said Castle, executive director of the Nigeria-based non-profit organisation eHealth Africa, which in 2016 helped distribute an Ebola vaccine in Sierra Leone at similar temperatures. "(In Sierra Leone), we had to do full…

Oct

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Pope wears mask for first time at public service

COVID-19

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis wore a mask for the first time at a public function on Tuesday when he and other religious leaders attended a prayer service for peace around the world. The pope wore a white mask during the service at the Rome Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Previously he wore masks only in a car taking him to his weekly audiences in the Vatican. He had come under some criticism, particularly on social media, for not wearing a mask at his general audiences and sometimes coming in relatively close contact with visitors. Francis, 83, attended the service…

Oct

22

2020

By The African Mirror

EU cuts Tunisia from safe traveller list

COVID-19

THE European Union is set to cut Canada, Georgia and Tunisia from a "white list" of countries from which travellers can visit the bloc without COVID-related restrictions such as quarantines or mandatory tests while adding Singapore. A meeting of ambassadors from the 27 EU nations decided to remove the three countries because of sharp increases in COVID-19 infections there, whereas the situation in Singapore had improved. The proposal will be formalised by the end of the week as long as none of the 27 EU countries object, said two EU diplomats with knowledge of the meeting. After the changes, the…

Oct

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Risk of COVID-19 resurgence in South Africa as cases rise in Cape Town

COVID-19

SOUTH Africa's faces a high risk of resurging coronavirus infections that may lead to a review by the council deciding on lockdowns, after new cases rose by 42% in Western Cape province in the last two weeks, the health minister has announced. Zweli Mkhize said in a statement that the increase in infections and deaths "will inform the recommendations that the Health Department makes to the National Coronavirus Council", the body that determines the different levels of lockdown restrictions. "According to our resurgence plan, we define this significant spike in new cases in the Western Cape as a resurgence," said…

Oct

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Surviving the pandemic: blind Cuban piano tuner struggles to make ends meet

COVID-19

FLORA Villareal, 67, part of a cohort of Cubans who graduated from an experimental piano tuning program for the blind and visually impaired in 1970, is still plying her trade half a century later. But this year has been hard because of the pandemic. She usually works for Havana's recording studios and performance venues, which had to close down for many months during Cuba's coronavirus lockdown. "It's been very difficult because there's virtually been no work," said Villareal, a wiry woman with silver shoulder-length hair who uses a white walking stick. "And I've also had to look after myself because…