COVID-19 - The African Mirror

Oct

28

2020

UN in New York cancels in-person meetings due to COVID-19 infections

COVID-19

THE United Nations has cancelled all in-person meetings at its New York headquarters after five people in Niger's U.N. mission were infected with the coronavirus, diplomats said. After largely operating virtually since New York became a global COVID-19 hotspot in March, the 193-member world body had been holding some in-person gatherings again, with COVID-19 precautions such as requiring diplomats to wear masks, social distance and restricting the number of people at meetings. In a letter to member states late on Monday, U.N. General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir said the U.N. medical unit had recommended cancelling in-person meetings on Tuesday, pending…

Oct

27

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 causes some patients’ immune systems to attack their own bodies, which may contribute to severe illness

COVID-19

MATTHEW WOODRUFF, Instructor, Lowance Center for Human Immunology, Emory University ACROSS the world, immunologists who retooled their labs to join the fight against SARS-CoV-2 are furiously trying to explain why some people get so sick while others recover unscathed. The pace is dizzying, but some clear trends have emerged. One area of focus has been the production of antibodies – powerful proteins capable of disabling and killing invading pathogens like viruses. Of great concern has been the sporadic identification of so-called autoreactive antibodies that, instead of targeting disease causing microbes, target the tissues of individuals suffering from severe cases of…

Oct

27

2020

By The African Mirror

Wave of new COVID-19 cases crashes across U.S. and Europe as winter looms

COVID-19

JAMES MACKENZIE and LISA SHUMAKER THE United States, Russia, France and many other countries are setting records for coronavirus infections as a tidal wave of cases washes over parts of the Northern Hemisphere, forcing some countries to impose new curbs. The gloom weighed on global financial markets on Monday as surging infections clouded the economic outlook. U.S. stocks had their worst day in more than seven weeks over the double whammy of record coronavirus cases and political deadlock in negotiations to provide more economic aid. Word that a vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc produced…

Oct

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Are warnings of a COVID-19 famine in Africa overblown?

COVID-19

OBI ANYADIKE ALARM bells have been ringing for months that COVID-19 could push fragile African countries “closer to the abyss” of famine as jobs are lost, local markets close, and poverty deepens. Aid agencies routinely list the coronavirus as a major factor in driving humanitarian needs, from the Sahel to Somalia, and don’t shy away from describing its impact as the “perfect storm”. A joint report in July by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calculated that COVID-19 could create an additional 121 million hungry people globally by the end of the year – mostly in 15 already crisis-affected African countries. But…

Oct

25

2020

By The African Mirror

Algerian president, 75, self isolates as pandemic spreads

COVID-19

ALGERIA’S 75-year-old President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is self-isolating because some officials in "upper ranks of the government" are sick with COVID-19, he has said in a Tweet. Tebboune took office in December in an election that came amidst months of mass protests which forced his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power after 20 years. "I assure you, my brothers and sisters, that I am well and healthy and that I continue my work," he said, saying his decision was taken on the advice of medical staff. The global pandemic struck Algeria's economy as it faced long-term challenges posed by the decline of…

Oct

25

2020

By The African Mirror

Can the United Nations protect human rights in the age of COVID-19?

COVID-19

ON the 75th anniversary of the U.N.’s founding, experts warn human rights violations are flourishing and say the U.N. must adapt CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON DEFENDING human rights, a key mission of the United Nations, it seems, has never been harder. A global pandemic has deepened inequality, pushed millions out of work and seen governments enforce restrictions on people's movement and ramp up surveillance. Oct 24 marks 75 years since the U.N. was founded in the aftermath of World War II. The Thomson Reuters Foundation asked five former and current U.N. advisors how COVID-19 is impacting it's ability to protect human rights…

Oct

24

2020

By The African Mirror

WHO warning: World at critical juncture, some countries on “dangerous track”

COVID-19

THE world is now at a critical juncture in the COVID-19 pandemic and some countries are on a dangerous path, facing the prospect of health services collapsing under the strain, the head of the World Health Organization has warned. "We are at a critical juncture in the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the Northern hemisphere," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. "The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track." "We urge leaders to take immediate action, to prevent further unnecessary deaths, essential health services from collapsing and schools…

Oct

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Refusing to wear a mask in Ethiopia could cost you two years in jail

COVID-19

DAWIT ENDESHAW ETHIOPIA can jail people for up to two years if they deliberately violate restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, the attorney general's office said, amid concern that citizens are becoming lax after a state of emergency was lifted. The restrictions prohibit shaking hands, not wearing a mask in a public place, seating more than three people at a table or not keeping "two adult steps" - around six feet - apart. "Now it is as if COVID is no longer there, the public is not taking care," Health Minister Lia Tadesse tweeted on Thursday. "This will…

Nov

27

2020

By The African Mirror

Sixty km queues as COVID turns Kenyan border crossing into lorry park

COVID-19

BAZ RATNER THE queue of lorries snakes down the narrow tarmac road, stretching back as far as the eye can see on both sides of a sign that reads: "Welcome to Busia, the gateway to east and central Africa". Before COVID-19, Kenyan driver Joseph Kimani used to reckon with a five-hour wait to cross from there into Uganda with his cargo of diesel. Now the queue on the Kenyan side, which he and other drivers say extends for upwards of 60 km (37 miles), take five days to clear and, for them, life on the road has become literally that.…

Nov

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Sudan’s former PM Sadiq al-Mahdi dies from coronavirus in UAE

COVID-19

SUDAN’S last democratically elected prime minister, Sadiq al-Mahdi, who was overthrown in the 1989 military coup that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, has died from a coronavirus infection, his party has announced. Mahdi, aged 84, had been hospitalised in the United Arab Emirates three weeks ago. His moderate Umma Party was one of the largest opposition parties under Bashir, and Mahdi remained an influential figure even after Bashir was toppled in April 2019. Sudan's transitional administration, which governs under a power sharing deal between the military and civilian groups, declared three days of mourning. Last month, Mahdi's family said he…