HEALTH - The African Mirror

Jul

21

2021

FACTBOX-COVID-19 outbreaks at the Olympics

COVID-19

THE Tokyo 2020 Olympics, postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be held under unprecedented conditions including tight quarantine rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections. Nevertheless, a number of cases have emerged among athletes and other people involved with the Games. Following is a list of cases, in chronological order. JUNE 20 - A coach with Uganda's squad tests positive on arrival at Narita airport and is quarantined at a government-designated facility. The rest of the team heads by bus for their host city, Izumisano, near Osaka in western Japan. JUNE 23 - A Ugandan…

Feb

23

2021

By The African Mirror

W.H.O agrees to compensation fund

COVID-19

KATE KELLAND THE World Health Organization has agreed on a no-fault compensation plan for claims of serious side effects in people in 92 poorer countries due to get COVID-19 vaccines via the COVAX sharing scheme, resolving a big concern among recipient governments. The programme, which the WHO said was the first and only vaccine injury compensation mechanism operating on an international scale, will offer eligible people "a fast, fair, robust and transparent process", the WHO said in a statement. "By providing a no-fault lump-sum compensation in full and final settlement of any claims, the COVAX programme aims to significantly reduce…

Feb

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Students in France wait for food handouts as COVID-19 destroys part-time jobs

COVID-19

MANUEL AUSLOOS EVERY Tuesday evening, Moroccan student Chaimae Irfaq hands out food parcels to dozens of hard-up students in the foyer of her Paris university residence, and takes one home for herself. Irfaq arrived in France in October to complete her business studies degree and had expected to work part-time jobs to supplement the 700 euros a month her father gives her. But she said the coronavirus crisis meant there were few jobs going, with bars and restaurants closed and businesses feeling the pinch from COVID-19 restrictions. "If I had work I wouldn't need the (handouts)," she said as she…

Feb

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Oman bans arrivals from 8 African countries

COVID-19

OMAN’S supreme committee for dealing with COVID-19 said yesterday it was suspending entry for arrivals from Sudan, Lebanon, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, Guinea, Sierra Leone for 15 days from February 25, state media reported. The decision also includes arrivals from elsewhere if they have passed through any of those countries in the 14 days prior to applying to enter the sultanate. Omani citizens, diplomats, health workers and their families are exempt from the suspension, the committee said.

Feb

22

2021

By The African Mirror

W.H.O. rings Tanzania COVID-19 alarm bells

COVID-19

THE head of the World Health Organization has urged Tanzania to share information on its measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, saying the authorities there had repeatedly ignored his requests. President John Magufuli's sceptical approach towards COVID-19 has caused alarm among WHO officials. A government spokesman told Reuters on February 12 that Tanzania had "controlled" the outbreak, but it stopped reporting new coronavirus infections and deaths in May last year. At the time it had registered 509 cases and 21 deaths. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said yesterday that Tanzanians testing positive for COVID-19 abroad underscored "the need for Tanzania…

Feb

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Why Ebola is back in Guinea and why the response must be different this time

HEALTH

NEW reports of Ebola in Guinea are causing anxiety given the history of the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2016. This was the largest Ebola outbreak reported to date – 28,000 cases were recorded, including 11,000 deaths. It originated in Guinea and then spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia. The confirmed cases this time have been reported from the southeast of Guinea about 800km by road from the capital, Conakry, but only about 100km from various border points with Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. The concern is that the virus could spread to other locations in Guinea as well as neighbouring countries…

Jul

20

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 lockdowns and contraception: unexpected findings in four African countries

HEALTH

THE COVID-19 pandemic has affected the sexual and reproductive health needs of women across contexts. To curb the spread of disease across sub-Saharan Africa, many governments imposed early lockdown measures, including closures of borders, enforcement of curfews, and restrictions on movement. SHANNON N. WOOD, Assistant Scientist in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University CELIA KARP, Assistant Scientist in the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University FUNMILOLA OLAOLORUN, Lecturer/ Honorary Consultant at College of Medicine, University of Ibadan PIERRE AKILIMALI, Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health, University of Kinshasa During these…

Feb

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Jumping the COVID-19 vaccine line

COVID-19

LIN TAYLOR WHEN two little old ladies in bonnets and gloves arrived for a COVID-19 vaccine shot in Florida, health workers sensed something was not quite right. The women – who turned out to be aged in their 30s and 40s and had “dressed up as grannies” in an effort to get vaccines reserved for vulnerable elderly people – are among a growing number of people trying to cheat or game the system to get early access to scarce shots. VIP vaccine access scandals have also forced the resignation of ministers in Argentina and Peru this week. But fines and…

Jul

19

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria puts six states on COVID-19 red alert

COVID-19

NIGERIA has put six states on red alert after seeing a "worrisome" rise in COVID-19 infections, a government official said, urging people to curb gatherings and hold prayers outside mosques during this week's Muslim festival Eid-el-Kabir. Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, is like most parts of the continent now facing a COVID-19 third wave after detecting the more transmissible Delta variant. The head of the presidential steering committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, said Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory had been placed on red alert as part of preventive measures against the pandemic. A red…

Jul

19

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympics: First stress test for “Covid Games”

COVID-19

THE first major test of how an Olympics can be held in the midst of a pandemic may well come this week in the men's soccer tournament when Japan face a South Africa side that could struggle to field 11 players due to the novel coronavirus. South Africa's squad was severely depleted by COVID-19 infections and withdrawals before they left for the Games and was then hit with the news that two players and a video analyst had tested positive on arrival in Tokyo. Organisers said late on Monday that 21 members of the delegation were close contacts, leaving South…