HEALTH - The African Mirror

Jul

17

2021

Tsepo Tshola – the village pope sleeps tonight

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER AFRICAN legend musician, composer Tsepo Tshola was more than a musician or a sweet baritone voice that entertained millions over the past five decades. Tshola (68), who passed away after a battle with COVID-19, was many things to many people. He helped many couples to celebrate their climax of their love - by tying the knot. Lots of couples danced to this music on their wedding day. Party-goers and music festival revellers danced into the night to his famous compositions. Many families who lost their loved ones turned to Tshola’s smooth baritone for comfort. He was, as…

Jul

16

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 deaths in Africa surge 43% week-on-week, WHO says

COVID-19

AFRICA recorded a 43% jump in COVID-19 deaths last week as infections and hospital admissions have risen and countries face shortages of oxygen and intensive-care beds, according to the World Health Organization. The continent's case fatality rate - the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases - stands at 2.6% against the global average of 2.2%, WHO Africa said in its weekly briefing. "Africa's third wave continues its destructive pathway, pushing past yet another grim milestone as the continent's case count tops six million," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, told the briefing. The surge in infections, which is partly…

Jul

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Bank provides $200 million for vaccines

COVID-19

STANDARD Chartered Bank has revealed that it is providing $200 million in not-for-profit funding to the African Export-Import Bank's (Afreximbank) COVID-19 vaccine procurement framework for Africa. The facility is part of Afreximbank's Advance Procurement Commitment framework, under which it has provided a $2 billion guarantee to manufacturers to secure access to vaccine doses for African nations, Standard Chartered said in a statement. "The speed of vaccine rollout is not only a healthcare issue but is increasingly a differentiator of near-term, post-pandemic economic recovery for African nations," said Simon Cooper, Standard Chartered's Chief Executive for Corporate, Commercial, and Institutional Banking. Africa…

Apr

06

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID pandemic increased stillbirth and maternal death rates: Lancet

COVID-19

RATES of stillbirth and maternal deaths rose by around a third during the COVID-19 pandemic, with pregnancy outcomes getting worse overall for both babies and mothers worldwide, according to an international data review published on Wednesday. Pooling data from 40 studies across 17 countries, the review found that lockdowns, disruption to maternity services, and fear of attending healthcare facilities all added to pregnancy risks, leading to generally worse results for women and infants. "The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on healthcare systems," said professor Asma Khalil, who co-led the research at St George's University of London. "The disruption…

Apr

06

2021

By The African Mirror

WHO wins dismissal of lawsuit in New York over pandemic response

COVID-19

JONATHAN STEMPEL A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit by residents of a suburban New York City county who accused the World Health Organization of gross negligence in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel yesterday said the WHO was immune under its own 1948 constitution and the International Organization Immunities Act from the proposed class-action lawsuit by the seven Westchester County plaintiffs. The plaintiffs, including a New Rochelle doctor and six Mount Vernon residents who contracted COVID-19, sought damages for Westchester adults over the WHO's alleged downplaying of the coronavirus early in the outbreak, and failure…

Jul

16

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 incidents at the Tokyo Olympics

COVID-19

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be held under unprecedented conditions and tight quarantine rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections. Yet a number of cases have emerged involving athletes and other people involved with the Games. The following is a list to date, 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…

Jul

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Effects of COVID-19 on millions of Nigerians

COVID-19

LIBBY GEORGE and ESTELLE SHIRBON SHEHU Ismaila Gbadebo has worked as a barber for two decades. The money he made at his rented stall in a bustling suburb of Nigeria's megacity, Lagos, used to be plenty for him to pay bills and set aside some savings. Now, he relies on donated food and sometimes skips meals to feed his family. Since COVID-19 hit Africa's most populous nation and biggest economy, prices for some staples such as eggs, onions and palm oil, have risen by 30% or more. Fewer people can afford a haircut, and those who can are demanding discounts…

Apr

06

2021

By The African Mirror

FACTBOX-Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 131.13 million, death toll at 2,989,554

COVID-19

MORE than 131.13 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 2,989,554 have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open in an external browser. Eikon users can click for a case tracker. The following table lists the top 50 countries by the number of reported cases. A complete list is available with the above links. COUNTRIES AND TOTAL DEATHS CONFIRMED DEATHS PER TERRITORIES CASES 10,000…

Jul

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Growing eviction risk as rent freezes end in Europe

HEALTH

ARTHUR NELSEN MILLIONS of European households may have to leave their homes in the coming months because they cannot afford to pay rent, housing experts say, as pandemic-related rent moratoriums wind down across the continent. Housing Europe, a Brussels-based social housing association, estimates that 10 million households are at risk, based on their analysis of a survey of 180,000 people across the 27 EU nations by Eurofound, which seeks to improve living and working conditions in the bloc. The U.N. special rapporteur on adequate housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, described that figure as "a rather conservative estimate ... given the high percentage…

Apr

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Ebola might be a chronic infection – but here’s why we shouldn’t panic

HEALTH

EBOLA is back in Guinea in West Africa, five years after the largest Ebola epidemic ever known ended – but it has not come back the way we expected it to. CONNOR BAMFORD, Research Fellow, Virology, Queen's University Belfast Eighteen people are reported to have been infected, of which nine have died. Although vaccines against Ebola exist and have been rolled out, there is the fear that these small clusters of infection could ignite into something much, much larger. What’s unusual about the virus that has caused this new outbreak is that it doesn’t seem to have come from an…