HEALTH - The African Mirror

Apr

06

2021

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…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

A COVID-19 Africa snapshot

COVID-19

A “third wave” of COVID-19 cases is filling hospital beds, exhausting oxygen stocks, and testing already overloaded health staff in the hardest-hit African countries. Continent-wide, recorded infections are at over six million, with more than 153,000 official deaths. The highly transmissible Delta variant is now prevalent in 16 countries and is surging through unvaccinated populations. “The worst is yet to come,” Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, has warned. “The end to this precipitous rise is still weeks away.” The continent’s vaccine rollout is crawling, slowed in part by a critical shortage of doses. Countries are reliant on bilateral deals and…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 claims the life of Africa’s music legend

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER TSHEPO Tshola, the legendary songwriter and musician, has passed away in hospital from COVID-19 related complications. The death of Tshola (68), who was born in Lesotho but made his name in South Africa and throughout the African continent, has sent shockwaves throughout the music industry. In SA, fans of Tshola, popularly known as the “Village Pope” or “Black Moses”, have started to celebrate the life and times of man who started his career with Sankomota, a Lesotho-based music group. The SA government has paid tribute to Tshola. “We extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends and…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Risk of ‘catastrophic’ surge in Middle East

COVID-19

A surge of coronavirus cases in several Middle Eastern countries could have dire consequences, aggravated by the spread of the Delta variant and low vaccine availability, the World Health Organisation has warned. After a decline in cases and deaths in the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean region for eight weeks, the agency said there had been significant increases in cases in Libya, Iran, Iraq and Tunisia, with sharp rises expected in Lebanon and Morocco. (Graphic on global cases and deaths) Next week countries across the region will mark the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, which traditionally includes religious and social gatherings where infections…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal sees ‘unprecedented’ surge in coronavirus cases

COVID-19

SENEGAL is experiencing an "unprecedented" surge in COVID-19 infections, the health ministry has revealed, after reporting a new daily record of 733 cases. The previous record was 529 cases recorded on Sunday. Senegal has seen relatively few coronavirus-related cases and deaths so far. But like many African countries, it does not have enough doses to vaccinate widely, leaving it vulnerable to fresh surges. "The situation is unprecedented. We have never seen such an increase in cases," said health ministry spokesman Mamadou Ndiaye. "Measures must be taken urgently to reverse the trend... We hope that more energetic measures will be taken…