HEALTH - The African Mirror

Sep

18

2020

Namibia to allow international travel, lift COVID state of emergency

COVID-19

THE Namibian government has announced that it will open up the country for international travel from September 18, as it ends a six-month-long state of emergency with the average number of daily coronavirus cases trending downwards. President Hage Geingob, during a media briefing, said the government had considered the economic implications of continuing the restrictions and the state of preparedness of its hospitals. The announcement comes a day after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country would allow international travel from October and lifted almost all lockdown restrictions with effect from September 21. Namibia's economy which relies heavily on…

Sep

18

2020

By The African Mirror

S.Africa tourism sector cautiously hopeful as borders set to reopen

COVID-19

WENDELL ROELF SOUTH Africa's pandemic-battered tourism sector on Thursday welcomed a government decision to allow international travel from October 1 but officials worried restrictions on key markets facing high infection rates could curtail any recovery. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday eased lockdown restrictions, among the world's strictest at the height of South Africa's outbreak, in a bid to revive the economy. Uncertainty over still unpublished travel regulations however, is tempering hopes of a quick recovery for the tourism sector, which contributes nearly 9% of GDP but has been devastated by massive job losses and business closures. "If we do not…

Sep

17

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 graft scandals fuel South Africans’ anger with ruling ANC

COVID-19

SIYABONGA SISHI and ALEXANDER WINNING A spate of corruption scandals during the COVID-19 pandemic has further fuelled some South Africans' frustration with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party and its failure to tackle graft despite renewed promises from President Cyril Ramaphosa. Reports of suspect deals between state officials and businesses providing medical equipment, as well as food aid parcels to the poor, have sparked outrage in a country which has recorded some 650,000 coronavirus cases, the highest number in Africa, and is also in the grip of a deepening recession. "In the coronavirus pandemic, we thought ... things will…

Sep

17

2020

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe eases COVID-19 restrictions as exam classes start

COVID-19

ZIMBABWE has lifted a ban on inter-city travel and extended working hours as the government gradually re-opens the economy by easing COVID-19 restrictions. The Southern African nation went into a lockdown in March and President Emmerson Mnangagwa later imposed an overnight curfew to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic has battered Zimbabwe, which was already reeling under hyperinflation and a looming scarcity of basic amenities before the pandemic struck. The country of 14 million people has seen 7,531 cases and 224 deaths so far, according to a Reuters tally. The cabinet approved the "resumption of inter-city travel to…

Sep

16

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa opens its borders, economy but cautions on COVID-19 resurgence

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER BOUYED by declining COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths, South Africa has all but lifted restrictions on economic and social activity but warned of a possible resurgence. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the country will move to a “new normal”, under COVID-19 alert level 1. Under the “new normal”, South African wills be required to exercise caution, social distancing, good hygiene and wear a mask at all times. In terms of the new minor restrictions, the country will gradually open its borders to allow for international travel. From September 21, the following changes will come…

Sep

16

2020

By The African Mirror

Pandemic makes tackling global woes more critical than ever – Bill Gates

COVID-19

ELLEN WULFHORST THE coronavirus pandemic has wiped out progress on lofty goals such as ending world poverty and hunger in the next decade, but the economic damage of COVID-19 shows how badly such global development is needed, philanthropist Bill Gates said. Across the world, the virus has deepened social and economic inequality in areas like education, pay and health care access, Gates said in remarks accompanying Monday's release of a global development report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The report outlines ways in which COVID-19 has wreaked economic damage and derailed progress on many of the global development…

Sep

15

2020

By The African Mirror

S.Africa’s coronavirus loan scheme lags, hobbling govt relief package

COVID-19

EMMA RUMNEY and ALEXANDER WINNING SOUTH Africa’s National Treasury plans no further easing of its coronavirus loan scheme criteria to stimulate uptake, it told Reuters, meaning almost a third of the government’s 500 billion rands ($30 billion) relief package may end up going unused. The 200 billion rand loan programme is a pillar of South African efforts to shield small businesses from the impact of the pandemic. Conditions were tweaked in July, including expanding who qualifies and extending the repayment grace period, after relatively few firms applied for the loans. Still, only 14.5 billion rand had been paid out through…

Sep

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Young people living on Harare’s streets provide glimpses into life under COVID-19 lockdown

COVID-19

LORRAINE VAN BLERK, Professor, University of Dundee JANINE HUNTER, Researcher, University of Dundee WAYNE SHAND, Honorary research fellow, University of Manchester THE lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, has had drastic effects on children and young people who live on the streets of many African cities. Their lives, even in “normal” times, are marked by ongoing hardship and tenacity. We work on a project called “Growing up on the Streets” in three African cities: Accra, Ghana; Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Harare, Zimbabwe. The aim is to provide insights into their daily lives…

Sep

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Why Sierra Leone needs to focus on cardiovascular health

HEALTH

MARIA ODLAND, Research Fellow Global Health, University of Birmingham JUSTINE INA DAVIES, Professor of Global Health, Institute for Applied Research, University of Birmingham CARDIOVASCULAR diseases and their risk factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, are major causes of death and disability globally. Noncommunicable diseases such as these arise mainly from lifestyle transitions towards a high-calorie diet and low-activity living. These conditions were previously regarded as a problem for high-income countries. But low- and middle-income countries have followed the same trend. Now more than three quarters of deaths due to cardiovascular disease are in low- and middle-income countries. Despite…

Sep

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Libyan medics already faced war, now the pandemic is surging there too

COVID-19

AS the pandemic started to rage through Libya last month, medics working in the war-ravaged country's few functioning hospitals faced their nightmare scenario - a surge in cases and dwindling resources. Hamza Abdulrahman Jelwal, 35, a supervising nurse at a quarantine centre in the coastal city of Misrata, has not seen his family since Libya's lockdown began in March. He has also not been paid. He tested positive for the coronavirus in August and was quarantined in the same facility. As soon as he got better, he got up and went back to work. "We work 12 hours a day.…