HEALTH - The African Mirror

Dec

25

2020

Eritrea reports first COVID-19 death – information ministry

COVID-19

ERITREA has reported its first death from COVID-19, its information ministry said. The ministry said in a statement on its website late on Wednesday its total confirmed cases of the coronavirus stood at 877, while recoveries were 599. It gave no more details on the death. Eritrea reported its first coronavirus case on March 21.

Dec

24

2020

By The African Mirror

Malawi closes borders again following coronavirus resurgence

COVID-19

MALAWI will close its borders for 14 days and restrict public gatherings to 100 people following a new surge in cases of the coronavirus, the southern African nation's presidential task force on COVID-19 said on Tuesday. After nearly two months without new positive cases, Malawi on Tuesday recorded 46 new infections, bringing the total number of infections to 6,248, with 187 deaths, according to the health ministry. Malawi's borders and airports re-opened in October as positive cases fell, although some experts fear the real figure may be higher as just over 80,000 tests have been conducted. Malawi has a population…

Dec

24

2020

By The African Mirror

Tunisia to ban New Year celebrations, extends night curfew

COVID-19

TUNISIA will ban all events including celebrations for the new year and extend its night curfew until January 15 to help combat the spread of coronavirus, the health minister said on Tuesday. The government imposed the night curfew in October and banned travel between regions in the North African country. On Monday, Tunisia said it had recorded a total of 121,718 coronavirus infections, including 4,199 deaths. Tunisian authorities said they had ordered vaccines from U.S. drugmaker Pfizer. - Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Dec

24

2020

By The African Mirror

Swiss to resume flights for stranded Britons and South Africans to go home

COVID-19

SWITZERLAND will allow flights to Britain and South Africa to resume from Thursday, allowing visitors from the two countries where a new strain of coronavirus has emerged to return home for Christmas. The flight connections, which were suspended at midnight on Sunday, December 20, can temporarily resume from Thursday, December 24, the government said on Wednesday. The flights can also be used for Swiss people stranded in Britain and South Africa to return home, it added. Special protective measures will be applied to people who are still in quarantine to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. The government also…

Dec

23

2020

By The African Mirror

More countries ban all flights from South Africa over COVID-19 mutation

COVID-19

The Netherlands has joined a range of nations banning flights from South Africa to stop the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus. The Dutch government said all passenger flights were banned with immediate effect until January 1, at the latest. An exception would be made for medical workers, it said, while cargo flights were also still allowed. At least seven countries and airlines, including Germany and Turkey, were reported to have banned flights to South Africa on Monday after a new genetic mutation of COVID-19 had been found there and is believed to be responsible for a recent…

Dec

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Pay cuts and forced overtime: COVID-19 takes heavy toll on Ethiopia’s garment workers

COVID-19

EMELINE WUILBERCQ EVEN before COVID-19 struck, the women stitching clothes at Ethiopia's Hawassa industrial park were among the world's worst-paid garment workers - many making less than $30 per month. Today, pay cuts and forced overtime have become common in short-staffed factories abandoned by hundreds of former employees - some too scared of catching the coronavirus to return, several workers told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Tigist, a 20-year-old seamstress, said some of her colleagues had not come back to Hawassa after they were furloughed in the early months of the pandemic, as the global garment industry was hammered by cancelled…

Dec

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Are COVID-19 vaccines safe for people living with HIV?

HEALTH

RACHEL SAVAGE AS the first COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out around the world, HIV/AIDS experts and advocates have sought to reassure those living with HIV that they can safely get the coronavirus vaccination. Some countries have recommended that HIV-positive people should be given priority for vaccination against COVID-19 once the most at-risk groups - the elderly and frontline healthcare workers - have received their shots. Germany has said HIV-positive people will be included in a third tier of priority patients - along with the over-60s, people with conditions such as heart, kidney and liver disease, and those working in key…

Dec

22

2020

By The African Mirror

WHO says no need for major alarm over new coronavirus strain

COVID-19

EMMA FARGE and MICHAEL SHIELDS THE World Health Organization cautioned against major alarm over a new, highly infectious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain, saying this was a normal part of a pandemic's evolution. WHO officials even put a positive light on the discovery of the new strains that prompted a slew of alarmed countries to impose travel restrictions on Britain and South Africa, saying new tools to track the virus were working. "We have to find a balance. It's very important to have transparency, it's very important to tell the public the way it is, but…

Dec

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Tunisia bans air travel with UK, Australia and South Africa over new virus

COVID-19

Tunisia has suspended all air travel with Britain, Australia and South Africa, citing fears of a new coronavirus strain. Tunisia has reported a total of 120,687 coronavirus infections and 4,158 deaths. The health ministry said it was holding an emergency meeting to follow up on the developments of the epidemiological situation around the world. - Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Dec

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Are digital health passports a good idea?

COVID-19

UMBERTO BAACHI THE rollout of the first batches of COVID-19 vaccines in Britain and the United States has reignited a debate around the possible use of digital health passports to ease the lockdowns that are crippling the global economy. Proponents say identifying people who are immune to the novel coronavirus or at lower risk of spreading it could help open up travel and other services. But, critics have raised concerns over privacy, health and discrimination. As more technology firms develop digital certificates that can be accessed on smartphones by employers, airlines and others here is all you need to know…