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Jul
23
2020
By The African Mirror
South Africa’s 59% excess deaths imply hidden COVID-19 toll

South Africa’s 59% excess deaths imply hidden COVID-19 toll

COVID-19
TIM COCKS SOUTH Africa witnessed some 17,000 extra deaths from natural causes or 59% more than would normally be expected between early May and mid-July, scientists said. This suggests that more people are dying of COVID-19 than shown in official figures. New data by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) showed that just in the week leading up to July 14 there was an excess of 5,022 deaths by natural causes, about half more than usual. Africa's most industrialised nation is in the middle of a runaway epidemic of the coronavirus, with cases increasing by more than 10,000 a…
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Jul
23
2020
By The African Mirror
Armed with social media, Zimbabwean youth fight coronavirus ‘infodemic’

Armed with social media, Zimbabwean youth fight coronavirus ‘infodemic’

NEWS
KIM HARRISBERG and LUNGELO NDHLOVU  “DRINKING alcohol will kill the coronavirus”. “It is OK to share face masks”. “Africans cannot get COVID-19”. “The pandemic is not even real”. These are some of the coronavirus myths that a team of 20 Zimbabwean youth have been busting online since the country's lockdown began in late March, using social media and radio shows to reach an estimated 100,000 people to date. "There is a common saying that 'ignorance is bliss'. Well, in this instance, ignorance is not bliss, if anything ignorance is death," said Bridget Mutsinze, 25, a volunteer based in the capital,…
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Jul
23
2020
By The African Mirror
South African restaurants plead for end to ‘job-killing’ restrictions

South African restaurants plead for end to ‘job-killing’ restrictions

NEWS
NQOBILE DLUDLA THOUSANDS of South African restaurant and bar owners placed tables and chairs on the streets outside their premises on Wednesday in a nationwide protest against lockdown restrictions that prevent them from selling alcohol or trading after 9 p.m. The nation's hospitality sector is one of the hardest-hit by government restrictions imposed at the end of March to curb the spread of the coronavirus. At the end of June, restaurants were allowed to offer sit-down services again, but at limited capacity and without serving alcohol. But that is not enough for Llewy Mateza, owner of The Local Grill in…
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Jul
23
2020
By The African Mirror
Africa’s confirmed COVID-19 cases exceed 750,000

Africa’s confirmed COVID-19 cases exceed 750,000

COVID-19
TOTAL confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa have passed 750,000, a Reuters tally of government and World Health Organization data showed on Wednesday. The tally showed the continent had 751,151 cases, 15,721 deaths and 407,461 recoveries. Cases crossed the 500,000 mark on July 8. The virus hit Africa later than other continents and transmission rates are lower than elsewhere. Still, this could translate into a prolonged, years-long outbreak, WHO said in May. Most countries on the continent have imposed restrictions on public gatherings and international travel and introduced curfews among other steps meant to curb the spread of the virus. Although…
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Jul
21
2020
By The African Mirror
COVID-19 vaccine developer cautious on 2020 roll-out

COVID-19 vaccine developer cautious on 2020 roll-out

NEWS
ALISTAIR SMOUT  THE University of Oxford's possible COVID-19 vaccine could be rolled out by the end of the year but there is no certainty, the lead developer of the vaccine has announced. The experimental vaccine, which has been licensed to AstraZeneca, produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, preserving hopes it could be in use by the end of 2020. "The end of the year target for getting vaccine roll-out, it's a possibility but there's absolutely no certainty about that because we need three things to happen," Sarah Gilbert told BBC Radio. She said it…
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Jul
21
2020
By The African Mirror
Meet Nigerian COVID-19 tracers

Meet Nigerian COVID-19 tracers

AFRICITIES
LIBBY GEORGE, PAUL GEORGE, PAUL CARSTEN and ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM EARLY one evening, Folasade Fadare and her team of four disease hunters piled into a van and headed for Okegun, a rural community down a narrow potholed road in eastern Lagos state. A coronavirus patient had visited the area, and it was their task to find anyone exposed, isolate them and trace their contacts. The team quickly realised the job was too big: more than 100 people needed to be interviewed and tested. Ultimately, only the two sickest people, feverish and gasping for air, were sent to hospital to be isolated…
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Jul
20
2020
By The African Mirror
Caught flouting curfew in bar, Kenyan official quits COVID committee

Caught flouting curfew in bar, Kenyan official quits COVID committee

NEWS
THE chairman of Kenya's senate committee overseeing the government's response to the coronavirus crisis has quit the post after police said he flouted an overnight curfew to enjoy drinks with others in a Nairobi bar. "I will bear responsibility ... I apologise to Kenyans and I will face the full consequences of the law," Johnson Sakaja, who represents Nairobi county and is a close ally of President Uhuru Kenyatta, told reporters. Police said Sakaja was caught in the early hours of Saturday morning drinking with about 10 others, long after a 9 p.m.-4 a.m. curfew had set in. He is…
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Jul
20
2020
By The African Mirror
‘This can’t go on’: U.S. workers plan nationwide strike to protest racial injustice

‘This can’t go on’: U.S. workers plan nationwide strike to protest racial injustice

WORLD
NELLIE PEYTON FAST-FOOD, nursing home, airport and other frontline workers across the United States are planning a mass strike on Monday to protest systemic racism and inadequate protections for Black people against coronavirus. The Strike for Black Lives is expected to draw tens of thousands of workers in over 25 U.S. cities, according to a coalition of national labor unions and social justice groups that have organized it. Some workers will strike all day and others will walk off their jobs for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time that a white police officer knelt on the neck…
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Jul
20
2020
By The African Mirror
Ethiopian farmers slaughter thousands of chicks as COVID hits demand

Ethiopian farmers slaughter thousands of chicks as COVID hits demand

COVID-19
KUMERRA GEMECHU ETHIOPIAN poultry farmers have destroyed hundreds of thousands of chicks, as the sector reels from a collapse in demand from the hotel sector because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ethiopia's movement restrictions to try to contain the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has led hotels in Addis Ababa to reduce operations or even to close, removing a major source of demand for poultry products. Government data was not available but EthioChicken, one of the biggest suppliers of poultry products in Addis Ababa, said it had to kill nearly 650,000 chicks in five weeks over May and June and estimated…
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Jul
19
2020
By The African Mirror
Nigerian Foreign Minister Onyeama tests positive for COVID-19

Nigerian Foreign Minister Onyeama tests positive for COVID-19

NEWS
NIGERIAN Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said on Sunday he had tested positive for COVID-19 and became the first member of President Muhammadu Buhari's cabinet to contract the new coronavirus. Onyeama, 64, said on Twitter he had taken a COVID-19 test because of a throat irritation. "Did my fourth Covid-19 test yesterday at the first sign of a throat irritation and unfortunately this time it came back positive," he tweeted. "Heading for isolation in a health facility and praying for the best." Buhari's cabinet has been conducting executive council meetings virtually as part of measures to keep the government working while…
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