Coronavirus - The African Mirror

Jul

2020

COVID-19: the risk the pandemic poses to SA’s water supply

Household water supplies may fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic – if users can no longer pay their bills, and municipalities’ revenue streams dry up, experts have warned. “In the short term, there will still be water for people to wash their hands. However, the long term consequences could be devastating if municipalities are not able to fund their ongoing operations while funds for the President’s Infrastructure Investment initiative will also be affected,” says Mike Muller, Chair of the Technical Subcommittee for the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA). As the lockdown impacts individuals and companies across the spectrum, prompting…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

After losing jobs, many Sudanese struggle to make ends meet in Egypt

COVID-19

ULF LAESSING AFTER losing his job as house cleaner in Cairo, Sudanese refugee Abdel-Nasser Khamis has been struggling to pay his bills. It's a fate shared by tens of thousands of migrants in Egypt, where the fallout from the coronavirus has hit the economy hard, U.N. officials and aid workers say. Coronavirus lockdowns also cost many Egyptians their jobs. More than a quarter of those who had a job have not been working since the government brought in measures to fight the pandemic, while more than half have been put on shorter hours, the statistics office says. In turn Egyptians…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenya police arrest prison warden over rape of patient in COVID-19 quarantine

NEWS

KENYAN police arrested a prison warden accused of raping a female patient in a COVID-19 isolation facility he was meant to be guarding, a police report said on Friday. It was the latest in a string of incidents highlighting substandard conditions at some government-run coronavirus treatment centre in the East African country. The attack may add to fears overtreatment in government facilities that health experts have warned may deter Kenyans from coming forward to be tested for the new coronavirus. Earlier this year there were several breakouts from quarantine centre amid bitter complaints about inadequate food, water and hygiene from…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

WHO reports record daily increase in global coronavirus cases, up over 237,000

COVID-19

The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Friday, with the total rising by 237,743 in 24 hours. The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to a daily report. The previous WHO record for new cases was 230,370 on July 12. Deaths have held steady and averaged less than 5,000 a day in July. Total global coronavirus cases were approaching 14 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, marking another milestone in the spread of the disease that has killed more than 590,000 people in seven months.

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Russia expects to make COVID-19 vaccine being developed in Britain

WORLD

RUSSIA expects a deal with AstraZeneca for it to manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the pharmaceuticals giant and Oxford University to go ahead despite allegations it has been trying to steal vaccine data, its wealth fund head said. Britain's National Cyber Security Centre said on Thursday that hackers backed by the Russian state were trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world, allegations the Kremlin denied. Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said in an interview on Friday that the allegations were false and that Moscow did…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Coronavirus fans flames of love in Nigeria’s online dating scene

COVID-19

NNEKA CHILE and ANGELA UKOMADU OREULUWA Akinnawo is in his element. Lagos's bars and restaurants are shut and Nigerians are struggling to socialise. The pandemic is his perfect time to find a soul mate online. "The dating thing during this restriction works perfectly for me because I'm really an indoors person," said Akinnawo, a 25-year-old digital marketer. Sparked by coronavirus, Akinnawo and others like him are part of a boom in internet dating tailored for Nigerian professionals. In Lagos, pre-outbreak courtship often revolved around social functions, as well as couples meeting through church or their mosque's social networks. Vybe, an…