COVID-19 cases - The African Mirror

Apr

2022

As COVID hit Kenya and South Africa, race and class fears were amplified on Twitter

IT'S common in both Kenya and South Africa for there to be everyday conversations about inequalities in power relations and between “races”, classes and ethnic groups. Kenya, in East Africa, and South Africa, in southern Africa, share a history of British colonial divisions. In both countries, social movements and protests have sought to address these social injustices – like #FeesMustFall, #MenAreTrash, #SabaSabaMarchForOurLives, #OccupyParliamentKE. Authors JOB MWAURA, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cape TownUFUOMA AKPOJIVI, Associate Professor in Media Studies, University of the Witwatersrand Socio-economic and political divides were further exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic and the responses of the…

Mar

2022

By The African Mirror

WHO says global rise in COVID cases is ‘tip of the iceberg’

COVID-19

JENNIFER RIGBY and MANAS MISHRA FIGURES showing a global rise in COVID-19 cases could herald a much bigger problem as some countries also report a drop in testing rates, the WHO said, warning nations to remain vigilant against the virus. After more than a month of decline, COVID cases started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said, with lockdowns in Asia and China's Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak. A combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its BA.2 sublineage, and the lifting of public health and social measures,…

Mar

2022

By The African Mirror

The coronavirus in Nigeria has its own family history: keeping track is vital

COVID-19

NIGERIA recorded its first case of SARS-CoV-2 on 27 February 2020, and within five months at least one case had been reported in all states across the country. Author OLUBUSUYI MOSES ADEWUMI, Virologist , University of Ibadan By 11 March 2020, SARS-CoV-2 had infected over 100,000 people in at least 100 countries. The World Health Organisation consequently declared it a pandemic. Building on the success of Nigeria’s response to Ebola, the Nigerian government immediately activated a national Incident Control Centre. This was to enable routine surveillance, diagnosis, and prompt reporting of COVID-19 cases. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control swiftly…

Mar

2022

By The African Mirror

Masks, PCR tests no longer needed in Namibia as COVID cases fall

COVID-19

THE wearing of masks in public in Namibia and negative PCR tests for vaccinated visitors are no longer required, President Hage Geingob said on Tuesday, as active COVID-19 cases fall to just a couple of hundred. Infections peaked at more than 30,000 per month in June 2021 but the southern African country has averaged 14 cases per day during the last seven days, with the total active cases at 222. "Wearing of masks in public places is no longer mandatory," Geingob said in a televised briefing. People in closed spaces such as on public transport or in indoor public meetings…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympics: First stress test for “Covid Games”

COVID-19

THE first major test of how an Olympics can be held in the midst of a pandemic may well come this week in the men's soccer tournament when Japan face a South Africa side that could struggle to field 11 players due to the novel coronavirus. South Africa's squad was severely depleted by COVID-19 infections and withdrawals before they left for the Games and was then hit with the news that two players and a video analyst had tested positive on arrival in Tokyo. Organisers said late on Monday that 21 members of the delegation were close contacts, leaving South…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Morocco to send aid to Tunisia

COVID-19

MOROCCO plans to send 100 intensive care beds and a similar number of ventilators to help Tunisia tackle a surge in COVID-19 cases, Rabat's foreign ministry has announced. Morocco joins other Arab states which promised to help the North African country as it struggles to contain its worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began, putting its health care system under severe stress and depleting oxygen supplies. Intensive care units are full and there is a severe shortage of oxygen, officials said. The total number of coronavirus cases so far in Tunisia has climbed to 497,613, including 16,388 deaths.

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisian parliament speaker contracts COVID-19

COVID-19

THE speaker of Tunisia's parliament and the leader of the Islamist Ennahda Party, Rached Ghannouchi, has contracted COVID-19, an advisor to Ghannouchi has told Reuters. Ghannouchi, 80, is at home and will work remotely, the advisor said. Ghannouchi, the leader of the biggest party in the parliament, received two doses of an anti-COVID vaccine this year. Tunisia is seeing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, with intensive care wards almost full, health authorities said, after successfully containing the virus in the first wave last year. In total, Tunisia has recorded more than 500,000 coronavirus cases and about 16,500 deaths.

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa hits record 26,845 new COVID-19 cases in third wave

COVID-19

SOUTH Africa has registered more than 26 485 cases of COVID-19 , its highest tally of new infections since the pandemic began, as a third wave of the virus spread through a population in which just 5% have been vaccinated. The surge in cases in Africa's most industrialised nation has overwhelmed hospitals, especially in the main city of Johannesburg, and left overworked healthcare personnel struggling to find enough beds for critically ill patients. Bureaucratic failures have worsened the health crisis. The South African Medical Association threatened on Thursday to take the government to court because more than 200 new junior…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisian PM contracts COVID-19

COVID-19

TUNISIA’S Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has been infected with the coronavirus, the government has announced. Mechichi received a COVID-19 vaccine last month. The prime minister will cancel his meetings and continue to work remotely, the government statement added. Tunisia is seeing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, with intensive care wards almost full, health authorities said adding that the situation is catastrophic. After successfully containing the virus in the first wave last year, Tunisia is grappling with a rise in infections. The positive cases rate now is 36%. In total, Tunisia has recorded 395,000 coronavirus cases and about 14,406 deaths.

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

‘COVID tsunami’ hits Tunisia

COVID-19

TUNISIA is seeing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, with intensive care wards almost full, according to an adviser to the government. "A COVID tsunami is hitting the country as the number of positive tests is very high, the number of deaths sometimes exceeds 100 per day, and intensive care beds are almost full," said Amenallah Messadi, a member of the independent scientific committee that advises the government. The committee called for extending hours of the night curfew, imposing a full lockdown in governerates where the epidemic is spreading widely, and barring all sports gatherings. After successfully containing the virus…