COVID-19 infections - The African Mirror

May

05

2021

India COVID cases top 20 million, halting cricket, prompting lockdown call

RANJEDRA JADHAV and SUMIT KHANNA INDIA halted its hugely popular cricket league on Tuesday as COVID-19 infections surged past 20 million in the world's second-most populous country and the opposition leader said a nationwide lockdown was now the only way out. Cricket officials suspended the money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) as the pandemic spirals out of control, with the country adding 10 million cases in just over four months, after taking more than 10 months to reach the first 10 million. "While we have tried to bring in some positivity and cheer, it is imperative that the tournament is now…

Apr

26

2021

By The African Mirror

PM Modi says India shaken by coronavirus ‘storm’, U.S. readies help

WORLD

SANJEEV MIGLANI and SUDARSHAN VARADHAN PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying the "storm" of infections had shaken India, as the country set a new global record of the most number of COVID-19 infections in a day. The United States said it was deeply concerned by the massive surge in coronavirus cases in India and would rapidly send aid. The number of cases surged by 349,691 in the past 24 hours, the fourth straight day of record peaks. Hospitals in Delhi and across the country are turning away patients after running out of…

Apr

24

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt sends backup to province

COVID-19

EGYPT’S health ministry has sent reinforcements and equipment to a province south of Cairo over the past week, after medical staff complained of a shortage of resources to cope with a surge in coronavirus cases. The reported rise of infections in Sohag province, nearly 400 km (250 miles) from the capital, has raised concern about a third wave of COVID-19 infections in Egypt, where most restrictions on movement and other precautions were lifted after a first wave last summer. Deployments to Sohag include teams to conduct home visits and supplies of oxygen and ventilators, while hospitals have expanded admission capacities,…

Apr

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Modi’s “biggest crisis yet”

WORLD

RAJENDRA JADHAV INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday appealed to devotees to keep a key Hindu festival symbolic, amid worries about the spread of COVID-19 infections as the country reported more than 200,000 new cases for a third straight day. Criticism has mounted over the Indian government's handling of the health crisis, as religious festivals and election rallies continue despite reports of shortages of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and vaccination doses. India reported 234,692 COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to nearly 14.5 million, second only to the United States. Deaths from the…

Apr

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Guatemala blocks travel from Brazil, UK and South Africa

COVID-19

GUATEMALA will restrict entry to visitors who have recently been to Brazil, the United Kingdom and South Africa in an effort to control a jump in coronavirus cases, President Alejandro Giammattei has announced. The measure will go into effect on Saturday and last through April 30, applying to tourists who have been to those countries within the prior two weeks, Giammattei said in a public address. He noted that Guatemala had registered 5,813 new COVID-19 infections in the last five days, bringing the total in the Central American country to 210,667 confirmed cases. "That has triggered our alerts and forces…

Apr

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisia to review curfew

COVID-19

TUNISIA’S government will review the 7 pm curfew it has brought in to slow COVID-19 infections, after the president and a powerful labour union said it would hit shops, cafes and restaurants in the month of Ramadan that starts next week. "The measures will be subject to study after the request of the president, who called for a review of the nightly curfew," Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said. The intervention of President Kais Saied and the UGTT union followed a gathering of hundreds of workers in the city of Sousse who said they would keep shops and cafes open, and…

Apr

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Global COVID-19 death toll surpasses 3 million

COVID-19

ROSHAN ABRAHAM and ANURAG MAAN COVID-19-related deaths worldwide crossed 3 million yesterday, according to a Reuters tally, as the latest global resurgence of COVID-19 infections is challenging vaccination efforts across the globe. Worldwide COVID-19 deaths are rising once again, especially in Brazil and India. Health officials blame more infectious variants that were first detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa, along with public fatigue with lockdowns and other restrictions. (Open in an external browser for global COVID graphic) According to a Reuters tally, it took more than a year for the global coronavirus death toll to reach 2 million.…

Mar

27

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenya’s president orders new lockdown to curb COVID-19 wave

COVID-19

MAGGIE FICK and GEORGE OBULUTSA KENYA’S President Uhuru Kenyatta restricted travel in the capital Nairobi and four surrounding counties on Friday as COVID-19 infections hit record levels in East Africa's richest economy. In a televised address, Kenyatta said a wave of new curbs including a stricter curfew and the closure of bars would hurt but were essential to fight the pandemic. The new restrictions come a week before the Easter holiday, when many Nairobi residents traditionally travel to visit family in other parts of the country. "Whereas the foregoing measures will have a negative impact on the economy, these measures…

Mar

23

2021

By The African Mirror

S.African business group calls for vaccine focus on elderly

COVID-19

PROMIT MUKHERJEE A South African business lobby group has called on for the government to shift the emphasis on its vaccine programme to target the elderly and vulnerable sooner, to prevent hospitals from being overrun in a third wave of COVID-19 infections. South Africa is behind schedule in the first phase of its vaccination programme, aimed at inoculating health care workers. Those over 60 or with co-morbidities are not meant to be vaccinated until a later second phase, along with other essential workers and people who work in crowded settings. Stavros Nicolaou, an executive of Aspen Pharmacare which has a…

Mar

20

2021

By The African Mirror

India’s richest state hit by biggest virus surge

WORLD

RAJENDRA JADHAV, ABHIRUP ROY AND SWATI BHAT INDIA’S financial capital Mumbai is facing a second wave of COVID-19 infections that could overwhelm its health facilities, doctors said on Friday, after a record daily increase in cases in its home state Maharashtra. New infections in India rose on the day by the highest in more than three months, heralding a return of school closures, shopping restrictions and other virus-fighting measures in parts of the world's worst affected country after the United States and Brazil. Many Indians have also started questioning the government's highly publicised vaccine exports campaign when only a fraction…