COVID-19 surge - The African Mirror

May

2022

WHO’s warning to Africa: Omicron sub-variants drive Covid-19 surge

SUB-VARIANTS of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and relaxation of public health measures are driving a current surge in infections in southern Africa, a senior official from the World Health Organization (WHO) said. "This uptick in cases is an early warning sign which we are closely monitoring. Now is the time for countries to step up preparedness and ensure that they can mount an effective response in the event of a fresh pandemic wave," said Dr Abdou Salam Gueye, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal threatens to close borders

COVID-19

SENEGAL’S President Macky Sall has threatened to close the borders and re-impose a state of emergency after the country registered a new record number of daily COVID-19 cases for the third time in a week. While Senegal has seen relatively few coronavirus cases and deaths so far, it does not have enough doses to vaccinate widely as it experiences a third wave of the virus. The health ministry reported 738 new cases on Friday, more than the previous records of 733 on Wednesday and 529 on Sunday. "I would like to say very clearly that if the numbers continue to…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 deaths in Africa surge 43% week-on-week, WHO says

COVID-19

AFRICA recorded a 43% jump in COVID-19 deaths last week as infections and hospital admissions have risen and countries face shortages of oxygen and intensive-care beds, according to the World Health Organization. The continent's case fatality rate - the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases - stands at 2.6% against the global average of 2.2%, WHO Africa said in its weekly briefing. "Africa's third wave continues its destructive pathway, pushing past yet another grim milestone as the continent's case count tops six million," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, told the briefing. The surge in infections, which is partly…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s Lagos state faces “potential third wave” of COVID-19

COVID-19

LIBBY GEORGE NIGERIA’S Lagos state faces a "potential third wave" of coronavirus infections, its governor said in a statement. He warned of fines or even imprisonment for those who break rules to contain the virus and said Lagos state would step up its vaccination campaign, following the detection of the highly infectious Delta variant in an incoming traveller. Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has not been as hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as other parts of the continent, with just over 168,000 cases and 2,124 deaths confirmed since the outbreak began. But Nation Centre for Disease Control officials last…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal reports 529 new coronavirus infections

COVID-19

SENEGAL reported 529 coronavirus cases yesterday, a record in new daily cases there since the start of the pandemic, and a sign that a third wave of infections was gaining speed. The growing infection rate has alarmed authorities, but they have stopped short of imposing stringent measures to curb the spread after previous restrictions led to economic hardship that helped to fuel violent protests in March. Senegal has reported 46,179 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, and 1,194 deaths. So far it has vaccinated close to 600,000 from a total population of around 16 million. Reuters data shows that…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Uganda imposes new measures

COVID-19

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA UGANDA'S president Yoweri Museveni has introduced sweeping new anti-coronavirus measures including a ban on all vehicular movement except for essential workers to help curb a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic gripping the nation. The east African country, like most other African peers, had been left relatively unscathed by the first wave. It suddenly started experiencing a steep surge in COVID-19 infections last month after authorities confirmed they had detected the presence of the Indian coronavirus variant. "The country has seen a more aggressive and sustained growth of the COVID-19 pandemic," Museveni said in a televised address He…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa tightens COVID-19 restrictions

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER FACED with a steady rise in daily infections, South Africa has mildly tightened COVID-19 restrictions by moving the country to Lockdown Level Two, with reduced time for business and increased curfew period. SA President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a special address to the nation, said the new restrictions were necessary to save lives and to ensure that hospitals were not overwhelmed. He said the need for tighter restrictions were based on sustained increase in new infections as well as a rise in the number of hospitalisations. “Delaying the spread of the virus is especially important now to allow…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

As COVID-19 ravages India, a slum succeeds in turning the tide

WORLD

ROLI SRIVASTAVA FARHANA Shaikh used to recoil in disgust when she went to the communal toilet in Dharavi. But since the pandemic struck, efforts to fight COVID-19 have dramatically improved public sanitation in one of Asia's largest slums. As Indian cities face record daily deaths, new cases have plunged in the Mumbai slum in recent weeks as officials bolstered anti-virus measures first put in place last year - from mass testing to disinfections in public areas, including bathrooms. "The toilet is being cleaned every day since the last year as against once a week earlier. There's soap and sanitiser and…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Gandhi warns ‘explosive’ COVID wave threatens India and the world

WORLD

NIVEDITA BHATTACHARJEE and ANURON KUMAR MITRA INDIA’S main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi warned on Friday that unless the deadly second COVID-19 wave sweeping the country was brought under control it would devastate India as well as threaten the rest of the world. In a letter, Gandhi implored Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prepare for another national lockdown, accelerate a countrywide vaccination programme and scientifically track the virus and its mutations. Gandhi said the world's second-most populous nation had a responsibility in "a globalised and interconnected world" to stop the "explosive" growth of COVID-19 within its borders. "India is home to…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisian hospitals buckle under COVID crisis

COVID-19

THE medics at Abderahmen Mami hospital in Tunis are part of a health system pushed to its limit, with intensive care wards filled by a new surge in COVID-19 cases that has outstripped a vaccination campaign limited by short supplies. Last week one of the government's scientific advisers warned the health system was on the brink of collapse, with between 90-110 new patients in need of hospitalisation each day. Tunisia has only about 500 intensive care beds. Dressed in a full protective suit, with only the band of her face between her mask and hair cap exposed, nurse Soumaya Ben…