COVID surge - The African Mirror

Jan

2023

Morocco to ban arrivals from China over COVID surge

MOROCCO will impose a ban on people arriving from China, whatever their nationality, from January 3 to avert any new wave of coronavirus infections, the foreign ministry said. Several countries have imposed restrictions on travellers from China due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Thousands of tourists visit Morocco from China every year, usually travelling on flights that come via the Gulf. In an abrupt change of policy, China this month began dismantling the world's strictest COVID regime of lockdowns and extensive testing, putting its battered economy on course for a complete re-opening next year. But the lifting of restrictions…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

China races to bolster health system as COVID surge sparks global concern

WORLD

BERNARD ORR and XINGHUI KOK CITIES across China scrambled to install hospital beds and build fever screening clinics as authorities reported five more deaths and international concern grew about Beijing's surprise decision to let the virus run free. China this month began dismantling its stringent "zero-COVID" regime of lockdowns and testing after protests against curbs that had kept the virus at bay for three years but at a big cost to society and the world's second-largest economy. Now, as the virus sweeps through a country of 1.4 billion people who lack natural immunity having been shielded for so long, there is growing…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Lockdown looms for Nigeria’s Delta

COVID-19

THE governor of Rivers State in Nigeria's oil-producing Delta region said he may be forced to reimpose COVID-19 lockdown measures if residents did not comply with prevention protocols amid a rise in cases. Governor Nyesom Wike implored residents to get vaccinated and comply with safety and social distancing rules amid a consistent rise in COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks. "We may be constrained to re-impose the suspended COVID-19 lockdown measures across the state if the transmission of the disease continues to increase beyond tolerable limits," Wike said in an address on Monday. Wike shared a copy of the…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

New harsh rules: SA bans booze, public gatherings

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER TWELVE days after introducing stricter anti-COVID-19 measures, South Africa has made them even tougher, banning the sale of alcohol, public gatherings and keeping pupils and university students from contact classes. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a special address to the nation - “a family meeting” - said the country would move into Lockdown Level Four and unveiled tougher rules to help stem the increasing number of infections, hospitalisations and deaths brought on by the third wave. These are the measures announced by Ramaphosa and will be in force until July 11: All gatherings - political, cultural…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Namibia to suspend first doses as COVID-19 vaccine supplies run low – memo

COVID-19

NAMIBIA will from Tuesday temporarily suspend administering first doses of COVID-19 vaccines as supplies run low, a health ministry memo seen by Reuters showed. The southern African nation, in the midst of a deadly "third wave" of infections, recorded more than 2,500 new cases on Thursday, the highest daily tally since the virus was first detected in the country in March last year. The memo seen by Reuters said vaccine stocks had almost been depleted due to delays in the delivery of procured doses. It said remaining doses of the AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines should be reserved for people getting…

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

‘Africa not winning against brutal COVID-19 pandemic’

NEWS

MacDONALD DZIRUTWE and OMAR MOHAMMED AFRICA is not winning its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as a third virus wave sweeps the continent and countries struggle to access enough vaccines for their populations, Africa CDC director John Nkengasong has said. The COVAX programme co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO) for fair distribution of vaccines is planning a shake-up as it has been shunned by rich countries and failed to meet the needs of the poorest, internal documents seen by Reuters show. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) director Nkengasong said he was more worried about getting…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID is surging in the world’s most vaccinated country. Why?

COVID-19

THE small archipelago nation of Seychelles, northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, has emerged as the world’s most vaccinated country for COVID-19. C RAINA MACINTYRE, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Around 71% of people have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 62% have been fully vaccinated. Of these, 57% have received the Sinopharm vaccine, and 43% AstraZeneca. Despite this, there has been a recent surge in cases, with 37% of new active cases and 20% of hospital cases being fully vaccinated. The country has had to…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

India turns to ex-army medics as COVID surge sparks calls for lockdown

WORLD

ABHIRUP ROY and AISHWARYA NAIR INDIA will recruit hundreds of former army medics to support its overwhelmed healthcare system, the defence ministry said yesterday, as the country grapples with record COVID-19 infections and deaths amid calls for a complete nationwide lockdown. Some 400 medical officers are expected to serve on contract for a maximum of 11 months, the ministry said in a press release, adding that other defence doctors had also been contacted for online consultations. COVID-19 cases and deaths have been hitting records every two or three days. Deaths rose by more than 4,000 for a second consecutive day…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Rwanda re-imposes strict lockdown in capital after COVID-19 cases surge

COVID-19

RWANDA has re-introduced tough lockdown measures in its capital Kigali after a surge in coronavirus cases. The government has also banned movement into and out of the city, except for essential services and for tourists, it said, citing a jump in the number of cases found in a given sample of tests, known as the positivity rate. "All employees, public and private, shall work from home, except for those providing essential services," the government said in a statement. Rwanda, which has 11,259 cases of the disease caused by the coronavirus and 146 deaths, said the number of tests returning positive…