hospital beds - The African Mirror

Dec

2022

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

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…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympic host Tokyo hits record 2,848 COVID-19 cases, seeks more hospital beds

WORLD

ANTONI SLODKOWSKI and SAM NUSSEY TOKYO’S 2,848 COVID-19 infections on Tuesday were the Olympic host city's highest since the pandemic began, officials said, as media reported that authorities had asked hospitals to prepare more beds for patients as the Delta variant drives the surge. The rise in cases threatens to further erode support for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, whose ratings have slid to their lowest level since he took office last September, in large part because of his haphazard handling of the pandemic. It also spells trouble for the Olympics, as many Japanese fear the influx of athletes and officials…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

India’s COVID-19 meltdown exposes new front in digital divide

WORLD

SAURABH SHARMA and ROLI SRIVASTAVA AS India's daily coronavirus cases set global records, people desperately searching for hospital beds and oxygen cylinders are finding help on social media. But for others like Ruby Yadav, who has never heard of Twitter, time and hope is running out. Travelling by rickshaw, Yadav and her mother - who is seriously ill with COVID-19 - have been turned away by nearly a dozen public hospitals in the northern city of Lucknow this week as the country's health system crumbles. "I'm losing hope. We know what will happen next, but I can't bear to watch…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal’s hospitals stretched

COVID-19

EDWARD McALLISTER and DIADIE BA SENEGAL is rushing to provide more hospital beds for coronavirus patients as infections soar and a lack of capacity means doctors are only able to admit the most severe cases, health officials said. A second wave of new infections and deaths hit record highs this month, forcing President Macky Sall to reimpose a state of emergency that bans gatherings and enforces mask-wearing. Doctors hope that will buy authorities enough time to install new facilities and reopen health centres that were active during the first wave last year but were shuttered as cases dropped in the…