lockdown measures - The African Mirror

Aug

2022

How COVID-19 lockdown measures — and their outcomes — varied in cities around the world

DURING the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese cities have repeatedly imposed lockdowns following their central government’s stubborn pursuit of Zero-COVID. But lockdowns weren’t limited to authoritarian regimes such as China. Many democracies also imposed some form of lockdowns to curb virus transmission. How effective were they? Was it worth it? And who was the most adversely affected? Authors ROGER KEIL, Professor, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Canada PHILIP HARRISON, Professor School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand XUEFEI REN, Professor, Sociology and Global Urban Studies, Michigan State University These are meaningful questions to reflect on, especially as…

Mar

2022

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s pandemic lockdown measures were hard on informal workers

COVID-19

During the first wave of the pandemic in Nigeria, security forces were mandated to enforce lockdown and stay-at-home orders. Intended as public health measures, these controls inflicted collateral damage. Authors CHIDI NZEADIBE, Professor of Environmental Management & Sustainability, University of Nigeria CHRISTIAN EZEIBE, Senior Lecturer, Political Science, University of Nigeria KELECHI ELIJAH NNAMANI, Lecturer and Researcher, Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria NKEMDILIM PATRICIA ANAZONWU, Lecturer and researcher, Social Work, University of Nigeria NNABUIKE OSADEBE, Lecturer, Sociology and Anthropology , University of Nigeria OBIORA ANICHEBE, Associate Professor of Social and Political Philosophy, University of Nigeria PETER MBAH, Professor of…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe targets a million people

COVID-19

ZIMBABWE is aiming to vaccinate 1 million people against COVID-19 in the next two weeks, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said yesterday as he extended tough lockdown measures by another 14 days. Faced with rising infections and deaths, Mnangagwa on June 29 introduced tough lockdown measures that included dusk to dawn curfew and curbs on inter-city travel. Mnangagwa said infections were rising at "an alarming rate" as the more transmissible Delta variant spreads locally. He said the government would inoculate 1 million people during the extended lockdown period. The southern African nation has to date recorded 70,426 infections, a quarter of them…

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…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenya extends COVID-19 night curfew beyond Christmas and New Year’s Day

COVID-19

OMAR MOHAMMED KENYA’S President Uhuru Kenyatta has extended the country's nightly curfew to January 3 as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 after numbers surged in October. Kenyatta said that in October alone, the number of new confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 15,000 and the East African nation reported about 300 deaths. "October has gone down as the most tragic month in our fight against COVID-19," Kenyatta said, adding that the rate of infections from tests carried out had shot up to 16% in the month, four times what it was a month earlier. The government…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s coronavirus cases cross 700,000, says health ministry

COVID-19

SOUTH African coronavirus cases reported since the first infection in early March surpassed 700,000, the health ministry has announced, amid fears of an impending second wave as the nation battles an economic recession. Some 2,019 new cases were identified, taking the total to 700,203 the ministry said. There have been 18,370 deaths in South Africa, while 629,260 people have recovered from COVID-19 and 4,505,553 have been tested. The health ministry had recently warned of a second wave of the pandemic in the country of 58 million people if citizens and authorities become complacent and stop taking precautions. After a sharp…