lockdown - The African Mirror

Aug

2022

Women have always trailed men in research output: how COVID made the situation worse

THE under-representation of women in research is well documented. Emerging evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this inequality and disrupted the research enterprise globally. But none of these studies, mainly from the global north, provide detailed explanations for the scale of this decline. Our research offers the first comprehensive study to shed light on the complex reasons for the decline in research during the pandemic-enforced lockdown. Authors CYRILL WALTERS, Research fellow, Stellenbosch University ARMAND BAM, Head of Social Impact and Senior Lecturer, Business School, Stellenbosch University PATRIZIO PIRAINO, Economist, University of Notre Dame We surveyed 2,029 women academics…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Fighting hunger in Joburg, one meal at a time

HUMAN RIGHTS

MAGNIFICENT MNDEBELE SANNY Mashigo, 48, cooks and sells food to industrial workers around Strydom Park in Randburg, in the northwest of Johannesburg. But when Covid-19 came, with its lockdowns and regulations tearing livelihoods apart, her business and income were not spared. Mashigo stocks up in bulk for her business. With the initial lockdown, unable to cook, move around and sell, she found herself with so much groceries that she knew not what to do with it. But then she looked around her area, a shack settlement of about 600 households called Organic Market near Bramley View. What she saw was…

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…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Five ways Uganda’s health teams provided HIV care in lockdown

HEALTH

UGANDA is currently in a partial country-wide lockdown. The “second wave” of coronavirus infections has been especially unforgiving. There is no household in Uganda I know of that has not been touched by the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media posts are awash with reports of death. Hundreds of lives cut short in their prime. It is no longer a story about the elderly. The frequency of death announcements in the national newspapers is truly unprecedented. HENRY ZAKUMUMPA, Health Systems Researcher, Makerere University Earlier this year, the world watched as funeral pyres burned across India. At the time, the ravages of the…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

SA businesses, people gripped in fear

COVID-19

DESERTED streets, empty restaurants and shut liquor stores greeted the first day of South Africa's move back to a harder lockdown, as a third wave of COVID-19 infections courses through a population less than 4% of whom have yet been partly vaccinated. Africa's most advanced economy recorded on Saturday 18,000 new infections, just 3,000 shy of its second wave peak seen in January. Government data shows that one in every four people being tested are showing a positive result. (Graphic on global cases and deaths) https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi A slow vaccination drive, brought about by a combination of bad luck, failure to…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Pics: Ariana Grande gets married in private ceremony

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO ARIANA Grande is now Mrs. Gomez. The pop singer got married to real estate agent Dalton Gomez, in her private home in California, surrounded by friends and family over the weekend. In pictures released exclusively to Vogue Magazine, Grande is seen wearing a a custom lily white, silk charmeuse, empire-waist column gown accented with a sculpted neckline, an exposed bra-strap closure, and a plunging back. Her look was completed with minimal accessories and a bubble veil with a satin bow, while Dalton Gomez wore a black Tom Ford suit with a shite shirt and black slim tie. Ariana…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt extends COVID-19 measures

COVID-19

EGYPT will extend measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, including early closing hours for shops, until the end of May, the cabinet said yesterday. Since May 6, stores, malls and restaurants have had to close by 9 p.m., straddling the last days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid celebrations. Public parks and beaches, which were closed during Eid, will be allowed to reopen with appropriate precautions, the cabinet said in a statement. The number of new cases has been steadily rising in Egypt in recent weeks and officials have warned of infections spreading further as…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Thrill of the silver screen returns to England as lockdown eases

WORLD

HANNA RANTALA LONDONER Sam Poch was anticipating the thrill of the big screen lighting up as he waited on Monday to enter a cinema on Leicester Square - a once routine experience that has not been possible for months because of COVID-19 restrictions. The 31-year-old content producer was among the first arriving to watch a film the old-fashioned way as cinemas in England reopened their doors as part of the latest stage in the government's phased lockdown relaxation plan. "I missed it a lot. It's just the whole experience of going out, sitting down in (front of) the big screen…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Celebrating a year in service of South Africans

RELIGION

Scientology Volunteer Ministers (SVM) in South Africa have surpassed the millionth hour of dedicated volunteer work since lockdown started, to protect and save millions of lives against this deadly virus. Members of the SVM have made the achievement by going into hotspots and offering international standard sanitization and skills development so people have the practical tools to protect and rebuild themselves during such times. Working hand in hand with communities from all over South Africa, they worked daily since the announcement of the lockdown to offer solutions that would protect millions. While starting to protect themselves at first, it soon…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Mauritius shuts down after more COVID-19 cases

COVID-19

MAURITIUS has gone into lockdown and suspended flights in and out of the island for two weeks following the discovery of 15 more cases of COVID-19, the Mauritius state tourism agency has announced. The Indian Ocean island of 1.4 million people has had 641 confirmed coronavirus cases with 10 deaths, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) data. All residents and visitors have been asked to stay at home or in their hotels until March 25, the agency said in a statement. "We have decided to implement the nationwide lockdown to make sure that there is no risk of…