lockdown - The African Mirror

Jan

2021

From text to tablet: how to learn in a lockdown

UMBERTO BACCHI AS a third lockdown traps millions of British schoolchildren at home, free tablets and televised lessons are being touted as alternative ways to learn in a lockdown. Globally, two in three school-age children lack internet at home, according to the United Nations, and ensuring equal access to education has become an acute challenge in the pandemic. With governments, charities and firms scrambling to get more people online or provide alternative learning sources, here are seven initiatives underway worldwide to boost remote learning: SOLAR RADIOS - Burkina Faso Burkina Faso began broadcasting lessons on radio, television and online after…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Merkel pushes for tougher German lockdown

WORLD

CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel threw her weight behind calls for a fuller lockdown in Germany that would include closing shops after Christmas, telling legislators that vaccines alone would not majorly alter the pandemic's course in the first quarter. Europe's largest economy has been in partial lockdown for six weeks, with bars and restaurants closed but shops and schools open. That has stopped the coronavirus's exponential growth but infection levels remain at a high level. Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Merkel said regional leaders should follow scientific guidance, which has called for people to further reduce their contact with others. "It would…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Coronavirus dreams: how anger, sadness and fear crept in during lockdown – new research

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

THE COVID-19 pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of our lives. Our dreams are no different. Soon after the first lockdowns started, people reported having more dreams than before, with different content. This was explained by the fact that many people were sleeping for longer, and waking without alarm clocks or an immediate schedule. MARK BLAGROVE, Professor of Psychology, Swansea University Other people were experiencing more stress, which can also alter dreaming. Now a new study, published in PLOS, has analysed hundreds of dream reports before and during lockdown to give detailed results of the pandemic’s impact on dreaming. It…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Lockdown and young people living on the streets of Harare, Zimbabwe

COVID-19

OZAYR PATEL, Digital Editor, The Conversation FOR many young people living on the streets, lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic has made their situation worse. The city of Harare in Zimbabwe was no exception. Lockdown made it difficult for young people to find food and make money in the informal economy. Researchers set up a story map – a map with text, images and multimedia content – to hear their voices and understand their experiences. It’s part of a three-year project called Growing up on the Streets, which worked with young people living on the streets in three African cities (Accra,…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

WHO warns countries with falling COVID cases to stay alert

COVID-19

EVEN if countries see a fall in coronavirus cases, they need to stay vigilant, Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's technical lead for COVID-19, has warned. "What we don't want to see is situations where you are moving from lockdown to bringing (the virus) under control to another lockdown," she told a virtual briefing in Geneva. Nearly 61 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally and 1.4 million have died, according to a Reuters tally. "It is in our power to keep transmission low," she said. "We have seen dozens of countries show us…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Tunisia bans internal travel to contain pandemic

COVID-19

TUNISIA has banned travel between the country's regions, suspended schools and public gatherings and extended a curfew, as it tried to contain a rapid surge of COVID-19 cases with hospitals nearly full. Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has said Tunisia cannot afford a second lockdown with the government already fighting the central bank over a projected deficit double what it had originally foreseen. However, after successfully containing the coronavirus in the spring and summer, Tunisia is now experiencing a very rapid spread of the disease with more than 55,000 cases and intensive care units full in some…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Brussels edges towards lockdown as Belgian COVID-19 cases hit record high

WORLD

KATE ABNETT and MARINE STRAUSS SPORT and cultural facilities in Brussels must close and residents will face a longer curfew from Monday, the regional government has announced, as COVID-19 infections in Belgium continued to surge to record highs. Belgium, one of the European countries worst hit by COVID-19, is grappling with a new wave of the virus. The country's rate of new cases is at the highest since the start of the pandemic, with a record 15,432 infections recorded on Tuesday, the latest official figures show. The capital city Brussels, home to the European Union and NATO, is among the…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Online and in the classroom, COVID-19 has put new demands on teachers

EDUCATION

NHLANHLA MPOFU, Associate Professor, Rhodes University AS a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were on lockdown in South Africa from March 2020. They only partially reopened in June, despite teacher unions’ concerns about the timing and lack of adequate protection for teachers and learners. The unions’ objections about having to work in conditions that posed a risk to health were understandable. But they have been less vocal about the teachers’ need to be equipped with the skills and infrastructure to teach during a pandemic. The unpredictability of the pandemic and the restrictions on social interaction remain in place. No…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenya extends coronavirus curfew as cases rise outside capital

COVID-19

GEORGE OBULUTSA and AYENAT MERSIE KENYA’S president has extended a nationwide curfew for another 30 days, saying coronavirus cases were rising in areas outside the capital. In a televised address, Uhuru Kenyatta also ordered bars and nightclubs shut for another 30 days - but increased the number of people allowed to attend weddings, funerals and other events. He said infections were slowing in Nairobi and the port and tourism hub of Mombasa. "This crisis has however began to percolate to the counties. The new frontier of this invisible enemy is increasingly shifting to the counties and to our rural areas,"…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

In the face of COVID-19, rich countries are in danger of abandoning the poor

COVID-19

YOUBA SOKONA COVID-19 has upended life as we know it, devastating livelihoods and economies around the world. It has delivered a devastating indictment on how little we have done to address existing problems around human rights and injustice. The loss of human life is already clear. As of mid-August, there were more than 21 million cases and 750,000 deaths. Borders that had opened for now closing again. Lockdowns advertised for a few weeks are now running into months. While the United States, China, Brazil and Europe are dominating global media coverage, the impacts are felt acutely in the world's 47…