novel coronavirus - The African Mirror

Mar

2021

Latest on COVID-19 science studies

NANCY LAPID THE following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. No variants escape all types of antibodies, so far The human immune system makes many antibodies in response to COVID-19 infection or vaccination, and no single variant of the new coronavirus can yet escape all of them, according to a study posted on Thursday on bioRxiv ahead of peer review. Researchers looked at how mutations in coronavirus variants affect antibodies' ability to target a key region on…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Regular booster vaccines are the future’

COVID-19

GUY FAULCONBRIDGE REGULAR booster vaccines against the novel coronavirus will be needed because of mutations that make it more transmissible and better able to evade human immunity, the head of Britain's effort to sequence the virus's genomes told Reuters. The novel coronavirus, which has killed 2.65 million people globally since it emerged in China in late 2019, mutates around once every two weeks, slower than influenza or HIV, but enough to require tweaks to vaccines. Sharon Peacock, who heads COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) which has sequenced half of all the novel coronavirus genomes so far mapped globally, said international cooperation…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Hong Kong locks down thousands for compulsory COVID-19 testing

WORLD

CLARE JIM HONG KONG's government locked down an area of Kowloon peninsula yesterday after an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, saying 10,000 residents must stay home until they have been tested and the results largely determined. The first such measure the city has taken since the pandemic began has occurred in the densely populated neighbourhoods of Jordan that is home to many ageing, subdivided flats in which the virus could spread more easily. The government said there are 70 buildings in the restricted area, which is close to the International Commerce Centre (ICC), and it aims to finish the process…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Singapore to block entry to visitors from South Africa

COVID-19

SINGAPORE says it will stop allowing entry to visitors with a recent travel history to South Africa, citing reports of a potentially more contagious strain of the novel coronavirus circulating in the country. All long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with travel history to South Africa within the last 14 days will not be allowed entry into the city-state, or transit through it, the health ministry said. Returning Singapore citizens and permanent residents will be required to undergo a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival at the start of a 14-day quarantine. "While the strain has been suggested…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 shook, rattled and rolled the global economy in 2020

BUSINESS

DAN BURNS and MARK JOHN WHEN 2020 dawned, the global economy had just notched its 10th straight year of uninterrupted growth, a streak most economists and government finance officials expected to persist for years ahead in a 21st Century version of the "Roaring '20s." But within two months, a mysterious new virus first detected in China in December 2019 - the novel coronavirus - was spreading rapidly worldwide, shattering those expectations and triggering the steepest global recession in generations. The International Monetary Fund estimates the global economy to have shrunk by 4.4% this year compared with a contraction of just…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

More parks, fewer offices? How the coronavirus will change city centres

AFRICITIES

RINA CHANDRAN THE novel coronavirus has upended many aspects of life in cities worldwide, particularly as large numbers of white-collar workers choose to work from home and shun public transit - shifts that are likely to last, according to urban experts. This will have an enormous impact on city centres and central business districts (CBD) that have typically been the economic hubs and main generators of income for cities. What is the future of city centres and CBDs, and how will cities adapt? Here are some views. MONO TO MIXED USE The South Korean government has said it will buy…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

WHO, marking year since COVID-19 began, urges fair vaccine distribution to all

COVID-19

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY THE head of the World Health Organization, marking a year since the first cases of the novel coronavirus were reported by China, urged countries to ensure that vaccines are made available to people at risk everywhere, not just in rich nations. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, appealed for $4 billion to buy COVID-19 vaccines for distribution in lower and middle-income countries through the COVAX vaccine facility. "This is the challenge we must rise to in the New Year," Tedros said in a video message issued a day before the first anniversary of China reporting the first cases of…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

FACTBOX-First found in UK and South Africa, COVID variants cross the world

COVID-19

TWO variants of the coronavirus, first found in Britain and South Africa and more transmissible than the original, are spreading across the world. The World Health Organization says there is not enough information to determine whether the variants could undermine vaccines being rolled out across the globe. The following countries are among those that have reported variants of the novel coronavirus, first identified in China a year ago, among their populations. * The UNITED STATES reported its first known case of the variant B.1.1.7, originally documented in Britain, in Colorado - a man in his 20s with no recent travel…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

The new coronavirus variant in South Africa: Are concerns justified?

COVID-19

SOUTH Africa has identified a new variant of the novel coronavirus, which authorities believe is driving a surge in COVID-19 infections that could overwhelm its healthcare system. Several countries, including Britain which has found the mutant variant in cases linked to South Africa, have banned flights from South Africa, disrupting holiday travel and frustrating tour operators. WHAT IS THE NEW VARIANT? The new variant, referred to as 501.V2, was discovered by a network of scientists around South Africa who have been tracking the genetics of the SARS-COV-2 virus. The variant appears to be focused in the south and southeast regions…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria advises regions to limit public gatherings amid COVID-19 spike

NEWS

NIGERIA is advising its sub-regions to limit public gatherings, close bars and nightclubs over the next five weeks amid a spike in new COVID-19 cases, according to the government coronavirus task force. Africa's most populous nation could be on the verge of a second wave of the novel coronavirus with the number of confirmed cases rising within communities over the last few weeks. Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, Abuja and northern state of Kaduna have emerged as new epicenters with over 70% of confirmed cases, said Boss Mustapha, chairman of the presidential task force for COVID-19, who is the country's most…