restrictions - The African Mirror

Mar

2022

Kenya lifts remaining COVID restrictions

KENYA lifted its remaining COVID-19 restrictions, including a ban on large indoor gatherings such as religious services and a requirement to present a negative COVID-19 test for arriving air passengers. Though Kenyans should continue heeding public health measures such as handwashing and social distancing, face masks are no longer mandatory in public and all quarantine measures for confirmed COVID-19 cases are halted with immediate effect, Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe told a news conference. For the past month the East African country's COVID-19 test positivity rate has remained below 1%, he added, attributing this to the rising number of Kenyans opting…

Feb

2022

By The African Mirror

Defying Ghana’s lockdown rules wasn’t simply stubborn: here’s what was going on

COVID-19

GHANA imposed lockdowns in the Accra and Kumasi districts on 30 March 2020 to limit community transmission of the new coronavirus. But members of the public found ways to evade the restrictions, making them ineffective. People went about their daily lives as usual, where they could, and avoided checkpoints. Police were sometimes seen humiliating or violently handling people they caught breaking the rules. Eventually, the government suspended the restrictions. Author FESTIVAL GODWIN BOATENG, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Urban Development, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Various public commentators – from the media to politicians – attributed the mass defiance…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Internet restored in eSwatini

NEWS

KIM HARRISBERG NO WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter. Cases of internet shutdowns in Africa are on the rise. Uganda imposed a blackout in January, Nigeria banned Twitter in June and two weeks ago eSwatini – a tiny landlocked nation in Southern Africa where recent protests against the absolute monarch have turned violent – became the latest country to curtail internet access. Unable to check in on his family and communicate with his clients, consultant and human rights activist Melusi Simelane decided to sue the government for the shutdown. Simelane’s case, the first of its kind in eSwatini, was dropped on Thursday…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia accuses US of meddling

NEWS

GUILIA PARAVICINI ETHIOPIA has accused the United States of meddling in its affairs after Washington announced restrictions on economic and security assistance over alleged human rights abuses during the conflict in the northern Tigray region. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday the restrictions were meant to push the parties involved to settle the conflict that erupted in November. Thousands have died in the fighting that has pitted Tigray's former ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), against the Ethiopian federal government and allied forces from neighbouring Eritrea. Ethiopia's foreign ministry said that if the U.S. restrictions…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Restrictions imposed in and around Mumbai as COVID cases in Indian state surge

WORLD

RAJENDRA JADHAV and ABHIRUP ROY INDIA'S richest state, Maharashtra, announced stringent COVID-19 restrictions from Monday, after a rapid rise in infections now accounting for more than half the country's daily new cases. An industrialist who attended a meeting with the chief minister before the curbs were announced quoted him as saying that "the situation is grim and there could be shortage of hospital beds, doctors and oxygen cylinders". He declined to be named, but the comments echo those of government and health officials to Indian media about the situation in the state, which includes the crowded financial capital Mumbai. The…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa bans super-spreader events, closes beaches in response to spike in COVID-19 second wave infections

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER SOUTH Africa has announced extraordinary festive season restrictions, banning “super-spreader” events, closing beaches in the Eastern Cape and restricting alcohol sales in response to a big spike in the second wave of COVID-19 infections. President Cyril Ramaphosa. SA president Cyril Ramaphosa announced the new tougher measures in a special address to the nation. Ramaphosa said two new areas - the Sarah Baartman and the Garden Route - have been designated as COVID-19 hotspots, because of the sharp spike in infections. The Nelson Mandela Bay was declared a hotspot on December 3. He said the new restrictions include: …

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa opens its borders, economy but cautions on COVID-19 resurgence

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER BOUYED by declining COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths, South Africa has all but lifted restrictions on economic and social activity but warned of a possible resurgence. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the country will move to a “new normal”, under COVID-19 alert level 1. Under the “new normal”, South African wills be required to exercise caution, social distancing, good hygiene and wear a mask at all times. In terms of the new minor restrictions, the country will gradually open its borders to allow for international travel. From September 21, the following changes will come…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Algeria eases more coronavirus restrictions, including travel curbs and curfew

COVID-19

ALGERIA will further ease its coronavirus lockdown, including shortening an overnight curfew and lifting some travel curbs, the government has announced. In addition, large mosques will be allowed to reopen, along with beaches, entertainment venues, hotels, restaurants and cafes. The North African country has recorded 34,155 coronavirus infections, with 1,282 deaths. The new measures include lifting a travel ban on 29 provinces from Aug. 9 until the end of the month. During that period, a curfew will be shortened and will run from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. from the current 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., the government said. Mosques…