Kenya receives more than 1 million vaccines through COVAX
Kenya has received more than 1 million Covid-19 vaccines as part of the global COVAX program, according to a news release from the country’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday. A plane carrying 1.02 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine touched down just before midnight Tuesday…
Africa will receive nearly 90 million vaccines from COVAX by February
Africa is to receive nearly 90 million Covid-19 vaccines in February in what will be the continent’s “largest ever mass vaccination campaign,” the World Health Organization announced in a statement on Thursday. In the statement, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said: “Africa…
Uganda elections 2021: Museveni takes lead as Bobi Wine cries foul
Uganda’s long-time President Yoweri Museveni has a clear lead in the presidential race following Thursday’s vote, preliminary results show. The country’s electoral commission has dismissed allegations of vote rigging, made by opposition candidate Bobi Wine, a former pop star. But election monitors say confidence in…
“Covid Hunter” US Doctor Has Not Had A Single Day Off Since March
CVD HNTR. That is the license plate on Joseph Varon’s Mercedes 550. A vanity plate can be construed as grandiosity – but in this case, it is quite literal. Varon, a 58-year-old physician and chief of staff at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, has…
The tormented genius who became one of football’s greatest players
A little bit with the head of Maradona and a little bit with the hand of God.” Those four words — “the hand of God” — describe one of the most iconic moments in football history, a goal that belongs to one of the most…
COVID Latest Updates: Biden Implores Americans To Wear Masks
The coronavirus continues to disrupt daily life around the globe, with more than 50.5 million people confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 since Chinese officials implemented the first coronavirus lockdown in the city of Wuhan in January. But Monday brought some potentially good news: Pfizer released…
Trump set to remove Sudan from state sponsors of terrorism list
US President Donald Trump has said Sudan will come off a list of state sponsors of terror if it pays compensation of $335m (£259m). Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok responded by saying the funds had been transferred but there was no immediate US confirmation. Sudan…
Coronavirus: South Africa crime rate plummets during lockdown
Crime in South Africa dropped by up to 40% during the first three months of its lockdown, official figures show. The police minister said most types of crimes went down between April and June – including sexual assault and arson. He added that a controversial…
Coronavirus: Thousands of unexplained deaths in South Africa
There are concerns the death toll from the coronavirus in South Africa may be significantly higher than official figures currently show. A record 572 deaths from the virus have been recorded in the past 24 hours. But researchers from South Africa’s Medical Research Council say…
Nigerian foreign minister tests positive for Covid-19
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has tested positive for Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus. He is a member of a presidential task force on Covid-19 that is coordinating the country’s response to the pandemic. Mr Onyeama announced in a tweet on Sunday…
How coronavirus affects the entire body
(CNN)Coronavirus damages not only the lungs, but the kidneys, liver, heart, brain and nervous system, skin and gastrointestinal tract, doctors said Friday in a review of reports about Covid-19 patients. The team at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City — one…
Doctors in Egypt face arrests and death over pandemic criticism, Amnesty International says
Human rights group Amnesty International called on the Egyptian government Thursday to stop jailing and harassing doctors who criticize the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. “Health care workers have to make an impossible choice: risk their lives or face prison if they dare to…
Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye is sworn in as president
Burundi’s newly elected president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, has been sworn in two months earlier than planned. No foreign heads of state were present when he took the oath of office in the administrative capital, Gitega, where he pledged to defend the nation’s interests and unify its…
African countries are still waiting for a surge in Covid-19 cases. Some health experts question whether it will happen
On January 28, at around one in the morning, Dr. John Nkengasong’s cellphone rang in Addis Ababa. Nigerian officials told Nkengasong, the Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that a recently arrived Italian businessman had tested positive for Covid-19. He…
Al-Shabab ‘launches Covid-19 treatment centre’
The Islamist militant group al-Shabab has dropped its initial dismissal of the Covid-19 pandemic, announcing that it has opened a “treatment centre” for people who test positive for the disease in Jilib town in southern Somalia, an area under their control. Al-Shabab’s Radio Andalus reported…
Lebanon protests escalate as currency dives
Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in cities across Lebanon amid escalating protests as the country faces a collapse in its currency. Anger has surged as the Lebanese pound tumbled to record lows, having lost 70% of its value since October. The prime…
Ramaphosa urges SA not to be alarmed at coronavirus rise
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans not to be scared by the rising numbers of coronavirus cases. The country has recorded more than half of the current total number of cases in the last two weeks. The president in his weekly newsletter…
South Sudan vice-president recovers from Covid-19
South Sudan’s First Vice-President Riek Machar and his wife, Defence Minister Angelina Teny, have recovered from Covid-19, local media report. The two tested positive for coronavirus three weeks ago. The Sudan Tribune newspaper quoted a statement from Mr Machar’s office as saying that he had…
Nigeria army base ‘attack leaves six soldiers dead’
Islamist jihadists have killed six Nigerian soldiers in an attack on a military base in the north-east, the AFP news agency reports. Army sources told the French news agency that they used trucks fitted with machine guns to attack the facility near Maiduguri on Saturday….
Covid-19: Kenyan researchers identify virus strains
Kenyan researchers have identified at least nine strains of Covid-19 circulating in the country in efforts to track mutations of the virus. The nine strains are not any different from the ones circulating globally. The team of scientists analysed 122 genomes collected from symptomatic and…
Coronavirus: SA province to only test the elderly
South Africa’s Western Cape province has amended its testing policy to focus on those aged 55 years and above. The province, known for the port city of Cape Town, has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country. Its health department said the elderly…
US issues new travel alert on Tanzania over Covid-19
The US embassy in Tanzania has issued a fresh travel advisory for American citizens regarding the coronavirus pandemic in the country. In a statement, the embassy suggested that the risk of contracting the virus in the commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, remains high, but gave…
Cameroon virus cases rise after schools reopen
Cameroon has recorded a rise in new coronavirus cases after reopening schools on 1 June. The country reported 254 new cases on Monday and 188 new cases on Tuesday. The government said it had put safety measures to protect learners that included cleaning of classrooms…
Uganda postpones reopening of schools as cases rise
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has postponed the reopening of schools for final year students for one more month. The president said reopening schools was risky as the country did not have enough kits to test learners every two weeks. President Museveni said two television sets…
Former African presidents condemn George Floyd killing
Former African presidents have condemned the killing of George Floyd as violent protests continue in the US following his death in police custody. The Forum of Former Heads of State and Government has urged African countries to “raise a strong protest” to the killing and…
Kenyan activists protest against curfew killing
Kenyan activists and residents of an informal settlement in the capital, Nairobi, held an overnight demonstration on Monday, accusing police of killing a homeless man while enforcing a nighttime curfew. Activists shared videos of the man’s body found in Mathare area with a gunshot wound…
Tanzania health minister says virus cases are declining
Tanzania’s health minister has spoken about a decline in coronavirus cases in the country, saying the commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, only has four active cases. Ummy Mwalimu told a gathering on Monday that God had spared Tanzania from the pandemic. The event in Tanga…
New Ebola outbreak hits DR Congo
New cases of Ebola have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Health Minister Eteni Longondo said four people had died from the virus in the western city of Mbandaka, which has a population of about a million people. It is more than 1,000km…
Burkina Faso gunmen ‘kill 20 at cattle market’ in Kompienga
At least 20 people have been killed in eastern Burkina Faso when gunmen stormed a cattle market, reports say. Gunmen on motorbikes fired into the crowded market in Kompienga town in the middle of the day on Saturday, eyewitnesses were quoted as saying by local…
Jihadists overrun strategic town in Mozambique
Islamist militants in northern Mozambique have overrun another town in Cabo Delgado province. About 90 jihadists started filling the streets of Macomia before dawn on Thursday, local publication Carta de Mocambique says. They fired into the air, causing people to flee and later received reinforcements…
