Hospital attacks ‘risk Libya’s Covid-19 response’
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned over Libya’s ability to fight the Covid-19 pandemic after a number of recent attacks in hospitals. Tripoli’s Central Hospital was hit on Thursday morning, while 14 civilians were wounded in similar attacks in residential areas of the city....
WHO warns 250m Africans could catch virus in one year
Scientists at the World Health Organization say nearly a quarter of a billion people in Africa could catch coronavirus in a year. Their study, published in BMJ Global Health, says between 150,000 and and 190,000 Africans could die from Covid-19. It says 5.5 million people...
Analysis: Africa’s unexpected COVID-19 figures
Last month, Ursula von der Leyen announced a €15 billion fund to help poor countries fight COVID-19. “We will only win this battle with a coordinated global response” the EU Commission President proclaimed. And it was Africa where lots of the attention and money would...
Coronavirus: Tanzania hospitals overwhelmed – US
The US embassy in Tanzania has warned that there is a risk of “exponential growth” of Covid-19 cases in the country, at a time when the government is not releasing data on new cases. It added that hospitals in the main city, Dar es Salaam,...
‘Unusually high’ deaths in Nigeria raise queries
The authorities in the north-eastern Nigerian state of Yobe say 471 people have died in the past five weeks, adding it is an unusually high number of deaths from health issues. It is not clear whether the deaths are linked to coronavirus Nigeria has so...
Africa HIV deaths ‘could rise by 500,000’ amid pandemic
More than half a million people in sub-Saharan Africa could die between now and next year from Aids-related illnesses amid the Covid-19 pandemic – unless governments move to address the issue. A modelling analysis done by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAids shows that...
Kenya to test patients for Covid-19 before admission
Kenya’s health authorities have announced that all patients being admitted to hospitals will have to be tested for coronavirus. This is to ensure that health workers are protected from infections when handling patients in hospitals, the director-general in charge of health, Patrick Amoth, said on...
Lebanon reverses decision to ease virus measures after increase in cases
The Lebanese Ministry of Interior is reversing its decision to relax the daily curfew “due to the failure of many citizens to adhere to the measures of prevention and public safety, and because of selfishness, recklessness and indifference to their health and the health of...
Cameroon’s deadly mix of war and coronavirus
Prominent Cameroonian human rights activist Beatrice Titanji leapt for joy when a major secessionist group declared a ceasefire on 29 March to protect people from the “fury” of coronavirus in the central African state’s English-speaking heartlands, but her hopes have since been dashed as fighting...
Coronavirus could kill up to 190,000 in Africa, WHO warns
The novel coronavirus could kill as many as 190,000 people in Africa during the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday. “While Covid-19 likely won’t spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the...
WHO warns virus could kill 190,000 people in Africa
Coronavirus could kill up to 190,000 people in Africa in the first year if control measures fail to work, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The numbers would overwhelm the available medical capacity in much of the continent, the organisation warns citing a new...
Nearly 1,000 health care workers infected across Africa, WHO says
Nearly 1,000 health workers are infected with Covid-19 across the continent, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa says. “We are very concerned that almost 1,000 African health workers have been infected with Covid-19. We know that most African countries already...
Former CDC director reveals ’10 plain truths’ about the pandemic
Dr. Tom Frieden, the former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, laid out “10 plain truths” about Covid-19 on Wednesday as he spoke at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the pandemic response. “In my 30 years in global public health,...
Lebanon will allow Friday prayers and Sunday masses to begin again
Starting this Friday, Lebanon will allow prayers, and Sunday masses will again be held in mosques and churches as the country begins to ease the lockdown measures. The number of worshipers should not exceed 30% of the capacity of each mosque or church, Lebanese Minister...
Doctor dies of coronavirus in northern Nigeria
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Kano, in the north of the country, says that one doctor has died after testing positive for coronavirus. State NMA chairman, Dr Sanusi Mohammad Bala, told the BBC that 33 other doctors had also tested positive, but they were...
Coronavirus: Most Africans ‘will go hungry in 14-day lockdown’
More than two-thirds of people surveyed in 20 African countries said they would run out of food and water if they had to stay at home for 14 days. Just over half of the respondents said they would run out of money. The Africa Centres...
Nigeria virus patients protest against ‘poor care’
Dozens of coronavirus patients held a protest outside a treatment centre in the north-eastern Nigerian state of Gombe, saying the authorities were not taking good care of them. The patients complained of lack of drugs and proper feeding. They mingled with members of the community...
Ghana ‘pool testing’ to increase virus detection
Ghana has adopted “pool testing” of samples to maximise the use of coronavirus test kits that are in short supply globally. It involves using a single test on 10 samples combined. If there is a positive result then the entire batch is tested individually to...
Coronavirus: DR Congo reports highest single-day rise
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry has confirmed 92 new coronavirus cases in the country, its highest single-day increase since the outbreak began in March. Some 69 cases were detected in the capital, Kinshasa, and another 23 cases in the south-west province of Kongo...
Kenya returnees arrive from UK
Some 84 Kenyans have arrived in the country’s main airport from the United Kingdom and more are expected from China and India, the Daily Nation newspaper reports. The UK now has the highest number of recorded deaths from coronavirus in Europe. The returnees were screened...
Coronavirus: ‘A third world war without the bombs’
African Union official and former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is the latest politician to deploy the language of war when it comes to talking about coronavirus. Mr Odinga, who is the AU’s high representative on infrastructure, said the pandemic was like “a third world...
Uganda limits lawyers who can work post-lockdown
Uganda has announced a cautious easing of the nationwide lockdown with restrictions on the number of lawyers who can work. President Yoweri Museveni said only 30 lawyers under the Uganda Law Society will be added onto the list of essential service providers, the Daily Monitor...
Tanzanian coronavirus laboratory boss suspended
The Director of Tanzania’s National Health Laboratory and its quality manager have both been suspended pending investigation. The suspension of the top officials comes a day after President John Magufuli questioned the credibility of coronavirus testing kits being used by the lab. In a live...
Nigeria’s mass deaths linked to coronavirus
The recent mass deaths reported in Nigeria’s Kano state have been linked to coronavirus by the head of the presidential task force. Nasiru Sani Gwarzo told journalists that samples taken from bodies that were yet to be buried turned positive. He said initial mapping showed...
Nigeria begins unlocking Africa’s biggest economy
Nigeria will from Monday begin relaxing coronavirus lockdown measures in the capital, Abuja, and the biggest city, Lagos, in an attempt to limit the damage to Africa’s largest economy. The government says the reopening is the first phase of a six-week process of easing the...
Kenya’s mass testing met with public defiance
A coronavirus mass testing campaign by Kenya’s health ministry has recorded a low turnout after encountering unwillingness among members of the public. The government had targeted to test thousands of people in two hotspots in the capital, Nairobi, but only hundreds turned up. Most of...
Fearful Nigerians stay at home after lockdown is eased
In Nigeria’s commercial hub Lagos, the notorious traffic jams were on Monday absent as most people chose to remain indoors. Most bus stops, normally bustling with commuters, had a few stranded passengers and the popular yellow minibuses were missing. With increasing numbers of coronavirus cases...
Rwanda reopens after 45-day coronavirus lockdown
Rwanda has loosened restrictions after 45 days of coronavirus lockdown, even though a nationwide night-time curfew will be enforced and movement in and out of the capital, Kigali, is prohibited. On Monday, roads in Kigali were busy again, in a city considered to be a...
Tony Allen: ‘World’s greatest drummer’ and afrobeat pioneer dies
Pioneering Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, a co-founder of the afrobeat musical genre, died in Paris on Thursday aged 79, his manager says. Eric Trosset told NPR radio that he had died of a heart attack. AFP said his death was not linked to coronavirus. Allen...
Tanzania’s legal affairs minister dies
Tanzania’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Minister Augustine Mahiga has died on Friday morning in the capital, Dodoma. President John Magufuli, in a statement, said Mr Mahiga fell ill at his home in the morning and was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. The...
