Coronavirus Africa Archives

Sikhulile Moyo, a virologist at the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership

Zim Born Scientist Who Helped Identify Omicron Slams Travel Bans

AP THE Botswana scientist who may well have discovered the omicron variant of the coronavirus says he has been on a roller-coaster of emotions, with the pride of accomplishment followed by dismay over the travel bans immediately slapped on southern African countries. “Is that how you reward science? By blacklisting countries?” Sikhulile Moyo, a virologist

4th December 2021

BREAKING: UK Halts Flights To Zimbabwe, Five Other SADC States Over Covid Variant

BBC Britain is halting all flights from South Africa and five other countries in the region in response to the discovery of a highly transmissible new coronavirus variant. From midday GMT on Friday, direct flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Eswatini will be suspended until further notice. Announcing the restrictions, the British

26th November 2021

10 cases of the new variant have so far been spotted through genomic sequencing

Covid ‘Super Variant’ With 32 Mutations Found In Botswana

The Mirror UK A NEW Covid-19 variant with an “extremely high number” of mutations is believed to be the most evolved strain of the virus and could escape existing vaccines, scientists have warned. The B.1.1.529 variant, an offshoot of an older variant called B.1.1, has 32 spike mutations in the spike protein and has been

25th November 2021

Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta

Kenya To Ban Unvaccinated From Public Venues

BBC KENYANS will be barred from bars, restaurants, and public transport from 21 December if they are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19, Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe says. The measures are aimed at increasing the rate of vaccinations ahead of the festive season. Less than 10% of the population is currently vaccinated. Mr. Kagwe raised concern

22nd November 2021

David Nabarro, the WHO special envoy on Covid

Covid Now Pandemic Of Poor Nations, WHO Envoy Tells UK MPs

The Guardian COVID-19 is now a pandemic of poor nations, a leading global expert has told a cross-party group of MPs, adding that governments that are attempting to vaccinate their way out of the pandemic are taking a huge risk. Dr David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s special envoy on Covid, told the all-party group on

17th November 2021

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni

Uganda’s Museveni Says Schools Reopen January After Two Year Closure

Aljazeera UGANDAN President Yoweri Museveni has said schools, shut since March 2020 owing to the coronavirus pandemic, will reopen early next year regardless of currently low vaccination uptake. “Be informed that the schools will be opened in January and the rest of the economy will be opened in the same month,” Museveni said on Thursday.

30th October 2021

Ugandan Teachers Turn To Coffin-Making After Schools Close

AFP AS A Covid-19 surge overwhelmed Uganda earlier this year, Livingstone Musaala, who had to quit his teaching job after schools closed, turned to coffin-making to pay the bills and help others. But few welcomed his initiative at first. Family members criticised him for capitalising on a pandemic-fuelled boom in his densely-populated hometown of Bugobi, 140km

18th October 2021

An abandoned classroom in Uganda, where many teachers were left with little or no income when schools shut.

Uganda’s Schools At Risk As Teachers Find New Work During Covid

The Guardian THE last message Mary Namitala received from the private school in which she taught was in March last year, the day all schools in Uganda were ordered close due to Covid-19. The message read: “No more payments until when schools open.” “My husband and I decided to leave our rented house in town and shifted

6th October 2021

UK Covid Vaccine Rules Cause Hesitancy – Africa Health Boss

BBC Africa THE head of Africa’s health agency has warned that the UK’s policy of not accepting Covid-19 vaccine certificates from the continent could increase vaccine hesitancy. John Nkegasong said the UK’s stance was confusing and had far-reaching implications for vaccination campaigns. He warned that some people would question why they should get a jab

24th September 2021

Failure To Vaccinate To Turn Africa Into Fertile Ground For New Covid Variants

TimesLive AFRICA must not be left behind in the global response to Covid-19 and vaccination rollouts, lest the continent becomes a breeding ground for new variants. This is the stern warning from African scientists and public health specialists, who have been conducting genomic surveillance on the continent since the arrival of the coronavirus early in

11th September 2021

Covax Reduces Covid Jabs For African Countries

BBC AFRICAN countries will receive over 100 million doses of Covid vaccines less than they were to get from Covax by the end of the year, the World Health Organisation says. Africa was to receive 520 million doses by December. The UN global sharing scheme partly attributes this to bilateral deals that manufacturing companies have

10th September 2021

108 000 J&J Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine Delivered To Ethiopia

By Staff Reporter THE government of Ethiopia has received its first monthly shipment of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) single-shot vaccine purchased through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT). The 108,000 doses were handed over to health minister, Lia Tadesse, at the Bole International Airport Monday. Tadesse said she was “pleased to receive the first

7th September 2021

SA President Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa Says Workers May Refuse Vaccination On Medical, Constitutional Grounds

News24 SOUTH AFRICA Cyril Ramaphosa has said the implementation of mandatory Covid-19 vaccination must be based on mutual respect and the rights of people. Ramaphosa also said he believed employees may refuse vaccination on medical and constitutional grounds. If necessary, Ramaphosa said, steps should be taken to responsibly accommodate workers who do not want to

3rd September 2021

SA President Cyril Ramaphosa

SA Booze Ban Stays, Restaurants Open As Ramaphosa Keeps Level 4

TimesLIVE SOUTH AFRICA President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on July 11 2021 after a national coronavirus command council meeting earlier in the day. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the extension of the level 4 lockdown regulations for another 14 days, as Covid-19 positive cases continue to rise. Ramaphosa, addressing the nation on Sunday night, said

12th July 2021

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni

Uganda Imposes New Anti-Covid Measures To Stem Raging Pandemic

Reuters UGANDA’S president Yoweri Museveni on Friday introduced sweeping new anti-coronavirus measures including a ban on all vehicular movement except for essential workers to help curb a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic gripping the nation. The east African country, like most other African peers had been left relatively unscathed by the first wave. It

20th June 2021

Julius Malema

EFF Won’t Comply With Level 3 Laws Even If It Means Jail Time: Malema

TimesLIVE ‘FROM today we don’t listen to what Ramaphosa says about the coronavirus. We don’t comply with nonsense he says about the coronavirus until he gives us vaccine and vaccinates our people’ As the country commemorated Youth Day on Wednesday, EFF leader Julius Malema launched a scathing attack on government, instructing his members to defy

16th June 2021

Covid-19 Plunges 50 % Zimbabweans Into Extreme Poverty – World Bank

By Alois Vinga EXTREME poverty in Zimbabwe rose to 49 % in 2020 due to the disruption caused on the national economy by Covid-19, coupled with inadequacies in terms of social protection, the latest World Bank report has established. The document entitled, Zimbabwe Economic Update, observes that the number of extremely poor citizens rose to

11th June 2021

Tanzania President Samia Suluhu

Tanzania Gears Towards Covid-19 Vaccination

Africa News Once considered as the staunch anti-Covid country, Tanzania is gearing towards vaccination after a team of health experts handed in their report on how to roll out mass inoculation to President Samia Suluhu. The report comes a month after a special committee of experts handed in another report evaluating the Covid-19 situation in

7th June 2021

Uganda Closes Schools as Covid Cases Rise

BBC THE country has been reporting a spike in virus casesImage caption: The country has been reporting a spike in virus cases Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has shut down schools and suspended public gatherings as the country faces a surge of infections in a second Covid-19 wave. Public transport between districts will be banned starting

7th June 2021

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

Lockdown: South Africa Moves To Level 2 Amid Third Wave Threat

TimesLive SA will move to lockdown adjusted level 2 from Monday. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday already confirmed that tighter restrictions were on the cards as SA enters its third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said over the last seven days, we have seen an average of 3,745 daily new infections. This is an

30th May 2021