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"We are planning for a worst case scenario," Western Cape health department head Dr Keith Cloete has said, referring to a third wave of Covid-19 infections.
The president also stressed the importance of keeping the economy open after months of stifling movement restrictions.
He urged citizens not to drop their guard and continue adhering to the health rules, such as wearing face masks and respecting curfew times.
South Africa has recorded just over 800,000 coronavirus infections - more than a third of the cases reported across the African continent - and over 20,000 deaths.
AFP
“COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in the state of Texas, and it must be corralled,” said Governor Abbott
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today provided an update on Texas’ continued response to COVID-19.
The Governor discussed several steps the state is taking to mitigate the spread of the virus in recent weeks—including increasing enforcement of health and safety regulations, rapidly increasing testing in hot spots, and working with hospitals throughout the state to ensure they have the ability to treat Texans who test positive for COVID-19.
The Governor urged Texans and Texas businesses to follow the Minimum Standard Health Protocols established by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as Texas continues to safely and strategically open the economy.
“COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in the state of Texas, and it must be corralled,” said Governor Abbott.
Texans should visit open.texas.gov to learn more about the Minimum Standard Health Protocols and how they can help the Lone Star State slow the spread of COVID-19.
A Deputy Minister of Health (MoH), Dr Bernard Oko-Boye has stated that the country's success in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is no fluke.
\"The achievement of Ghana is not just by an accident but about the effective measures that the government has put in place in aggressively tracing, testing and treating people with the virus,\" DrOko-Boye stated.
Dr Oko-Boye explained that since the outbreak, efforts at getting medical supplies for frontline staff had solely been on the government and expressed happiness for the embassy's support to MoH.
DrOko-Boye maintained that all the necessary measures had been put in place to control the spread of the virus in the country, stressing that government has established COVID-19 structures at the national, regional and district level.
Presenting the items, the Deputy Ambassador of Beijing Mission, Dr Charles Dwamena explained that the items came from Chinese companies that do business in Ghana, with majority of the supplies from the Tianyun Manganese, the parent company of Ghana Manganese Company (GMC) to supplement government's effort in the fight against COVID 19.
As Covid-19 cases continue to rise, Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng on Wednesday, hinted on the possibility of the country being placed under another lockdown over what is perceived as complacency by the public in the fight against the spread of the virus.
Efforts to reach Minister Aceng to clarify on her comments were futile but but State Minister for Health, Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, said total lockdown is a possibility, but many people do not seem to appreciate the need for such a move.
\"At first, it was about the truck drivers, but the problem now is infection of the people in the communities,\" Dr Moriku said.
Arua Municipality MP Kassiano Ezati Wadri agrees that it would be necessary for the country to go back into lockdown if the virus spreads in the communities, but hastens to add that this time round government should be using the lockdown to increase preparedness of the health sector to deal with the virus and other medical challenges.
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) has been suffering shortages of essential testing kits for the virus since May, a situation which government blamed on increasing number of truck drivers, limited supply from foreign manufacturers and delays in movement of cargo.
Rwanda on Tuesday, May 19 confirmed 11 new cases of coronavirus and six recoveries.
The latest results were drawn from 1,217 sample tests, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health.
In total, the country has so far conducted 52,335 sample tests of COVID-19 since the outbreak in March.
The cabinet on Monday, May 18, further eased the nationwide novel coronavirus lockdown but largely maintained existing measures to control the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, citizens are still urged to abide by COVID-19 precautionary measures such as regular washing of hands and self-distancing in addition to wearing face masks when in public or multi-family compounds.
The Cameroon English Language Newspapers Publishers Association (CENPA) will distribute protective kits to all media houses in the country in the days ahead.
The President of the Cameroon English Language Newspapers Publishers Association (CENPA), Kristian Ngah Christian says journalists are even more vulnerable, unlike health personnel, because in the line of their duties in collecting information, they get in contact with people of all walks of life on a daily basis whose status they do not know.
It is within this backdrop that CENPA is setting up a project to donate protective kits such as hand-wash buckets, hand sanitizers, face masks, washing soaps and disinfectants to media organs around the country to support them in protecting their staff and journalists as they go about reporting on the Coronavirus pandemic.
Because journalists are determined to keep the public informed and educated on the development concerning Coronavirus spread and efforts to contain it, CENPA President said they felt the urgent need to accompany the government in its efforts in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
At the end of the exercise, CENPA hopes that every news organ would have received hand-wash buckets, hand sanitizers, a good quantity of face masks, washing soap and disinfectants.
[Vanguard] As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country, BUA has donated three ambulances and 100,000 face masks to Yobe State government as part of its social support and humanitarian commitment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eighty-eight new cases of COVID-19 were reported yesterday by the Ministry of Health.
The article Ministry reports 88 new COVID cases appeared first on Stabroek News.
After the second wave of the the Saharan dust blanketed Jamaica over the weekend, sections of the island experienced heavy rain yesterday, the last day of June, which is part of the secondary rainy season.
The rain caused flooding in sections of the Corporate Area and Jamaica Observer photographer Naphtali Junior captured some of the scenes in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew.
Press Release - The 60-bed COVID-19 field hospital run by MSF in partnership with the Western Cape Department of Health will no longer admit new patients, thanks to a substantial decrease in pressure on the health system in Khayelitsha, where 354 active cases were recorded for August 4, down from over 1000 in late June. Resources and expertise from the field hospital are already being deployed in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, where COVID-19 is currently surging. Moving forward, MSF calls for COVID-19 care in the cou
As the precautional measure of social distancing find more people working from home, let us reflect on these five possible ways that may help ensure that women and girls are not being left behind as the world sets itself to deal with a humanitarian crisis that we just may never have thought possible.
Spike in the Cases of Gender Based Violence and School Drop Out Rates for Girls
Megan O'Donnell writes that in times of pandemic, women in quarantine are faced with increased risks of intimate partner violence.
Eighty percent of the women in Africa live in the rural areas where they have less access to such basic needs as health care, education and other public facilities or services.
Living in a pandemic that has seen a great deal of information taken by Heads of States on precautionary measures required disseminated through online platform many women and their families may be more pronged to infection as they either do not have all the necessary information on prevention or get the information much later then the general public that is on digital platforms.
This phenomenon of inequality commonly termed as the 'Mobile Gender Gap,' which is currently at 41 percent has significant political and economic consequences for women especially as it relates to the survival of their businesses.
Huddersfield owner says 50 or 60 clubs could go bust in next year
LONDON, (Reuters) – Up to 60 English lower league soccer clubs could go out of business if the sport fails to plan for the impact of COVID-19 beyond the current season, Huddersfield Town owner Phil Hodgkinson said on Sunday.
Championship (second tier) clubs are due to return to training in small groups today, with hopes of completing the season behind closed doors.
“There are clubs I know of that are only still trading because they are deferring wages and (tax) and other creditors.
Hodgkinson said the worst case scenario would be playing next season without fans allowed to attend matches, leaving many clubs without their major source of income.
“There is an absolutely real, stark probability that if something isn’t agreed now within football to ensure all clubs can pay their bills and get through to the point where income is resumed, you will be looking at 50 or 60 clubs ceasing to exist,” said Hodgkinson.
Major African stats: May 9 as of 7:00 GMT:
\t
\t\tConfirmed cases = 57,844
\t\tNumber of deaths = 2,154
\t\tRecoveries = 19,133
\t\tInfected countries = 53
\t\tVirus-free countries = 1 (Lesotho)
SUGGESTED READING: rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Africa II
\t\tAfrica could risk case, death explosion – WHO warns
\t\tComoros records first case
SUGGESTED READING: rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Africa I
Africa risks explosion of cases, deaths
\tThe coronavirus could “smolder” in Africa for years and take a high death toll across the continent, the World Health Organization has warned.
More than 52,000 confirmed infections and 2,074 virus-related deaths have been reported by African countries, according to figures released Friday (May 8) by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The South African president is also current chairperson of the African Union, AU; he is leading Africa’s most impacted country and the continent’s effort to get international support to fight the pandemic.
Africa dangerously behind in global race for virus gear
\tAs Africa braces for a surge in coronavirus cases, its countries are dangerously behind in the global race for scarce medical equipment.
AP
\tSome major developments to read about below are as follows:
\t\tUS support for Kenya, South Africa; Africa’s equipment crunch
\t\tAfrica case increase worries experts
\t\tMauritania virus-free
\t\tTanzania MP infected
\t\tZimbabwe quarantines UK returnees
\t\tMadagascar announces COVID-19 treatment
\t\tAfrica will suffer Trump’s WHO move
\t\tBurundi voters locked out
\t\tTanzania’s three-days of prayer
\t\tMalawi imposes lockdown as president’s court hearing starts
\t\tUganda speaker unveils COVID-19 combating spray
\t\tUS joins Africa in fight against Chinese racism
\t\tAU appoints four-member international liaison team
\t\tTwo prominent deaths
\t\tAU protests Chinese mistreatment of Africans
April 23: Africa’s 43% jump in virus cases in 1 week worries experts
\tAfrica registered a 43% jump in reported COVID-19 cases in the last week, highlighting a warning from the World Health Organization that the continent of 1.3 billion could become the next epicenter of the global outbreak.
BY PHYLLIS MBANJE There are growing concerns that health workers in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini and Malawi are struggling to treat escalating numbers of COVID-19 patients in the absence of a vaccine to protect them from the virus. As a highly infectious new strain of COVID-19 spreads through southern Africa, health workers are bearing the brunt of the pandemic with many getting infected. In light of this, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has called for equitable distribution of vaccines, prioritising healthcare workers. “We are appalled by the inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the world,” said MSF director of operations Christine Jamet. Speaking from Geneva, Jamet said: “While many wealthy countries started vaccinating their health workers and other groups nearly two months ago, countries such as Eswatini, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which are struggling to respond to this pandemic, have not received a single dose of vaccine to protect the most at risk people, including frontline health staff.” In Zimbabwe, last month was exceptionally difficult. January alone accounted for more than half of the country’s confirmed COVID-19 cases and two-thirds of the total deaths since the start of pandemic in March last year. Throughout the pandemic, MSF has been supporting local health authorities in Harare with COVID-19 screening and referrals, health promotion, health education, access to water and laboratory services. “In response to the rising cases during the second wave, MSF has begun an emergency intervention to increase bed capacity, improve quality of care and service organisation in local hospitals working in partnership with the Health ministry and the City of Harare. “People in the poorest countries seem to be at the back of the queue to access these crucial vaccines,” Jamet said. “There is need for vaccination in countries in southern African that are struggling to respond to the aggressive spread of the new virus strain, which is overwhelming their health systems.” While Mozambique, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Malawi go without vaccines, wealthier nations are hoarding vaccines with the intention to vaccinate beyond the priority groups. “It would be indefensible if some countries started to vaccinate their lower-risk citizens, while many countries in Africa are still waiting to vaccinate their very first frontline health workers,” Jamet said. “This totally goes against the World Health Organisation’s equitable allocation framework. Not only will it prolong the pandemic, but it will put even more lives at risk. “We urge governments who have secured more doses than they need for vaccinating their high-risk groups to urgently share their doses, so that other countries can start vaccinating. This is a global pandemic that requires a global spirit of solidarity if we truly hope to bring it under control.” “MSF calls on vaccine manufacturers to ensure that priority is given to those countries that are in urgent need of protecting their healthcare staff. MSF stands ready to provide logistical support
[Nyasa Times] Malawi does not require nationwide lockdown to get its coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak under control, despite the fact that there is a surge in national daily infection rate but it will be business unusual with strict new curbs on life to tackle the spread of the virus, President Lazarus Chakwera has said.
Image c/o the department of international relations cooperation
South Africa must cut spending to avoid a sovereign debt crisis within the next four years, finance minister Tito Mboweni has warned.
Mboweni is preparing to deliver a revised budget on 24 June that will reflect the devastation wrought on the economy by the coronavirus pandemic, he told MPs on Thursday in Cape Town.
We are much, much poorer and therefore all of us have to adjust our expectations
The adjustment budget Mboweni is preparing will redirect R130-billion in the R500-billion coronavirus stimulus package President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in April.
The fiscal deficit is likely to be double the 6.8% of GDP he projected in February, and forecasts for government debt could be close to 80% of GDP.
Zero-based budgeting
Mboweni said the government must consider adopting a zero-based budgeting system, in which funds are allocated according to the state’s revenue base.
With social distancing mandatory in the United Arab Emirates to help curb the spread of the virus, VOX Cinemas says viewers will be limited to two per car at the open-air venue, which opens on Sunday and can accommodate up to 75 cars at a time.
“We keep our social distancing so it’s a brilliant idea in my opinion,” Porsche driver Xavier Libbrecht told Reuters during a pre-opening event at the drive-in cinema on Wednesday.
COVID-19 disturbances have had a direct impact on most people’s mental health in one way or the other and the best way to treat anyone you meet is just to be kind because virtually everyone is under some sort of mental strain.
Whilst we may not all be trained to assist people when they get into such problems, the best thing that we can do this mental health awareness week and beyond is to be kind.
While that is a good development, online learning is a potential source of stress to learners coming from poor backgrounds where gadgets that connect to the internet are unavailable and data bundles are not affordable.
The national lockdown and restrictions on movements and gatherings put in place to contain the spread of the virus have a strong bearing on people’s mental health.
As we celebrate mental health awareness week, let us bear in mind that people around us are potentially under mental strain.
The Ministry of Health has placed Rusizi under extra supervision after the Western Province District, which borders DR Congo and Burundi recorded five new Covid-19 cases in just a single day.
The patients were identified by the Ministry of Health as cross-border business operators, truck drivers who ply the Rusizi-Bukavu route, DR Congo, and one taxi motorcyclist.
Dr. Daniel Ngamije, the Minister of Health, said on radio that the five new patients, which were identified in Rusizi are under the ministry's management.
In the case of Rusizi, all five new cases were imported from DR Congo.
Dr. Ngamije explained that had it not been for the new cases in Rusizi District, inter-provincial travels would have been resumed.
The Somali health ministry on Monday confirmed 95 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally of infections to 1,689.
Fawziya Abikar, health minister, said 31 people recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of people who have been discharged from hospitals to 235.
The minister said five patients succumbed to the disease, raising the total number of deaths to 66.
Somalia has taken urgent measures to counter the effects of COVID-19 and contain the spread of the virus, including closing schools, banning large gatherings, and suspending both international and domestic passenger flights.
While the Federal Government has extended the partial lockdown across the Federation to prevent further spread of COVID-19, some States in the North notably, Nassarawa, Gombe, Borno, Bauchi, Katsina and Kano States have lifted the ban for worship at Eid Praying Grounds with religious activities allowed for Christians too in their worship Centres.
While commending the Federal and State Governments on their efforts aimed at protecting the lives of the people and at the same time protecting their spiritual, medical and economic interest, the Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria (MMWG) believes that everybody must key-in into the Federal Government measures as dictated by the PTF ON COVID-19 headed by the SGF - Mr. Boss Mustapha because of its medical values so as to whether the storm of the pandemic.
Learning from how other Nations including China were able to surmount the problem of coronavirus, the greatest success came through the lockdown, cancellation of flights, intensive media campaign of medical prevention and solutions.
Medical experts continue to warn on the dangers of this virus - hence we sacrificed our 5 daily prayers by praying at home including the Taraweeh throughout this month to be safe.
While wishing us all happy Eid-il-Fitr Celebration, the Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria urges State Governments to enforce the lock-down order where ban has not been lifted, while the States that allowed religious gathering must monitor the conformity with the FG restrictions and observance of COVID-19 curtailment rules.
President Cyril Ramaphosa wished Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and his wife Dr May Mkhize a speedy recovery after they tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday.
By JOSEPH WILSON and JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press
GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization on Sunday reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases by its count, at more than 183,000 new cases in the latest 24 hours.
At a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump said Saturday the U.S. has tested 25 million people, but the “bad part” is that it found more cases.
The number of confirmed virus cases is still growing rapidly not only in the U.S. but in Brazil, South Africa and other countries, especially in Latin America.
South Africa reported a one-day high of almost 5,000 new cases on Saturday and 46 deaths.
In Asia, China and South Korea reported new coronavirus cases Sunday in outbreaks that threatened to set back their recoveries.
Sharing a word of warning with the general public, Zweli Mkhize has reminded South Africans that Level 1 of lockdown still comes with tight restrictions.
Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo received a positive COVID-19 test result on Thursday 7 January 2021.
Clemson University, known for its storied football program, has reported that 23 people in connection to the team have tested positive for coronavirus.
This isn’t the first we heard of the school’s connection to the deadly virus, just last week when the school conducted 169 tests it was revealed that two other football players, as well as a men’s basketball player, had the virus.
Just a few days ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci proposed that the only way to truly have a safe NFL season would be to it in a bubble away from everyone else.
“Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,” Fauci said.
Dr. Fauci even recommends that if the bubble theory isn’t an option, then a 2020-21 NFL season shouldn’t even be considered.
