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Tag: Covid-19

Africa Business Southern Africa World 

Covid-19: RwandAir suspends flights to southern Africa

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , ,
– – Rwanda’s national carrier Rwandair has announced temporarily suspension of flights to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. In a statement posted on Twitter, the airline said the suspension was due to the new Covid-19 variants reported in southern African countries. It said all flights to and from the cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lusaka and Harare have been suspended… Read More
Africa Featured South Africa Southern Africa World 

South Africa suspends Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , , ,
– – South Africa has suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccination. Tests conducted by the country have shown that the vaccine developed by drug-maker AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford offered only limited protection against mild and moderate disease caused by the 501Y.V2 coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa. The SA government had planned to roll the Oxford/AstraZeneca… Read More
Africa South Africa World 

Covid-19: Oxford vaccine offers less South African variant protection

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , ,
Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine offers “minimal protection” against mild disease from the South Africa variant, scientists say early trials suggest. A new study, not yet peer reviewed, involved about 2,000 people who were on average 31 years old. But Prof Sarah Gilbert, Oxford lead vaccine developer, said vaccines should still protect against severe disease. She said developers were likely to have a… Read More
Africa Ghana West Africa World 

Ghana: 15 MPs and 56 parliamentary staff infected with Covid-19

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , ,
– – Ghana’s parliament has announced that at least 15 lawmakers and 56 other parliamentary staffers have tested positive for Covid-19. The rate of infection was detected following a mass testing of legislators and workers at the legislature. Speaker of Ghana’s parliament Alban Kingsford Bagbin had threatened to publish names of MPs who showed up in the chamber despite their… Read More
Africa World 

African leaders to focus on Covid-19 and conflicts at AU summit

Elwin Mandowa, , , , ,
– – African leaders are expected to focus on the continent’s COVID-19 response at a virtual summit this weekend, as well as pressing security crises that have gone overlooked during the pandemic. The two-day African Union summit comes almost exactly one year after Egypt recorded the first case of COVID-19 in Africa, prompting widespread fears that member states’ weak health… Read More
Africa Eswatini Southern Africa World 

Covid-19: Hospitals in Eswatini ‘run out of body bags’

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , ,
– – Hospitals in Eswatini are reportedly running out of body bags due to a surge in COVID-19-deaths. The Times of Swaziland reported that a source at a hospital told the publication “that in the past two weeks, most of the bodies were wrapped in sheet-covers and put into plastic materials upon being confirmed dead.” The source was quoted as… Read More
Africa Featured Ghana West Africa World 

Covid-19: Ghana approves first herbal drug for clinical trial

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , ,
– – Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has announced that it has given approval for the country’s first herbal medicine Cryptolepis Sanguinolenta locally known as Nibima for clinical trials for the treatment of Covid-19. The herbal medicine went through several laboratory studies at one of the country’s major university research centre called the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and… Read More
Africa Ghana World 

Covid-19: Africa’s surge in infections likely due to new variants

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , ,
– – Surge in Covid-19 cases across Africa is becoming a source of worry for many governments. This latest second wave of the virus doesn’t appear to be going anytime soon, as cases and deaths from the virus begin to take a toll. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has now said that the current wave… Read More
Africa East Africa Rwanda World 

Rwanda ranks best in managing Covid-19 pandemic in Africa

Elwin Mandowa, , , , ,
– – Rwanda has been ranked first in Africa in managing the Covid-19 pandemic. The country also ranked high globally in making information on the pandemic accessible to the public. The Australian think tank Lowy Institute that released the rating, ranked a total of 98 countries globally. The ranking was done according to the institute based on average performance in managing the… Read More
Africa Southern Africa World Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe arrests couple for claiming Mnangagwa died of Covid-19

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , ,
– – Authorities in Zimbabwe have arrested and detained a Zimbabwean couple reported to have sent a message on WhatsApp claiming that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had died from Covid-19. Devine Panashe Maregere (20) and wife Vongai Nomatter Chiminya (20) were arrested and detained as part of a crackdown by the government. The two were arraigned with the court denying them… Read More