NAIROBI – Kenya has suspended parliament and banned church gatherings in its capital, Nairobi, and four other counties as the country records its highest number of COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic started last year and amid a surge of positive cases. President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday announced partial lockdown and instituted new curfew measures to […] Continue reading ->
A new study published by a consortium of UK-based airline industry interests suggested that administration to travelers of a rapid antigen test upon arrival at their destination, may be just as effective as quarantine requirements, to stop imports of COVID-19 cases. The study, which reviewed case studies of airport testing procedures elsewhere, claims that a […] Continue reading ->
About 10 African countries have yet to receive any doses of a COVID vaccine, while at least one country, Rwanda, has already run out of the doses that it received through the WHO co-sponsored COVAX facility, said WHO’s African Regional Office on Thursday, citing this as evidence of the vaccine inequalities that continue to […] Continue reading ->
The Wellcome trust is pledging up to US $100 million (£70m/€80m) to accelerate Covid-19 research and development to ensure science keeps pace with the virus. The funding will help advance treatments and vaccines and SARS-CoV-2 tracking research in low and middle income countries. Announcing the funding on Wednesday, the trust said the rise and spread […] Continue reading ->
Syria needs $US 78-million to vaccinate 20% of its population against COVID-19 by the end of this year, and its pandemic response is being challenged by a worsening humanitarian crises in the country, including continued attacks on health care facilities. This is according to Akjemal Magtymova, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Syria, who […] Continue reading ->
For the fifth week in a row, global COVID-19 cases have increased, with substantial increases in South-East Asia (49%) and the Western Pacific (29%), according to the World Health Organization (WHO). India is driving up numbers in South-East Asia, while the Philippines and Papua New Guinea are responsible for the Western Pacific increases, according to […] Continue reading ->
COVID has highlighted deep-seated weaknesses in urban water and sanitation systems that are vital to health – but the pandemic has also underlined how improvements can hit back at the SARS-CoV2 virus – as well as reducing other traditional waterborne diseases. That was a key message at a seminar Monday on “Water and Sanitation in […] Continue reading ->
An estimated 1.4 million fewer people received care for tuberculosis (TB) in 2020 than in 2019 – a drop of 21% – according to preliminary data compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) from over 80 countries. Countries worst affected are Indonesia (42%), South Africa (41%), Philippines (37%) and India (25%), and the WHO fears […] Continue reading ->
KAMPALA – On 12 March, Samson Wamani, a doctor at Mukono General Hospital, received his COVID-19 vaccine under a tent placed outside the hospital as Uganda implements its plan to vaccinate half the population in the next year. As the government already had a database of its health workers registered, all Wamani had to do […] Continue reading ->
Previous infection with COVID-19 protects most people against reinfection for over six months, but those over the age of 65 are more likely to get infected again, found a peer reviewed study published in The Lancet. In the world’s first large-scale study of COVID-19 reinfections, researchers from Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom discovered that […] Continue reading ->