Africa coronavirus summary: cases, deaths and news - 22 April
Coronavirus live Nigeria: latest Covid-19 news - Wednesday 22 April
Nigeria coronavirus update at 02:00 WAT on Thursday 22 April (03:00 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 2,623,415 cases have been detected worldwide, with 183,027 deaths and 710,405 people now recovered.
In Nigeria, there have been 782 cases, with 28 deaths and 197 people recovering from the virus.
The BBC take a look at how Africa will cope with the coronavirus if it hits them as hard as it has Europe.
Nigeria's northern governors to close Islamic schools due to coronavirus risk
Nigeria's northern governors have agreed to close disputed Islamic schools which house millions of men and boys across the region due to concerns over the new coronavirus, the group said in a statement.
The governors said the risk to children from the virus prompted this week's decision to close the schools, and children would be evacuated to their parents or states of origin.
Orphans would be taken care of by the state government where they are located.
Islamic schools, known within Nigeria as almajiris, fill a gap left by state educational institutions. State schools are so overcrowded they cannot accommodate a booming population in northern Nigeria, which is predominately Muslim.
Fewer than half of children in the region attend government primary schools, according to the latest official figures, from 2015. Many families live on less than $2 a day and have few other options besides the almajiris.
The Islamic schools enrol an estimated 10 million students, according to Nigerian human rights organisation the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
But the schools have for years been dogged by accusations that some force children to beg on the streets, and late last year, raids at several schools uncovered horrific abuse.
Professor Ishaq Akintola, director of MURIC, said the schools should have been closed when the federal government closed state schools and universities on March 19.
"This is a belated order," Akintola said. "There is no need for children to be roaming the streets in this COVID-19 environment."
Nigeria currently has 782 confirmed cases of the virus.
"I think from the research conducted by the World Health Organization and various organizations, it has been believed that alcohol plays a major role in killing the coronavirus," Sonko said in a video.
South Africa deploys 70,000 troops to enforce lockdown
More than 70,000 extra troops will be deployed in South Africa to help enforce a lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the salary payment of February and March for lecturers in federal universities who have not registered on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS)...
Second death in Borno
The Brono government has confimed the second coronavirus in the state. “The deceased is from Biu town and already his contacts have been traced," said Deputy Governor, Alhaji Umar Kadafur.
“One of his contacts is a trader in the Biu market. Following this development, the state government has ordered the closure of the market for immediate fumigation."
Some 25 states in Nigeria now have confirmed cases of coronavirus, however 12 remain officially Covid-19-free for now. They are: Adamawa, Bayelsa, Cross River, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe, Ebonyi, Emo, Kebbi, Kogi and Zamfara.
The Lagos State House of Assembly has asked citizens to continue to persevere amid the current hardship caused by the current coronavirus lockdown.
“The best way to curb the spread is absolute lockdown, I understand it is not easy but sometimes we should be able to consider the effect of COVID, because if you witness the effect of the virus on human being it is very very bad.”
Nigerian cop dies of coronavirus
A Nigerian police officer has reportedly died after contracting Covid-19. The victim was 57-year-old and based in Edo State...
Coronavirus UK: new Covid-19 vaccine to be tested on humans
Clinical trials of new Covid-19 vaccine to begin on humans tomorrow
The first clinical trials for a new Covid-19 vaccine will go ahead on humans at Oxford University from Thursday and in Langen, Germany.
The Kano State government has been forced to shut the newly established testing centre for COVID-19 due to a lack of kits for its operations, Nigeria Newdesk reports...
Ekiti registers first death
The Government of Ekiti has confirmed the first death of a patient from coronavirus in the state. The victom was reportedly a 29-year-old community health worker and one of the three confirmed cases in Ekiti to date.
Ghana's confirmed cases as of 22 April 2020
Confirmed cases: 1,154
Deaths: 9
Recovered: 99
Source: John Hopkins University
Claims that 3 million Ghanaians could contract Covid-19 are "completely untrue"
Former Director-General of the Ghana Health ServiceDr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare has rejected recent reports in the media that up to 3 million people could become infected with the Covid-19 virus in Ghana - clarifying comments that were made in Joy News earlier this week. Nsiah-Asare was quoted as saying that 10% of the population "may get infected but 80% of those may not show signs or symptoms at all and maybe only 5% of them will become very ill, that is the projection".
However, speaking today at this afternoon's Special COVID-19 press briefing in Accra, at the Special COVID-19 press briefing in Accra today said his words had been twisted and that was not the message he wanted to get across.
“I want to just make it very short that it’s not true that Ghana will have three million people infected before we’ll reach the peak. It’s not true. We’ll never see that. Because as we speak now, the number of deaths in the country is nine," he explained. "If you calculate it according to the percentage of the number of people who are infected, it’s 0.7% - it’s nowhere near 5%. If you look at the number of tests we have done so far, we have 1,154 positives which is about 1.5% positivity of people that have been tested. And even if you look at the negative range, it’s about 98.5%. So we will never get near the WHO hypothesis”.
Nine patients recover and discharged in Lagos
Nine patients - five female and four male, were discharged from the city's isolation centre today, Health Minister Akin Abayomi confirmed. The total number of discharged cases in Lagos currently stands at 107.
South Africa pledge 500 billion rand emergency package
Trudi Makhaya economic advisor to South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa explained how a proposed 500 billion rand emergency package to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the country would be financed. "Some of the funding will come from reprioritisation - that will be confirmed and further details will be given in the budget. Other sources of financing would be from the international financial institutions - the Brics Bank, IMF and World Bank. This is a global pandemic and no country should be expected to shoulder the burden on its own. We need a global solution to this. Funding is not going to come with onerous conditions - the kind of condition you would have seen in the past because there is a recognition that this funding is to deal with a crisis - a crisis not of our making. It will be concessional, the interest rates will be reasonable and the conditions would be in line with the crisis mode we are in".
As of this moment, South Africa has recorded 3,465 positive cases of coronavirus infection and 58 people have died because of te illness.
Cabinet Secretary makes plea for escaped quarantined patients to return
Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health Mutahi Kagwe has made a plea for residents to "exercise self-discipline" as the country battles against rising cases of coronavirus infection. Kagwe made reference to a group of around 50 people who had been in quarantine at the KMTC Medical College in Nairobi but were caught on video, scaling a wall and escaping from the facility on Monday. "Quarantine is not prison," Kagwe said in this afternoon's press briefing. "You are placed in quarantine to protect yourself and to protect those around you. Those individuals who jumped the wall at KMTC are now among you. They will cost you very highly. I ask them to surrender themselves. It is in their interests and in the interests of everyone else to report back to the quarantine facility. If we exercise self-discipline, we can beat this disease".
Kagwe confimed that there has been seven more positive cases of Covid-19 infection in Kenya during the past 24 hours - all them were Kenyan. The total number of confirmed cases in Kenya is 296 with 14 people having died due to coronavirus-related health problems.
Alert about fake coronavirus vaccine being sold in Kano
Nigeria's Federal Government has warned the public about a fake vaccine which is being sold in the city of Kano. There is currently no vaccine or cure for coronavirus anywhere in the world although the race to find one continues. Nigeria's Minister for Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed said, “In the absence of vaccine or drugs, non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) remains the most effective way to contain the spread of the disease and protect Nigerians. I am sure you must have heard about the vaccine which is being hawked in Kano which is called ‘Covid-19 Vaccine’. It is a cloudy yellow colour. It is not certified by anybody. Please, do not patronize the hawkers".
Alert about fake coronavirus vaccine being sold in Kano
Nigeria's Federal Government has warned the public about a fake vaccine which is being sold in the city of Kano. There is currently no vaccine or cure for coronavirus anywhere in the world although the race to find one continues. Nigeria's Minister for Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed said, “In the absence of vaccine or drugs, non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) remains the most effective way to contain the spread of the disease and protect Nigerians. I am sure you must have heard about the vaccine which is being hawked in Kano which is called ‘Covid-19 Vaccine’. It is a cloudy yellow colour. It is not certified by anybody. Please, do not patronize the hawkers".
Private clinic in Lagos temporarily closed
A major private hospital in Lagos confirmed that it will remain closedCovid-19 for the next two weeks after being disinfected following exposure to coronavirus. St. Nicholas Hospital released a statement earlier this week explaining that normal services will resume on Saturday 2nd. Lagos is served by over 20 hospitals and clinics but according to local media, six, including St. Nicholas, have been forced to close for decontamination during the coronavirus crisis.
Nigeria's coronavirus-free zones
Twelve Nigerian states have not registered a single case of coronavirus infection, according to reports by Punch. Of the country's 36 states, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Imo, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara States have yet to record any positive cases of the virus.
Bearing the brunt of the peidemic in Nigeria is Lagos, where 430 positive cases of Covid-19 infection have been recorded - including 59 new cases on Tuesday. After Lagos the Federal Capital Territory is the next worst-hit area with 118 confirmed cases.
Covid-19: "The worst of the coronavirus is yet to come" - WHO chief
WHO says Trump has knowledge
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his concern at the spread of Covid-19 in Africa and also addressed Donald Trump's claims of a lack of transparency.
Remote health control
The Lagos State Ministry of Health suggests that ‘EKO TELEMED’ marks a new beginning in the provision of medical consultation and services for the Lagos State Health Scheme.
“The project would increase access to care, reduce the challenge of going to hospitals during this period of restricted movements, except for emergencies."
The origin of diseases
The Nigerian environmental ministry is confident in their disease management approach.
Power to the people
In an attempt to ensure that prolonged power outages are limited during the lockdown, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said it had set up a situation room to ensure that all cases are promptly resolved to relieve Nigerians of the discomfort occasioned by the restriction of movements.
Nigeria coronavirus update at 07:30 WAT on Wednesday 22 April (08:30 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 2,565,059 cases have been detected worldwide, with 177,496 deaths and 686,608 people now recovered.
In Nigeria, there have been 782 cases, with 25 deaths and 197 people recovering from the virus.
Covid-19 blog Nigeria
Hello and welcome to our daily live blog covering all aspects of the current coronavirus pandemic that we find ourselves in.
This feed is dedicated to our audience in Nigeria so the focus will be there as well as on related news coming out of Africa and further afield.