Coronavirus Africa summary: cases, deaths and news - 21 May
Coronavirus live Africa updates: cases, deaths and news - 21 May
Africa Covid-19 update: 01:30 WAT on Friday 22 May (02:30 CEST)
According to the latest figure 332,425 deaths and 1,948,106 people now recovered.
Nigeria: 6,677 cases / 200 deaths
South Africa: 19,137 cases / 369 deaths
Ghana: 6,269 cases / 31 deaths
Uganda: 145 cases / 0 deaths (no data currently available)
The United Kingdom has pledged £20 million to support the African Union in fighting the coronavirus pandemic...
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday reported that COVID-19 cases in Africa as at May 21, had risen to over 95, 000...
Infections rates are reportedly slowing in Ghana, falling below 183 per day over the past four days. Over the past two weeks, infections had reached as high as 921 within 48 hours...
Following his arrest on April 19, Ugandan legislator Francis Zaake was released a week later but with scars all over his body and left partially blind. He alleges he was beaten by Uganda's security officers, who stand accused of using excessive force and targeting political opponents during coronavirus lockdown.
In pictures: Mine workers wearing face masks arrive ahead of their shift, amid a nationwide coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown, at a mine of Sibanye-Stillwater company in Carletonville, South Africa. (photo by Reuters)
Hundreds of Ethiopian female migrants who had been stranded for months in Lebanon, will remain stranded indefinitely as flights scheduled to evacuate them this week have been cancelled...
Scientists have warned that South Africa's death toll could explode in the coming months. Up to 40,000 South Africans could die due to coronavirus. Under a "pessimistic scenario" the number of active cases could peak at around 120,000 in August, and a total of 45,000 might die by November.
Biyik turns 54
He is remembered for scoring the only goal as Cameroon shocked defending champions Argentina who had Diego Armando Maradona in the1990 FIFA World Cup opener. Oman Biyik is now the assistant coach of Cameroon.
Cape Town Emerges As One Of Africa’s Coronavirus Hot Spots
The popular tourist destination at the southern tip of Africa had more than 12,000 confirmed cases as of Thursday, representing 63% of South Africa’s 19,000 cases and about 10% of Africa’s 95,000 cases.
City living
The World Health Organisation anticipates that 2/3 of the world's population will be living in large cities come 2050.
Covid-19 challenges for Nigeria's visually impaired
Lawal Adebimpe knows she must remain a safe distance from people to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in Nigeria. But her blindness means she usually holds people to navigate her way around the heaving megacity of Lagos.
Adebimpe, a baker who lives with her parents, lost her sight in 2018 after suffering retina detachment in a car accident. She said the need to remain 2 metres away from others hit her "like a bomb".
"I have to depend on people to go out. I have to cross the road, I have to walk around, get a bus," said the 31-year-old. "Some people would not want to hold you because of the fear."
Private communications
According to the Medical Director of Parliament, Dr Prince Pambo, the results will be delivered privately to the members.
Women, HIV and Covid-19
"Corona has brought so many problems to me," Matina told the Thomson Reuters Foundation while sitting outside her small grass-roof home in a leafy, poor part of Gulu, northern Uganda.
"Getting food is not easy. I cannot buy beans because the price has increased and I cannot afford it. There's no money. Maybe corona is better because the hunger will just kill you."
China-Africa connections
With the traditional big donors to Africa, such as Europe and the United States, focused on containing the continued spread of the virus, Xi moved to position China, which has its own outbreak largely under control, as the global leader in health.
Tragic new predictions made
South Africa could see up to 50,000 coronavirus deaths and as many as 3 million infections by the end of the year as the southern hemisphere winter leads to a higher rate of infection, scientific models showed.
The country already has the highest number of infections and deaths on the continent, with more than 18,000 identified cases and 339 deaths, but a national lockdown entering its sixth week had slowed infections. However scientists and statisticians hired by the health ministry to model the spread of the disease said the country could see between 35,000 and 50,000 coronavirus deaths by November.
'We haven't really crushed the curve,' said one of the experts, Harry Moultrie, in a presentation shown on television. 'We also have some significant concerns that because of the focus on Covid-19, this may compromise other areas like HIV and TB.'
Pieter-Steph du Toit staying
World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit has confirmed he will stay at South African Super Rugby side the Stormers after initially giving notice he would terminate his contract.
Players in South Africa had a 21-day window to opt out of their current contracts and become free agents in light of pay cuts forced on them by South African Rugby in a bid to save R1.2-billion ($66.89 million) in expenditure in 2020.
Coronavirus: Largest drop in carbon emissions in recorded history
Environmental plus
The Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged countries around the globe, but the world as a whole has felt one particular benefit.
Inequality concerns
The current coronavirus outbreak will have far-reaching policy implications across the region that could be amplified by inequality.
The stress the pandemic places on basic public services, especially in health care and education provision, will become apparent downstream. Full report.
Rasamiharimanana Solofo, an agricultural engineer and researcher within the company BIONEXX, inspects plants of artemisia annua growing in greenhouses for transformation near the village of Faharetana, near Antananarivo, on 19 May 2020.
Artemisia, a kind of fern that resembles cannabis, enjoys a loyal following in Africa where many view it as the go-to cure for Covid-19 coronavirus. Detractors, with undisguised scorn, dismiss it as a magic potion that is at best useless and at worst dangerous.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina is the promoter-in-chief of the substance, marketed as Covid-Organics in the form of an infusion. (Photo by RIJASOLO / AFP)
SA lockdown defended
“Had we done nothing, estimates show that by this point, as many as 80,000 South Africans would have been infected, and nearly 2,000 of our brothers and sisters would have lost their lives,” the minister said, citing scientific models and estimates.
African aid required - UN
“These are still early days for the pandemic in Africa, and disruption could escalate quickly. Global solidarity with Africa is an imperative — now and for recovering better,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a video message for the launch of a policy brief on the impact of Covid-19 on Africa.
Africa Covid-19 update: 08:00 WAT on Thursday 21 May (09:00 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 5,000,038 cases have been detected worldwide, with 328,172 deaths and 1,899,350 people now recovered.
Nigeria: 6,677cases / 200 deaths
South Africa: 18,003 cases / 339 deaths
Ghana: 6,269 cases / 31 deaths
Uganda: 264 cases / 0 deaths (no data currently available)
Coronavirus live Africa updates: welcome
Hello and welcome to our live, Africa-focused coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now registered over five million cases worldwide.
Join us for the latest news and numbers as they emerge throughout the day.