Coronavirus Africa summary: cases, deaths and news - 14 June
Coronavirus live Africa: latest Covid-19 news - 14 June
Africa Covid-19 update: 01:30 WAT (02:30 CEST) on 15 June
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 7,887,281 cases have been detected worldwide, with 432,632 deaths and 3,763,179 people have now recovered.
Nigeria: 16,085 cases / 420 deaths
South Africa: 70,038 cases / 1,480 deaths
Ghana: 11,422 cases / 51 deaths
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Egypt to reopen all airports on July 1, says aviation minister
Egypt will reopen all its airports on July 1, the civil aviation minister said on Sunday, after suspending regular international flights in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Mohamed Manar Anba told a news conference that flights would resume gradually at the airports from the start of July.
He said foreign tourism would be limited to resorts in three coastal provinces, after the government said on Thursday it would reopen Egypt's main seaside resorts for international flights and foreign tourists from July 1.
Veteran Congo politician Pierre Lumbi dies from coronavirus
Veteran Congolese politician Pierre Lumbi, once an advisor to former President Joseph Kabila and latterly a leading opposition figure, died on Sunday, friends and allies said, becoming the country's most high profile victim of the new coronavirus.
A prominent member of civil society in the 1990s, Lumbi held several ministerial portfolios before advising Kabila on security.
In 2016 he was elected as a senator for South Kivu province and worked as campaign manager for Martin Fayulu in his bid to win the 2018 election.
Ghana's president says health minister tests positive for COVID-19
Ghana's health minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu is in a stable condition after contracting the new coronavirus, President Nana Akufo-Addo said on Sunday. "Let us wish our hardworking minister for health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, a speedy recovery from the virus, which he contracted in the line of duty," Akufo-Addo said in an broadcast, giving an update on the pandemic situation in Ghana.
Akufo-Addo confirmed that final year students in secondary schools and universities would resume classes on Monday as the West African nation pursues its phased lifting of restrictions that were put in place to curb the pandemic.
Ghana has recorded 11,964 positive coronavirus cases, one of the highest in the region, but has also carried out one of the highest number of tests in the continent at 254,331 and has one of lowest number of deaths from the virus.
South Africa cases continue to rise
Cases in Africa's worst hit country show no sign of slowing down with Sunday's figures higher than those of Saturday,
South Africa has surpassed the 70,000 cases mark as deaths near 1,500. South Africa has been the worst affected nation on the continent...
In pictures: A woman walks along a flooded road amidst a storm in the Masiphumelele informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town is the epicenter of the Coronavirus pandemic in South Africa. Cold winter weather with high winds and heavy rain are concerns in the densely populated impoverished areas further contributing to the rise in infection rate. South Africa is on level 3 lockdown on a 5 phase risk adjusted lockdown system to contain the spread of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 which causes the Covid-19 disease. (EFE/EPA/NIC BOTHMA)
Sudan extends airport closures by another two weeks
Sudan will keep its airports closed to international and internal scheduled commercial flights for another two weeks until 28 June, a spokesman for the country's civil aviation authority told Reuters on Sunday.
Sudan closed its airports in March as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. It has been reviewing the closure every two weeks. Airports are open only for flights transporting cargo, humanitarian aid, oil organisations' workers or evacuating foreigners, said Abdul Hafiz Abdul Rahim, the SCAA spokesman.
Sudan had reported 7,007 coronavirus infections as of Thursday, including 447 deaths, the health ministry said.
Lagos coronavirus cases hits 7035
The number of positive Covid-19 cases in Lagos State now stands at 7,035, according to data released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) today. Lagos recorded 195 new Covid-19 infections on 13 June, taking the total number of cases to 7,035.
The NCDC added that no new deaths have been reported during the past 24 hours - the death toll remains at 82.
African program to stop Covid-19 is floundering
Africa’s biggest program to halt the coronavirus is being thwarted by a global shortage of tests and a lack of capacity to process those that have been administered, Bloomberg reports.
Back in March, South Africa unveiled plans to test 30,000 people a day, only weeks after the first infection was diagnosed. Today, with more than 940,000 tests completed and 12 million people screened, its program is by far the most comprehensive on the continent. But some 80,000 tests haven’t been processed and results can take between five to 14 days, making it impossible to isolate those who are infected and trace their contacts.
Leading epidemiologists are now calling on the government to change its strategy of trying to find infections in communities and instead focus on testing health-care workers and people who’ve been hospitalized. The Western Cape province, which is the worst affected with almost two thirds of the country’s confirmed cases, is already doing that.
Coronavirus-free Tunisia looking to attract tourism
Tunisia is set to become the first country in North Africa to reopen its borders following the Covid-19 crisis but the nation is, like many others, divided between keeping the economy buoyant against concerns over the possibility of a second wave of the virus.
After a three-month lockdown, Tunisia has recorded zero local cases for almost a month and will be the first nation in the North Africa to reopen its borders, on June 27. In Sousse, Osama Mani, who handles reservations at a major upscale hotel, said locals who rely on tourism were trying to get back on their feet.
"We were expecting a good year, a good season of tourism. But the coronavirus felled these hopes and crushed them," Mani said. "We are dealing with it step by step now and have brought in a health protocol. Because Tunisia is winning against the coronavirus, I think it will be a good destination for people from all over the world."
Overview of Covid-19 cases across Africa
African Union Member States (54) reporting COVID-19 cases (232,815) deaths (6,244), and recoveries (106,459) by region.
Algeria easing further
Today sees the government end the curfew in 19 provinces and shorten it in the remaining 29, including in the capital Algiers, where it will run from 08:00 to 05:00.
A view on Nigeria's response
"Evidently, there are two Nigerias – one for the elite and another one for the rest. Clearly, what we are dealing with is a systemic problem."
Nigeria flags seen raised at the MKO Abiola National stadium, as the government continues to fight to contain the coronavirus disease in Abuja, Nigeria 12 June 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)
Catch up...
Here are some of the headlines that have been making the coronavirus news over the past few hours:
- Africa turns to home care with virus cases Inundating hospitals
- South African railways are delivering healthcare assistance to remote areas to ramp up testing for the coronavirus
- Ghana's minister for health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, said to be in a "stable condition" as his recovery continues
- People with albinism in Africa being blamed for coronavirus
Africa Covid-19 update: 07:00 WAT on Sunday 14 June (08:00 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 7,786,045 cases have been detected worldwide, with 430,128 deaths and 3,708,328 people now recovered.
Nigeria: 15,682 cases / 407 deaths
South Africa: 65,736 cases / 1,423 deaths
Ghana: 11,118 cases / 48 deaths
Coronavirus Africa live updates: welcome
Hello and welcome to our live Africa-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, which has now registered over 7.7 million cases worldwide, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
We'll endeavour to keep you abreast of the latest developments and statistics as they emerge throughout Saturday.