Coronavirus Africa summary: cases, deaths and news - 28 June

Data made available by the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has shown that 48 percent of the COVID-19 cases recorded in the region has recovered.

Sudan extends lockdown in Khartoum state

Sudan is extending a lockdown in the state of Khartoum by one week until 7 July, the government spokesman said on Sunday.

From 8 July, there will be a gradual return to normal, though a night curfew will be imposed from 6 p.m. until 5 a.m., Faisal Salih told Reuters.

Sudan has confirmed 9,258 cases of the coronavirus, including 572 deaths.

Authorities have extended the closure of Khartoum's international airport until 12 July. (Reuters)

Uganda repatriates stranded nationals

Hundreds of stranded Ugandans have been flown back from countries such as Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ethiopia, with more expected to arrive from South Africa, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and India.

Worldwide Covid-19 deaths pass 500,000 mark

The global death toll in the coronavirus pandemic has passed 500,000, according to figures compiles by Johns Hopkins University. As of 22:20 WAT, there had been 500,108 fatalities from 10,063,319 cases worldwide, JHU said.

With 125,747 total deaths from 2,539,544 cases, the United States is by a distance the world’s worst-affected country.

Lagos expands coronavirus capacity

Lagos, Nigeria's financial capital and largest city, has expanded its capacity to fight the coronavirus pandemic by adding seven private laboratories for testing and three private hospitals to deal with Covid-19 sufferers.

Africa role in vaccine trial is "critical", says professor of vaccinology

Shabir Madhi, a University of the Witwatersrand  professor of vaccinology who is leading the first human Covid-19 vaccine trial in Africa, has spoken to the Africa Report about the tests, which are being carried out in collaboration with the University of Oxford and the Oxford Jenner Institute.

Working with a partner in Africa is “absolutely critical” to understand how the vaccine behaves in different places around the globe, Madhi tells the Africa Report. The vaccine which is also being tried out in the United Kingdom, and is set to be tested in the United States and Brazil.

African migrants in Portugal hit hard by coronavirus

Uganda coronavirus: flurry of evacuation flight arrivals

Uganda is receiving hundreds of nationals via repatriation flights with the latest being arrivals from Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Full article here

Coronavirus

Global coronavirus cases exceed 10 million

Global coronavirus cases exceed 10 million

Global Covid-19 cases exceeded 10 million on Sunday, marking a major milestone in the spread of the respiratory disease that has so far killed almost half a million people in seven months.

SA Covid-19 cases broken down

South Africa has now seen a total of 131,800 positive cases in the nation with the total number of deaths now at 2,413,

SA posts highest daily increase in cases

South Africa reports 7,210 new cases of coronavirus, 131,800 in total. South Africa's largest daily increase so far

AstraZeneca ahead in COVID-19 vaccine race - WHO

AstraZeneca's experimental COVID-19 vaccine is probably the world's leading candidate and most advanced in terms of development, the World Health Organization's (WHO) chief scientist said.

The British drugmaker has already begun large-scale, mid-stage human trials of the vaccine, which was developed by researchers at University of Oxford.

This week, AstraZeneca signed its tenth supply-and-manufacturing deal.

"Certainly in terms of how advanced they are, the stage at which they are, they are I think probably the leading candidate," WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a news conference.

Global Citizen Covid-19 fundraising meeting raises $6.9 bln, leaders want vaccine for all

A global fundraising meeting on Saturday raised 6.15 billion euros ($6.9 billion) from the United States, the European Commission and numerous countries to fight COVID-19, with many participants stressing that an eventual vaccine should be available to anyone who needs it.

The pledging summit, part of a joint initiative by the EU executive and advocacy group Global Citizen, also included a globally televised and streamed fundraising concert featuring Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Chloe X Halle, Usher and others.

BD Nigeria front cover Sunday

The Nigerian business daily suggests that the pandemic amplifies Nigeria's suppressed problems

Cairo mosques reopen

Mosques reopened on Saturday in Egypt after a three-month shutdown as the country relaxed restrictions imposed to contain an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Covid-19

Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic

Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic

All the information you need to understand the coronavirus and ways to stay safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Online coverage of coronavirus pandemic in Africa

Hello and welcome to our live, Africa-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, which has registered almost 10 million cases and over 498,000 deaths worldwide, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

We'll endeavour to keep you up-to-date with the latest developments as they emerge in Africa throughout the day.