Coronavirus live updates: Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Ghana... cases, deaths and news
Coronavirus live Africa: latest Covid-19 news - 11 July
Africa Covid-19 update: 07:30 WAT on Sunday 12 July (08:30 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 12,720,028 cases have been detected worldwide, with 565,178 deaths and 7,005,452 people recovered.
South Africa: 264,184 cases / 3,971 deaths
Nigeria: 31,987 cases / 724 deaths
Ghana: 24,248 / 135 deaths
Emergency paramedics wearing a full Covid-19 coronavirus personal protective equipment transfer an empty gurney to an ambulance at the Greenacres Hospital in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Ambulances have to queue before patients suspected of having symptoms related to the coronavirus are triaged and admitted. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)
An official update from Kenya's ministry of health.
Fitness Instructor Loyolo Thandani conducts a fitness class with recovering Covid-19 coronavirus patients at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium government isolation and quarantine facility in Port Elizabeth. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)
Bill Gates calls for Covid-19 meds to go to people who need them, not 'highest bidder'
(Reuters) Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates called for Covid-19 drugs and an eventual vaccine to be made available to countries and people that need them most, not to the "highest bidder," saying relying on market forces would prolong the deadly pandemic.
"If we just let drugs and vaccines go to the highest bidder, instead of to the people and the places where they are most needed, we'll have a longer, more unjust, deadlier pandemic," Gates, a founder of Microsoft, said in a video released on Saturday during a virtual Covid-19 conference organized by the International AIDS Society.
"We need leaders to make these hard decisions about distributing based on equity, not just on market-driven factors."
Coronavirus: new study places pangolin at centre of Covid-19 pandemic
The unfortunate mammal, which is one of the most-traded globally on the black market, could be the original host for Covid-19 according to research.
A white-bellied pangolin was rescued from local animal traffickers and is seen here at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) office in Kampala. (Photo by Isaac Kasamani / AFP)
Kenya's online wedding service
Tying the knot in Kenya can now be done more easily online, with increasing numbers of people taking up the service during the coronavirus pandemic.
WHO official cites AIDS as guide to addressing coronavirus pandemic
Healthcare systems worldwide need to upgrade to control disease transmission and cope with large numbers of sick people during the coronavirus pandemic as well as future outbreaks, the head of the World Health Organization's emergencies program warned on Friday.
Dr. Michael Ryan of WHO, speaking during a video panel session organized by the International AIDS Society, said world leaders grappling with the current pandemic 'need to take a leaf out of the HIV/AIDS activist book' and make sure access to healthcare is equitable and evidence-based. The coronavirus pandemic, which has not yet peaked in many parts of the world, has exposed weaknesses and left billions of people without reliable and affordable access to essential health services, he said.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, was often a fatal infection when it emerged in the 1980s, but today is considered manageable with antiretroviral drugs. There is no vaccine to protect against HIV, which is highly variable and cannot be eliminated by the body's own immune response. But researchers do expect to eventually have vaccines effective against the novel coronavirus, which people can recover from on their own.
The WHO official said the two viruses are 'different in scope and nature, but are comparable in so many other ways,' exposing the same inequities and generating similar injustices and denial. 'We cannot become distracted with retrospection and finger-pointing. ... We need to look ahead,' Ryan said.
The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on trade in East Africa
This paper uses Kenyan trade data published up through May 2020 to provide a preliminary evaluation of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on regional trade in the East African Community (EAC).
Covid-19 catch up
Here is a selection of some of the stories that have been making the coronavirus-related headlines over the past 24 hours:
- Coronavirus pandemic prompts record drop in global emissions, study finds
- Denmark contributes US$1 million to cash relief for refugees in Kampala
- WHO calls for equitable access to future coronavirus vaccines in Africa
- Medical oxygen runs low as coronavirus cases soar in South Africa
- Nigeria suspends anti-graft chief during investigation into agency
- Africa could have Covid-19 vaccine in Q1 if human trials work
- Algeria tightening travel restrictions to limit coronavirus infections
Coronavirus Africa latest updates: welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live, Africa-focused coverage of the coronavirus, which has registered just over 560,000 deaths and approximately 12.5 million cases across the world, according to the most recent figures released by the Johns Hopkins University.