Coronavirus Africa: news summary for Monday 10 August

Coronavirus cases pass 20m mark

Global coronavirus cases have now surpassed 20 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, which bases its data on official figures. As of 02:00 WAT, there had been 20,004,254 cases worldwide, leading to 733,929 deaths.

With just under 5.1m cases and nearly 163,500 fatalities, the US is by a distance the world’s worst-affected country in the pandemic, followed by Brazil and India, which have registered 3m and 2.2m cases, respectively.

Worshippers wearing face masks attend a mass outside Holy Cross Cathedral in Lagos on Sunday, following the lifting of restrictions on religious gatherings by the Nigerian government amid the coronavirus pandemic.

(Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)

Millions more at risk of poverty due to coronavirus pandemic

Wearing face masks due to the coronavirus pandemic, Maasai elders gather at their homestead within the Orboma Manyatta in Sekenani, near the Maasai Mara game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, on Monday.

(Photo: REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Borders opened for stranded Ugandans to return to country by road

Uganda’s government says it is opening its borders for Ugandan nationals stranded abroad in East African Community countries amid the Covid-19 pandemic to return home by road. Repatriation flights have been underway since June.

According to All Africa, Ugandans wishing to return by road from EAC nations (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Tanzania) must get clearance from the Ugandan embassy in the country they are in, as well as a certificate confirming a negative coronavirus test within the past week. 

Which face masks do the least to protect you and those around you?

Rwandans caught breaking restrictions taken to all-night lectures on Covid-19

Rwandans caught breaking curfew or not wearing a mask in public places are being taken to stadiums for all-night lectures that seek to raise their awareness on the threat of Covid-19, AFP reports.

According to the news agency, which cites official figures, around 70,000 people have been forced to attend the lectures, which finish “around dawn”, after breaking the African country’s 21:00 curfew or failing to put on a mask.

One man who was taken to one such lecture after being caught without a mask told AFP: "From now on, I'll wear it wherever I am."

Latest figures from Nigeria

Nigeria has now recorded 46,577 cases of coronavirus, with 945 related deaths. 33,186 people have recovered while 319,851 tests have been carried out in the West African nation, which is the third worst-affected country on the continent after South Africa and Egypt.

Staying in touch with good virtually Nigeria

A Reuters Africa report on the O'Sanctus app that is helping places of worship to reach out to churchgoers via the internet amid the coronavirus pandemic. The app allows users to listen to virtual services and also make financial donations. Watch below...

Namibia to auction fishing quota to raise money for COVID-19 medicines

The Namibian government will for the first time auction its 60% share of the country's annual horse mackerel and hake output to the highest bidder by the end of October, as it scrambles to raise funds for equipment and medicines to fight the coronavirus pandemic, according to a government letter seen by Reuters.

The government's 60% quota is normally reserved for state-owned company Fishcor, which has been caught up in a corruption scandal.

"Government is in need of financial resources on an emergency basis with a view to mitigate the effects of COVID-19," Albert Kawana, the minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, said in an Aug. 7 letter to the fishing industry, seen by Reuters on Monday. (Reporting by Reuters)

Wrestling legend Kamala dies of coronavirus

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) legend James Harris popularly known as Kamala has died after complications from coronavirus.

The 70-year-old former powerhouse starred for Vince McMahon’s wrestling company during the late 1980s and early 90s. His autobiography’s co-author, Kenny Casanova, wrote on Facebook: “Just got off the phone.

“Unfortunately, the rumors were correct. To make matters worse, it was Corona that took him; he was one of the good ones.

“Kamala was one of the most believable monsters in wrestling.

Huge shortfall in funds to fight coronavirus, WHO says

There is a huge gap between the funds needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic and funds committed worldwide, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.

More than 19.92 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally and 729,883​ have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

'For the vaccines alone, over $100 billion will be needed,' Tedros told a briefing in Geneva. Referring to an international initiative to accelerate healthcare access, Tedros said the '...coming three weeks represent crucial period for ACT (Access to Covid-19 Tools). However (we) have to scale up financing.' He said he saw 'green shoots of hope'.

'It is never too late to turn the pandemic around,' Tedros said. The message is to 'suppress, suppress, suppress'.

How the O'Sanctus app is helping Nigeria's places of worship

Watch this video showing how technology is coming to the aid of churches across Nigeria during the pandemic shutdown.

Azar says any US vaccine would be shared once home needs met

US Health Secretary Alex Azar said on Monday that any US vaccine or treatment for Covid-19 would be shared fairly with the rest of the world, once the US need has been satisfied. There are more than 200 Covid-19 vaccine candidates in development around the world, including more than 20 in human clinical trials.

President Donald Trump has vowed to have a shot ready before year's end, though they typically take several years to develop and test for safety and effectiveness.

'Our first priority of course is to develop and produce enough quantity of safe and effective FDA-approved vaccines and therapeutics for use in the United States,' Azar told reporters while on a visit to Taiwan. 'But we anticipate having capacity that, once those needs are satisfied, those products would be available in the world community according to fair and equitable distributions that we would consult in the international community on.' He did not elaborate.

Egypt urges citizens to adhere to preventive measures

Egypt is urging citizens to strictly adhere to preventive measures in anticipation of a rise in coronavirus cases, especially with the increased gatherings that took place during the Islamic Eid Al-Adha holiday, which ended earlier this month.

In a statement on Sunday, Health Minister Hala Zayed called on Egyptians to abide by social distancing rules in public places, avoid family gatherings, and wear facemasks in public to help stem the infection rate.

Covid-19 test required for foreigners to enter Egypt

The Egyptian government has banned entry into the country without proof of having had a PCR test for the coronavirus from this Saturday.

The test must come back with a negative result no more than 72 hours before entering the country, according to the Egyptian Cabinet announcement.

It said that the decision applies only to non-Egyptian foreigners. The decision excludes Arab and foreign tourists arriving on direct flights to Sharm El-Sheikh, Taba, Hurghada, Marsa Alam and Marsa Matrouh airports, as well as transit passengers to those airports.

Covid-19 is proving devasting to Africa's tourism industry

Global restrictions on travel have dealt a devastating blow to African nations who depend on tourists and their hard currency to support an industry that employs millions of people on the continent.

National carriers in Mauritius, Kenya and Namibia ran into more financial trouble as flights were grounded. In South Africa, listed hotel group, Sun International Ltd., announced two of its casinos won’t reopen after the country’s coronavirus lockdown ends. The Kenyan government expects losses of as much as $511 million in hotel-room revenue if the pandemic persists.

PPE desperation in Ghana

The BBC looks at the plight of medical professionals trying to get sufficient supplies of protective equipment.

Africa is entering a Fast Growth ‘’escape’’ velocity Phase

It took 123 days to go from the first case of coronavirus to 250,000 confirmed cases in Africa.

From 250,000 to 500,000 21 days.

From 500,000 to 750,000 14 days

Africa's coronavirus challenge continues

This is a piece we have shared with you before but one that remains relevant. The three recommendations: 

● dissemination of accurate information

● a co-ordinated and equitable response from medical and civic communities, and governments

● ramping up testing capacity

Pandemic aid mapped

Watch this video to find out more about the African settlement resource.

Continental divide

This graphic shows a breakdown of the regional differences in across Africa.

Covid-19 catch-up

Here is a selection of some of the coronavirus-related stories that have been making the headlines over the last 24 hours:

- South Africa has continued to see a drop in the daily number of new coronavirus infections compared to the last few weeks

- Kenyan authorities are investigating claims that doctors in Kenya are hiding positive coronavirus test results in patients who have died

- Thousands of African students have been stranded in France because of Covid-19

- Bars and churches have been ordered to close in Malawi after coronavirus cases in the African country doubled over the past month

- Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and the Governor of CBE, Tarek Amer, took part in the 2020 African Caucus of the Governors of the WBG and the IMF, focused on Covid-19

- Algeria says it will further ease its coronavirus lockdown, including shortening an overnight curfew, lifting some travel curbs, and allowing large mosques to reopen

Africa Covid-19 update: 06:00 WAT on Monday 10 August (07:00 CEST) 

According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 19,861,683 cases have been detected worldwide, with 731,326 deaths and 12,115,825 people recovered.

South Africa: 559,859 cases / 10,408 deaths

Egypt: 95,492 cases / 5,009

Nigeria: 46,577 cases / 945 deaths

Coronavirus live Africa updates: good morning

Hello and welcome to our live, Africa-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, which as of 06:00 WAT had registered over 19.8 million cases and more than 731,000 deaths worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

In Africa, according to the latest update by the World Health Organization (WHO), positive cases are well passed the million mark while almost 23,000 people have died of the virus.