Corona Watch
South Africa
The closure of South Africa's schools seven weeks ago halted a national feeding programme providing meals to 9 million extremely poor children.
Now a potential hunger crisis looms.
Schools are expected to partially reopen later this month, with students seen back in class from June 1.
But there is no certainty over when the national school nutrition programme will resume. – Nampa/Reuters
Zimbabwe
The World Bank will grant US$7 million to Zimbabwe to help it fight the new coronavirus pandemic that is expected to worsen an already struggling economy and food crisis.
A World Bank spokesman said that while Zimbabwe and other countries indebted to the lender could not access regular financing, they could get money from its trust funds to fight the coronavirus that has slowed down the global economy.
The amount is nowhere near the US$200 million that finance minister Mthuli Ncube said the country would need to fight Covid-19 in his letter to international lenders. – Nampa/Reuters
Nigeria
Nigeria will extend a ban on all flights by four weeks as part of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Nigeria on Wednesday started repatriating nationals stranded overseas by coronavirus travel restrictions.
A first batch of 265 Nigerians was due to fly back to Lagos from Dubai aboard an Emirates flight, followed today by 300 others from London.
An unspecified number of Nigerians is also expected to return from New York on Sunday. – Nampa/Reuters
Senegal
Relatives of Senegalese citizens who died of coronavirus abroad are pressing the government to bring their bodies back, and plan to take a case to the Supreme Court.
The family members said that around 80 Senegalese have died from COVID-19 overseas, including 40 in France alone.
The Supreme Court met with the parties yesterday. – Nampa/AFP
Kenya
The International Monetary Fund has approved US$739 million in emergency financing to help Kenya respond to the economic shock caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Kenya's health minister announced Wednesday that one suburb of the capital Nairobi, as well as a part of the port city of Mombasa, will be cordoned off for 15 days due to skyrocketing cases of coronavirus in those areas.
Eastleigh, a suburb in Nairobi with a large Somali population, has recorded 68 cases, while Mombasa's Old Town has 64 infections, out of a total 582 cases in the country. There have been 26 deaths nationwide. – Nampa/AFP
Tanzania
The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) yesterday rejected an assertion by Tanzania's president that his nation's coronavirus tests are faulty.
On Sunday, Tanzanian president John Magufuli said the imported coronavirus test kits were faulty after they had returned positive results on a goat and a pawpaw. The next day, the head of the national health laboratory in charge of testing was suspended.
The Africa CDC, along with the Jack Ma Foundation, a charity run by a Chinese billionaire, supplied the tests. – Nampa/AFP
The closure of South Africa's schools seven weeks ago halted a national feeding programme providing meals to 9 million extremely poor children.
Now a potential hunger crisis looms.
Schools are expected to partially reopen later this month, with students seen back in class from June 1.
But there is no certainty over when the national school nutrition programme will resume. – Nampa/Reuters
Zimbabwe
The World Bank will grant US$7 million to Zimbabwe to help it fight the new coronavirus pandemic that is expected to worsen an already struggling economy and food crisis.
A World Bank spokesman said that while Zimbabwe and other countries indebted to the lender could not access regular financing, they could get money from its trust funds to fight the coronavirus that has slowed down the global economy.
The amount is nowhere near the US$200 million that finance minister Mthuli Ncube said the country would need to fight Covid-19 in his letter to international lenders. – Nampa/Reuters
Nigeria
Nigeria will extend a ban on all flights by four weeks as part of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Nigeria on Wednesday started repatriating nationals stranded overseas by coronavirus travel restrictions.
A first batch of 265 Nigerians was due to fly back to Lagos from Dubai aboard an Emirates flight, followed today by 300 others from London.
An unspecified number of Nigerians is also expected to return from New York on Sunday. – Nampa/Reuters
Senegal
Relatives of Senegalese citizens who died of coronavirus abroad are pressing the government to bring their bodies back, and plan to take a case to the Supreme Court.
The family members said that around 80 Senegalese have died from COVID-19 overseas, including 40 in France alone.
The Supreme Court met with the parties yesterday. – Nampa/AFP
Kenya
The International Monetary Fund has approved US$739 million in emergency financing to help Kenya respond to the economic shock caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Kenya's health minister announced Wednesday that one suburb of the capital Nairobi, as well as a part of the port city of Mombasa, will be cordoned off for 15 days due to skyrocketing cases of coronavirus in those areas.
Eastleigh, a suburb in Nairobi with a large Somali population, has recorded 68 cases, while Mombasa's Old Town has 64 infections, out of a total 582 cases in the country. There have been 26 deaths nationwide. – Nampa/AFP
Tanzania
The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) yesterday rejected an assertion by Tanzania's president that his nation's coronavirus tests are faulty.
On Sunday, Tanzanian president John Magufuli said the imported coronavirus test kits were faulty after they had returned positive results on a goat and a pawpaw. The next day, the head of the national health laboratory in charge of testing was suspended.
The Africa CDC, along with the Jack Ma Foundation, a charity run by a Chinese billionaire, supplied the tests. – Nampa/AFP
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