Epidemics Tracker

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday sought to ease concerns by Tanzania that the country’s coronavirus test kits were faulty. President John Magufuli on Monday suspended top officials at the country’s national laboratory, after saying he had secretly had animals and fruits …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health and other agencies are facing problems tracking truck drivers who have tested positive to coronavirus disease- COVID-19. According to officials on the National COVID-19 Task Force, it has become increasingly hard to trace drivers and their contacts because as they …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Thirty two commercial sex workers have been quarantined in Kabale district as health authorities hunt for the contacts of a truck driver who tested positive for the coronavirus disease. The truck driver was intercepted on April 24th 2020 as he was returning from Rwanda …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As the president’s directive for people moving in public to use face masks as a way of halting transmission of the coronavirus- COVID-19 sinks in, several people including health workers and administrators in health sector are finding a challenge to use them. For instance, …

COMMENT | Jonas Mbabazi  | Integrity and accountability should be an integral part of a resilient response to the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring that government actions benefit citizens that have been hit hard. In a rather strange way, many fear that the ongoing pandemic could present opportunities through which government bureaucrats can …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng has warned health workers across the country not to lay down tools to protest the lack of personal protective Equipment – PPEs to respond to COVID-19 cases saying it is unethical. Aceng who was assessing the …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Relatives of the Ugandan medical doctor who died in a Nigerian hospital in Lagos early this week are stuck on how to repatriate his remains because of the corona virus lock down. Dr. Patrick Opira Molns, who was attached to The Aids Support Organization – …

New York, United States | AFP |  Fear of deportation. Fear of facing an unpayable bill. Fear of becoming a “public charge” and unable to obtain legal status. These are some of the reasons why undocumented migrants are avoiding hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, many have contracted the …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP |  The task of introducing a vaccine for the coronavirus faces an uphill struggle in Africa, where a flood of online misinformation is feeding on mistrust of Western medical research. Across the continent, Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms have been swamped by messaging that characterises vaccine research …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  North Africans say they are missing the taste of Ramadan, as coronavirus restrictions deprive them of traditional mealtime gatherings, evening outings and beloved sweets during the Muslim holy month. “It’s not the usual Ramadan,” said one woman shopping in Ariana, near the capital Tunis, looking desperately …