Beijing, China | AFP | The World Health Organization has warned against a global over-reaction to the new coronavirus epidemic following panic-buying, event cancellations and concerns about cruise ship travel, as China’s official death toll neared 1,900 on Tuesday. More than 72,000 people have now been infected in China and hundreds …
Read More »First coronavirus case in Africa recorded in Egypt
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s health ministry on Friday confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus, making it the first in Africa. The nationality of the person was not given in the joint statement with the population ministry, which added that they had shown no “symptoms”. Authorities have …
Read More »Ebola screening at entry points no longer necessary-WHO
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Even as Ebola Haemorrhagic fever outbreak is still on-going in DR Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that the Emergency Committee does not consider entry screening at airports or other ports of entry outside the region to be necessary. In a statement issued …
Read More »Scientists call for immediate research into coronavirus vaccines
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Researchers have called for quick mobilization of money by donors to kick start critical research into coronavirus disease. They highlighted research and development for candidate therapeutics and vaccines as key. While they propose this, global health experts point out that even as the disease …
Read More »Top scientists convene to slow coronavirus spread
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Deaths from the coronavirus epidemic have surpassed 1,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed last night, as hundreds of health experts began meeting at its headquarters in Geneva to help halt the spread of the disease, now officially known as COVID-19. Records indicate that the …
Read More »WHO warns of ‘very grave’ global virus threat
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The head of the World Health Organization on Tuesday warned the novel coronavirus was a “very grave threat” for the world as he opened a conference to combat the epidemic. “With 99% of cases in China, this remains very much an emergency for that country, …
Read More »NSSF promises more support to the National Blood Bank
Kampala, Uganda | Julius Businge | The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has promised to give more support to the National Blood Bank in terms of more blood that it wants to deal with the shortage. In a statement shared with The Independent, the Fund said that, as part of its corporate …
Read More »UCI calls for vaccination of boys against HPV
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As government struggles to ensure that girls of 10 years and above take the full dose of the Human Papilloma Virus-HPV shots, Dr. Jackson Orem, the Executive Director of Uganda Cancer Institute-UCI wants government to consider boys against the same virus too. HPV causes …
Read More »WHO forecasts 81% cancer jump in poorer countries
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN health agency on Tuesday warned cancer cases would rise by 81 percent in low- and middle-income countries by 2040 because of a lack of investment in prevention and care. The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report that these countries had …
Read More »WHO launches campaign against China virus misinformation
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization said Monday it was working around the clock with internet and social media giants to combat widespread misinformation surrounding the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of the dangers posed by “the spread of rumours and misinformation”as China …
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