Coronavirus

The European Union will return millions doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine which have been manufactured in South Africa to African continent. Strive Masiyiwa, the African Union’s special envoy told reporters that all the vaccines being produced in Africa “will stay in Africa and be distributed to Africa”. “This issue …

Egypt has said it intends to produce more than a billion doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine each year in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Health Minister Hala Zayed told reporters that under a deal with the Chinese firm, a factory in the capital, Cairo, would make …

Botswana’s president Mokgweetsi Masisi has suspended the assistant minister for health. He is blamed for attending a tombstone unveiling ceremony for his late father, in breach of Covid regulations that ban public gatherings. His family was unveiling their father’s tombstone as their mother took off the mourning dress as required …

Authorities in Zimbabwe have announced a further easing of Covid restrictions in the sports and arts sectors. They said access will only given to fully vaccinated people. The measure follows a reduction in new Covid-19 cases with 192 new cases and three deaths recorded on Tuesday. Businesses including cinemas, art …

About 100,000 Kenyans have not yet received a second dose of the Covid vaccine and many are thought to be holding out for the arrival of other vaccines which they judge to be more effective. The head of Kenya’s vaccine task force warns that many Kenyans risk becoming severely ill …

Researchers in South Africa have detected a new variant of the coronavirus. The C.1.2 strain which has multiple mutations, has not yet been labelled as a variant of concern. Cases of the variant have been recorded in all provinces in South Africa and seven countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and …

In a video posted a week ago, Didier Raoult declared that people who have just been vaccinated are more at risk of developing Covid-19 than those who have not been, without however saying whether it were people vaccinated at one or two doses. This is a new statement, to say …

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi denounced the sale of cards proving vaccination against Covid-19. He said the action “endangers the health and life of all”. President Nyusi urged the public to be vigilant. “We want to draw attention, once again, to regret the situation of buying and selling vaccination cards. This …

After two-month delay, national exams will now resume in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). At least 600,000 students are sitting for their final secondary school examinations. The examinations were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The examination has kicked off across the country and will last four days. …

On Monday August 30, the European directorates of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef said teachers and school staff should be among the priority groups for vaccination against Covid-19. Measures to ensure that schools can stay open throughout the pandemic “include offering teachers and other school staff the COVID-19 vaccine as part of …