Health

The Nigerian government has announced that all civilian workers should receive their doses of covid vaccine as several cases of the Omicron variant have been detected. In absence of proof of vaccination, officials are invited to submit the results of PCR tests dating from 72 hours before being allowed access …

The South African Head of State, Cyril Ramaphosa has said he was disappointed by African leaders who have followed western countries in suspending flights to and from southern African states after the discovery of a new coronavirus variant. He said it was unfortunate, and that he would have preferred if …

Government in Zimbabwe has reimposed a lockdown and mandatory quarantines for all travellers amid rising Covid cases in order to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. President Emmerson Mnangagwa reimposed a curfew from 21:00 to 06:00 local time and said international travellers will be required to be tested on …

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, voiced concern on Tuesday that some states are introducing blanket measures aimed at the Omicron coronavirus variant that he said were “not evidence-based or effective on their own”. Dr Tedros said these were penalising southern African countries that reported …

Health authorities in Rwanda have announced that the country will begin giving third doses to the elderly and those who have underlying conditions starting on Tuesday. The health ministry says the implementation will be done in phases and will begin in the capital, Kigali. People between 30 and 50 are …

The South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned travel bans enacted against his country and its neighbours over the new coronavirus variant Omicron and called for their lifting. The president said he was “deeply disappointed” by the action, which he described as unjustified, and called for the bans to be …

The South African health minister Joe Phaahla has expressed his disappointment at the decision of some countries to suspend all flights from the country as a new variant of the coronavirus has been detected. Mr Phaahla on Friday says the introduction of travel restrictions by a number of countries against …

British authorities have suspended all flights from South Africa and five other countries in the region in response to the discovery of a highly transmissible new coronavirus variant. From midday GMT on Friday, direct flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini will be suspended until further notice. …

The government of Kenya has said it intends to introduce a directive next month to prevent citizens who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 from receiving government services. Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe said unvaccinated people would be banned from public transport, local airlines and train services. Kenyans will also require …

The Gates Foundation will offer $4 million to address the looming shortage of syringes for Covid-19 vaccination in Africa. This comes amid warning from the World Health Organization (WHO) that the shortage of crucial commodities such as syringes was slowing the rollout of Covid-19 vaccination campaign in the continent. Kenyan …