Washington, United States | AFP | The US is fast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use as a treatment against the new coronavirus, President Donald Trump said Thursday, following encouraging early results in France and China. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have not been given a formal green light in the US to fight the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Chief of Defence Forces –CDF, Gen David Muhoozi, has directed his deputy Lt Gen Wilson Mbadi to form an anti-coronavirus task enforcement team that will work alongside the ministry of health to encounter the global pandemic. Gen Muhoozi issued the directive to Lt Gen …

New York, United States | AFP | With governments clamping down on social interactions to contain the coronavirus spread, dating sites are discouraging dates and asking users to get to know each other virtually instead. “We don’t know who needs to hear this, but now is NOT the time to go …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed comparisons to a tsar on Thursday, arguing he “works every day” and listens to what people want. “Well, this is not true,” Putin said when asked about being described as a Russian imperial-era ruler. “Maybe someone else can be called a tsar. But in my …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A day after President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni issued 14 directives on preventing coronavirus (COVID-19), the Inspector General of Police – IGP Martin Ochola, has summoned directors and commanders to deliberate on the strategy for implementation. Museveni on Wednesday issued guidelines to cub the pandemic …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Scientists are considering using the discontinued malaria drug Chloroquine, HIV drug Lopinavir and the Ebola drug Remdesivir among the treatments for the coronavirus (COVID-19). Prof. Pontiano Kaleebu, a researcher and Executive Director of the Uganda Virus Research Center told journalists that while the effectiveness …

New York, United States | AFP | Before shutdowns swept the globe and many were urged — or mandated — to stay indoors to stymie coronavirus’s spread, Divya Sonti sensed the worst was yet to come. A specialist in public health communications, the 31-year-old encouraged her millennial peers to steer clear …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | A legal complaint against Burundi was filed with a UN rights body on Thursday, over punitive actions taken against lawyers and activists who cooperated with a UN review of the country’s rights record. The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) filed a complaint with the United Nations Committee against Torture …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Parliament of Uganda will remain operational amidst the temporary ban on public gatherings by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni due to the coronavirus (COVID -19). President Museveni on Wednesday among other things announced a ban on all political and cultural activities as a means to …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Authorities in Kisoro are worried that limited resources and uncontrolled porous borders could hamper the surveillance of coronavirus. Kabale and Kisoro districts intensified surveillance against coronavirus along the border after seven cases were confirmed in neighbouring Rwanda. However, authorities say that the surveillance could …