Washington, United States | AFP | Concern that President Donald Trump himself could be exposed to the coronavirus through contact with two Republican lawmakers loomed Monday as US stocks plummeted, feeding growing national anxiety. Trump, who flew back to Washington after a weekend golfing at his Florida resort and having dinner …
Read More »Africa’s low coronavirus rate puzzles health experts
Scientists identified Algeria, Egypt and South Africa as the most likely to import new coronavirus cases into the continent | THE INDEPENDENT | Whether it’s a matter of faulty detection, climatic factors or simple fluke, the remarkably low rate of coronavirus infection in African countries, with their fragile health systems, …
Read More »COVID-19: Italy on lockdown
‘Stay at home’: Italy’s quarantine rules Rome, Italy | AFP | Italians have been told to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel as quarantine measures were extended to the whole country to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Here are the main points of a government decree signed …
Read More »Rwanda bans big gatherings in capital amid coronavirus fears
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | City authorities in Kigali have banned concerts, rallies and other mass gatherings in the capital as a preventive measure against coronavirus, despite Rwanda recording no confirmed cases of the illness. Coronavirus has only been reported in eight countries on the African continent, according to data from …
Read More »How Coronavirus could plunge Uganda’s economy into crisis
Coronavirus catastrophe: How it could plunge Uganda’s economy into crisis Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA & AGENCIES | On a normal day, the Kikuubo trading hub in downtown Kampala buzzes as thousands of traders and customers with wads of cash haggle over prices of all kinds of merchandise, most of which …
Read More »Quarter of Italian population put under virus lockdown
Rome, Italy | AFP | More than 15 million people were placed under forced quarantine in northern Italy early Sunday as the government approved drastic measures in an attempt to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus that is sweeping the globe. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Twitter he had …
Read More »Virus-hit US cruise ship to dock as New York declares health emergency
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | A US cruise ship hit by coronavirus was given permission late Saturday to dock, while New York announced a state of emergency as confirmed cases across the country surged past 400. The fast-spreading virus has already spread to 30 US states, killing at least …
Read More »COVID 19: Minister urges Italians, French, Germans to call off travel to Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda has closed its doors on all people traveling from countries that are highly hit by the COVID 19 disease that is spreading like a wild fire across the world. The people countries that have been stopped from traveling to Uganda fall under category …
Read More »How the coronavirus has hit global sport
Paris, France | AFP | The Milan-San Remo cycling one-day classic and the Alpine skiing World Cup finals were postponed on Friday, the latest high-profile sports events to be scratched from the international calendar due to the global spread of the deadly coronavirus. AFP Sport looks at the effects on sport …
Read More »‘This is not a drill’: WHO urges world to take virus more seriously
Beijing, China | AFP | World health officials have warned that countries are not taking the coronavirus crisis seriously enough, as outbreaks surged across Europe and in the United States where medical workers sounded warnings over a “disturbing” lack of hospital preparedness. Global markets tumbled again over concerns about the impact …
Read More »