The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a “deadly resurgence” of the new coronavirus if countries hurriedly lift the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the pathogen.

“I know that some countries are already planning the transition out of stay-at-home restrictions. WHO wants to see restrictions lifted as much as anyone,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a virtual press conference in Geneva on Friday. “At the same time, lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence. The way down can be as dangerous as the way up if not managed properly.”

The WHO chief added that the organization was working with countries “on strategies for gradually and safely easing restrictions.”

The virus has infected more than 1.6 million people globally since it first emerged in China in December last year, according to an AFP tally. The number of deaths is rapidly approaching 100,000.

Meanwhile, Tedros welcomed signs that the spread of the virus was slowing in the worst-hit European countries of Italy, Spain, France, and Germany.

But he reported an “alarming acceleration” of the epidemic in some other countries, highlighting Africa.

“We are now seeing clusters of cases and community spread in more than 16 countries” in Africa, he said.

Africa’s poor healthcare systems have been a main concern for experts, who believe the epidemic could spread far greater in the continent than it has in many other places.

Source: Presstv

Covid-19 has had a big impact on Cameroonians around the country, especially those living in the Centre Region, Littoral, West and Southwest regions. In February 2020, when we first heard of Covid-19 virus, many Cameroonians took the pandemic—and our preparedness to fight it—for granted. The government did not immediately plan or announce any measures to tackle the pandemic. As a result, in the Centre Region, it was business as usual, with educational institutions and commercial spaces remaining open.

Meanwhile, the Northwest and Southwest regions were still reeling from the economic and social impact of the ongoing Anglophone crisis, which began in 2017 and has already taken many lives and caused widespread displacement. The onset of Covid-19 has only aggravated the situation in the Northwest and Southwest regions. After a delayed initial response to the Covid-19 crisis, Cameroon has finally put some measures in place to tackle the pandemic.

Impact of government measures

The Cameroonian government has now announced several measures to curtail the spread of Covid-19. These include social distancing, a ban on public gatherings of 50 or more people, a lockdown of all shops and bars after 6 PM everyday, and a restriction on the number of people that can be ferried in a taxi at a time.

Although businesses used to do relatively well in the Southwest region, with people buying and selling things at a low cost, the onset of Covid-19 has impacted the economy and has significantly hit the supply of goods in this area. The price of hand sanitisers, which were not in much demand previously, has skyrocketed. Masks and gloves have also have seen a rise in price, even as their stocks deplete. The government’s decision to close several marketplaces has had a direct impact on the livelihoods of many people. The government has also closed down Cameroon’s borders, halting the trade of some goods as a result. The situation is graver for those who run small shops as they are now unable to meet the basic needs of their families.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Cameroon maintained a good trade relationship with China. But with the closure of all borders, trade has been hit. Most goods used by Cameroonians are from China, but now there is a stigma attached to Chinese goods due to a lot of misinformation. The Southwest region is experiencing a widespread shortage of products, forcing many to look elsewhere to satisfy their needs. This has made life even more difficult for the less privileged and differently-abled, who are now struggling to access even basic amenities.

Cameroonians have typically neglected health and sanitation issues. Activities such as washing hands, cleaning your surroundings and waste disposal have seldom been followed. Most people did not even know of or how to use hand sanitisers. The healthcare system has also been plagued by malpractice and the incompetence of inadequately trained medical personnel. But with the arrival of Covid-19, there has been some change in personal health and hygiene practices and the functioning of the medical system. The government is working to sensitise Cameroonians around the country on measures to protect themselves against this disease, including issuing communiqués on the proper techinique of on washing your hands with soap.

People comply with advisories

People in the Southwest region have become more aware and alert since the government’s measures to counter the spread of Covid-19 went into action. The government has also set up a dedicated helpline to help people access the right information. News of three alleged cases in the region caused some panic but people have been adhering to the safety and hygiene measures more strictly since then. The cases were later found to be negative, but the people continue to remain cautious and follow the government’s advisories.

Some civil organisations such as Social Change and Establishment Center for Youths and Disabled Persons  are teaching people how to make hand sanitisers and face masks themselves since there is a shortage of these product and those that are available are being sold at a high pricer. Even the artistic community is doing its bit to educate people. A musician in the Southwest region has written a song to help inform people about the dangers of the of the Covid-19 virus.

There has been no positive Covid-19 case in the Southwest region as of now, and people are continuing to adhere to the government restrictions and suggestions. However, the shortage of basic goods continues and people are struggling. The government must take into consideration the concerns of the people, especially the differently-abled and less privileged, and must plan to help them meet their basic needs.

Culled from orfonline.org

The head of the World Health Organization gave a strident defence of his agency’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism and suggestions that Washington could review its funding for the agency.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for unity and a halt to “politicization” of the global health crisis, specifically urging China and the United States to show “honest leadership”.

Tedros said he expected U.S. funding to continue with traditional bipartisan support.

Trump and his administration repeated its criticism, on Wednesday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was re-evaluating U.S. funding to the body, saying international organizations utilizing U.S. taxpayer money needed to deliver on their goals. But he objected to a leadership change at the WHO at this time.

U.S. contributions to the WHO in 2019 exceeded $400 million, almost double the second-largest country donor, according to U.S. figures. The WHO website shows the United States as its top donor, contributing nearly 15% of the budget.

Trump told the daily White House briefing on the coronavirus that Beijing’s payment was a small fraction of Washington’s WHO contribution, and that was “not fair at all.”

“So, we’re going to do study, investigation. And we’re going to make a determination as to what we’re doing. In the meantime, we’re holding back. We … want to see.”

Trump said the WHO issued a statement on Jan. 14 saying “there was no human-to-human transmission” and criticized him “very strongly” when he said he was going to shut down flights from China.

Tedros said the WHO had “kept the world informed about the latest data, information and evidence” and noted that Thursday would mark 100 days since China first notified the organization of cases of “pneumonia with unknown cause” on Dec. 31.

Tedros, a former foreign minister of Ethiopia, rejected Trump’s suggestion that the WHO was “China-centric”, saying: “We are close to every nation, we are colour-blind.”

Earlier, Dr Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to Tedros, also defended the U.N. agency’s relationship with China, saying its work with Beijing authorities was important to understand the outbreak.

“It was absolutely critical in the early part of this outbreak to have full access to everything possible, to get on the ground and work with the Chinese to understand this,” said Aylward, who led a WHO expert mission to China in February.

In an interview with KDKA Radio, Pompeo said: “I think it’s pretty clear that the World Health Organization hasn’t lived up to its billing, it hasn’t been able to achieve what it was designed to achieve, and we just can’t continue to permit that to go on. We’ve got to find a way.”

Pompeo was asked at the coronavirus briefing whether it was time to change the WHO leadership and replied: “This is not the time to be doing that kind of change.”

‘We make mistakes’

In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday now was not the time to assess the global response to the pandemic, calling instead for the international community to focus on working in solidarity to stop the virus.

Tedros said his U.N. agency would conduct its usual assessment of its performance after the emergency and draw lessons about its strengths and weaknesses, adding: “We make mistakes like other human beings.”

He summarised his advice as: “Please, unity at national level, no using COVID for political points. Second, honest solidarity at the global level. And honest leadership from the U.S. and China.”

“The most powerful should lead the way and please quarantine COVID politics,” he added, referring to COVID-19, the highly contagious, sometimes deadly illness caused by the new coronavirus.

Tedros said Beijing and Washington should follow the example of what the former Soviet Union and the United States did in 1967 when they launched a 10-year global campaign that eradicated smallpox, a disease then killing 2 million people annually.

Tedros rejected “racist slurs” against him, which he said had originated in Taiwan, and disclosed that he had also received a death threat during the crisis.

“We are losing people, why would I care about being attacked when people are dying?” he said, noting there were already “60,000 body bags” after more than 1.3 million infections.

“We will have many body bags in front of us if we don’t behave,” he added.

Source: REUTERS

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut US funding to the World Health Organization, accusing it of bias toward China during the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump told reporters he was “going to put a very powerful hold on” funding to WHO, the UN body whose biggest funding source is the United States.

“We’re going to put a hold on money spent to the WHO,” said Trump, who pursues an “America First” agenda and has previously criticised other UN and multilateral agencies.

He gave no details about how much money would be withheld and minutes later during the same press conference he said: “I’m not saying I’m going to do it.”

“We will look at ending funding,” he added.

According to Trump, the WHO “seems to be very biased toward China. That’s not right.”

His comments built on an earlier statement on Twitter in which he accused the WHO of being “very China centric.”

Trump asked why the WHO had given “such a faulty recommendation,” apparently referring to the UN body’s advice against curtailing international travel to stop the virus which first spread from China.

“Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on,” Trump wrote, referring to his decision to ban travel from the country.

China faces criticism in Washington, particularly from Republicans, over the way it handled the pandemic and Trump has expressed doubt over the accuracy of Chinese statistics for cases and deaths.

However, Trump himself has been widely criticized for initially downplaying the virus, which he likened to an ordinary flu and said was under control in the United States, before later accepting that it was a national emergency.

More than 12,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19.

(AFP)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the precautionary measures enforced by governments to curb the COVID-19 epidemic should not be lifted “too early” as health risks still largely persist.

In a statement on Tuesday, the UN agency said that it could not come up with a blanket recommendation for all countries and regions across the globe on easing the precautionary measures, but urged them not lift them prematurely.

“One of the most important parts is not to let go of the measures too early in order not to have a fall back again,” said WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier in a virtual briefing. “It’s similar to being sick yourself; if you get out of bed too early and get running too early, you risk falling back and having complications.”

The COVID-19 disease, caused by a new coronavirus, is believed to have transmitted from wildlife to human beings in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and is currently affecting 209 countries and territories across the globe. It has so far affected more than 1,362,040 people and killed over 76,340. The WHO has already declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.

The United States leads all countries and territories affected by the highly contagious virus across the world with 367,720 confirmed infections as of Tuesday. Italy remains the country with the highest death toll, now at 16,523.

The WHO warning comes as many European countries such as France, Spain, Belgium, and Finland are already looking to ease the crippling lockdowns imposed across their territories.

They have established expert committees to work out a gradual easing of stay-at-home orders for some businesses and schools while trying to avoid a likely second wave of the pandemic that could overwhelm their health services.

Source: Presstv

There are now more than over 9,300 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent, with a number of African countries imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the spread of the pandemic.

According to the latest data by the John Hopkins University and Africa Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 in Africa, the breakdown remains fluid as countries confirm cases as and when. The whole of Africa has rising cases with only three countries holding out as of April 6.

We shall keep updating this list which will be put in sub-continental blocs: East, West, Central, southern and North Africa. All statistics are sourced from Africa CDC updates, from the John Hopkins University and from official government data.

The classifications are based on where the countries are located especially in the case of countries that belong to two different blocs, like Tanzania in East Africa, despite belonging to EAC and SADC.

Major stats as at April 3

Confirmed cases = 9,393

Number of deaths = 445

Recoveries = 906

Infected countries = 51

Virus-free countries = 3

Countries in alphabetical order

Algeria – 1,320

Angola – 14

Benin – 66

Botswana – 6

Burkina Faso – 345

Burundi – 3

Cameroon – 650

Cape Verde – 7

Central African Republic – 8

Chad – 9

Congo-Brazzaville – 45

DR Congo – 154

Djibouti – 59

Egypt – 1,173

Equatorial Guinea – 16

Eritrea – 29

Ethiopia – 44

Eswatini – 9

Gabon – 24

(The) Gambia – 4

Ghana – 214

Guinea – 121

Guinea-Bissau – 18

Ivory Coast – 261

Kenya – 142

Liberia – 13

Libya – 18

Madagascar – 72

Malawi – 4

Mali – 45

Mauritania – 6

Mauritius – 227

Morocco – 1,113

Mozambique – 10

Namibia – 16

Niger – 184

Nigeria- 232

Rwanda – 104

Senegal – 222

Seychelles – 10

Sierra Leone – 6

Somalia – 7

South Africa – 1,655

South Sudan – 1

Sudan – 12

Tanzania – 22

Togo – 44

Tunisia – 574

Uganda – 52

Zambia – 39

Zimbabwe – 9

Virus-free = Sao Tome and Principe, Comoros, Lesotho, South Sudan

Culled from Africa News

The world is used to thinking that American systems are the best in the world, but a small virus has simply exposed the so-called superpower.

While other countries have gone about the spread of the Coronavirus in a quiet and philosophical manner, in America, it has become a soap opera, with politics standing in the way of business.

Just agreeing on the way forward has been an Herculean task. America is not the only democracy in the world and it is not the only developed country in this planet of ours.

I have always held that size is not necessarily a sign of strength. For decades, Japan with a small population was a lot stronger, both militarily and economically than China that has always counted over a billion inhabitants.

Today, the American tenet that bigger is better is simply falling apart. Its ability to deal with health emergencies has been tested and this country has failed the test woefully.

The American health system leaves much to be desired and due to nasty politics, it will be tough to get the system fixed.

 The American healthcare system like the country’s electoral system needs a facelift, but this will not be possible in a context in which winning an election trumps over other components of life.

The political bickering is making it hard for even the smallest things to be achieved. Even in the face of a pandemic that is robbing many families of their happiness, Americans are still fighting, instead of working together to keep this invisible enemy at bay.

There is no cure for this pandemic and it seems to be determined to spread across the country at lightning speed. For now, the only hope is the use of hydroxychloroquine to save some lives, but the pushback is incredible.

For weeks, the American drama has been playing out, but it is not palatable to millions across the world.

 The world is really sick and tired of hearing Americans resisting the use of hydroxychloroquine which is already being used in other countries.

This medication is being tried in Canada and  a French expert has proven that lives have been saved, thanks to this medication.

I know some American media networks such as CNN hate Trump with his policies and they are doing a great job at giving him a very bad name for floating the idea that hydroxychloroquine could be used, especially in an election year. But what options do Americans really have in the face of this pandemic that is mowing down many of their fellow citizens?

 This medication has been used for decades against malaria in Africa and it did really save so many lives. Its side effects are known and its potential to slow down the virus is no longer a secret.

 Is the world going to wait for American laboratories to accept that this drug be used before it becomes useable across the world?

 Anyways, for many people across the world who are simply spectators, they will continue to watch this drama from a distance as Americans die like flies which have been sprayed with a strong insecticide.

There is an urgent need to save lives and many people around the world think that a lot of flexibility needs to be demonstrated when the world is faced with medical emergencies.

Of what value will it be to manufacture a ‘silver bullet’ that will take two years when everybody would have been dead and gone?

If this medication had all the side effects Americans are raising today, why did they ship this drug to Africa? Is it that Africans are not human enough? The number of deaths in America will continue to rise if strong and robust measures are not taken. And for now, only hydroxychloroquine holds that promise.

In less than a month, America has lost more than 8,000 people. How many more Americans need to die before the CNN and other media outfits that hate the Trump administration can understand that the world has been thrust into a race against time?

What if Trump’s gamble pays off, will the CNN and its likes acknowledge their own mistakes? Many non-Americans usually side with the Democrats, but in this case, they don’t think lives must be wasted just because the idea is Trump’s.

 A little bit of modesty and caution could help postpone death for thousands of Americans who are waiting for any medication that can bring them some relief.

How did China cure its own cases? Can Americans be humble enough to learn from those who have already gone through this ordeal? 

For how long are they going to continue fighting each other while the real enemy continues to blight their lives?

This is no time for talking. All efforts must be geared towards finding a solution. It does not really matter who comes up with one. The world just needs to roll back the insidious virus. That should be the focus.

By Dr Joachim Arrey

More than 1,206,480 declared cases have been registered in 190 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December. Of these cases, at least 233,300 are now considered recovered.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP offices from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Many countries are only testing cases that require hospitalisation.

Italy, which recorded its first coronavirus death at the end of February, has 15,362 fatalities, with 124,632 infections and 20,996 people recovered.

Spain recorded 12,418 fatalities and 130,759 infections, followed by the United States with 8,503 deaths and 312,245 cases — the highest in the world.

France has reported 7,560 deaths and 89,953 infections, followed by Britain (4,313 deaths and 41,903 cases).

China — excluding Hong Kong and Macau — has to date declared 3,329 deaths and 81,669 cases, with 76,964 recoveries.

Europe has listed 642,330 cases and 47,093 deaths to date, the US and Canada together have 326,117 cases with 8,747 deaths, Asia 117,571 cases and 4,172 deaths, the Middle East 74,670 cases and 3,779 deaths, Latin America and the Caribbean 30,539 cases with 1,052 deaths, Africa 8,578 cases with 388 deaths and Oceania 6,675 cases with 41 deaths.

Source: AFP