Tech giant Apple says its operations in China, where much of its iPhone manufacturing is concentrated, have been seriously disrupted by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. “Work is starting to resume around the country, but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated,” said Apple in…
More than 500 leaders have gathered for the Munich Security Conference in Germany this weekend, among them the presidents of Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad to lead discussions on the situation in the Sahel. Yet this year, it’s the global coronavirus outbreak that has taken center stage. The latest numbers…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Mobile World Congress (MWC), one of the world’s premier tech and telecom events, has been canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak, its GSMA organizers said Wednesday. “With due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today, the GSMA has canceled MWC Barcelona 2020 because…
The sound of a US$4 billion loss to the African continent because of China’s coronavirus outbreak is sobering, but that’s the estimate from one expert report that warns of financial losses if 2019nCoV continues to spread – and those losses are possible even without a single case ever being confirmed…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A team of World Health Organization experts left for China on Sunday, as WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the world must remain vigilant as public health officials assess what he described as some troubling trends of the coronavirus. “The 2019nCoV spread outside China appears to be slow…
So far, there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus on the African continent, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. Countries including Botswana and Sudan have isolated and investigated some people for testing, but have seen those results all come back negative. Meanwhile, possible…
WHO held its executive board meeting in Geneva on Monday, with Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, reappointed to her position. Yet much of the meeting focused on the 2019nCov outbreak, which was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on Thursday. China’s latest update…
Botswana on Friday became the latest African nation to announced a suspected – but not confirmed – case of 2019-nCoV, the new coronavirus affecting China and some 20 countries around the world. Malaki Tshipayagae, the director for Botswana’s health service, said the possible patient was aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight…
China’s latest update on the coronavirus epidemic, issued at midnight Wednesday, listed 170 fatalities with a new total of 7,711 confirmed cases – along with nearly 90,000 close contacts under health monitoring, according to the National Health Commission. Additional cases were reported in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, along with…
Dr. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday there are no confirmed coronavirus cases as yet on the continent, though authorities have now activated the emergency operations center and are actively working with China and other international bodies to respond to the outbreak….
As the African continent speeds up its response to the coronavirus spreading from China, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Sunday a $10 million commitment in emergency funds and additional tech support to help responders in China and Africa contain the spread of 2019-nCoV. Half is going to China,…
China welcomed its New Year with President Xi Jinping acknowledging a “grave situation” as the country’s coronavirus epidemic continued to spread from Wuhan, in central Hubei province, to nearly all corners of mainland China. Confirmed cases also extended into 10 other nations, as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan….
As China’s coronavirus spreads across the nation and into other countries, The World Health Organization said Thursday it has again postponed a decision on a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) while awaiting additional information. The PHEIC is a designation for an “extraordinary event” with the potential for international…
As the world waits for additional guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak centered in China, the number of cases continued to mount – as did concerns over the African continent, with its close ties to Beijing. “Has Ethiopian Airlines started screening passengers flying from…
Authorities in China say dozens of new cases of a coronavirus outbreak were reported over the weekend, with 136 new cases in Wuhan where the severe respiratory illness began, bringing that total to 198 including three fatalities. Health officials also reported new cases in Beijing and Shenzhen districts, adding to…