The strain of Ebola virus that’s active in a new outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is not related to the previous two outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization. “Genetic sequencing from new Ebola cases in Équateur DRC shows that the outbreak is not linked to North Kivu or…
President Donald Trump of the United States escalated the controversy over his response to the global coronavirus pandemic with the announcement Tuesday night that the U.S. has frozen all funding to the World Health Organization, over what Trump claims were its management failures and its support for China in the…
Just as the Democratic Republic of Congo was closing in on the end of its current Ebola outbreak, a new case has emerged in the eastern city of Beni. “After 52 days without a case, surveillance and response teams on the ground have confirmed a new case. We have been…
There’s a new tool in the fight against COVID-19, and it’s a tech tool from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention that shows the impact of the coronavirus pandemic across the continent in one easy-to-use dashboard. The interactive COVID-19 dashboard linked here keeps real-time cumulative case totals for…
There are now at least 229 positive cases of the novel coronavirus on the African continent, according to health officials, with the first confirmed cases in Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Rwanda and Seychelles among them. The Department of Health on Seychelles said two of its citizens returned to the Indian Ocean…
There are now at least 159 positive cases of the novel coronavirus on the African continent, according to health officials, with the first confirmed cases in Ethiopia and Kenya among them. The Ethiopian case involves a 48-year-old Japanese citizen who traveled from Burkina Faso on March 4 but is isolated…
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa has risen to 17, with news that a 32-year-old man in Free State is the first person to become ill through known community contact. The man was in contact with a Chinese businessman, according to the South African ministry of health….
South Africa’s second confirmed case of COVID-19, the new coronavirus sweeping across the globe, comes as the African continent is seeing an uptick in positive tests for the illness. Dr. Zweli Mkhize, the country’s health minister, said the second patient from Gauteng province – home to Johannesburg and Pretoria –…
Officials in Kenya say they have no confirmed coronavirus cases to date, but they’re addressing a different kind of contagion – the spread of COVID-19 disinformation – with some hefty fines. “The fake news is alarmist, inciteful and its sole purpose is to cause fear and spread panic to the…
Nigeria has confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus, according to a statement from the Federal Health Ministry issued early Friday morning. The patient was identified in Lagos State, a coastal area along the Gulf of Guinea, said health minister Osagie Ehanire. It is home to the city of…
Three Africans have been named as special envoys on the coronavirus, as the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed growing concern Friday over the COVID-19 spread in Iran, South Korea and beyond the borders of China. The three envoys will serve to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement…
With the world’s focus on new coronavirus COVID-19, the head of the World Health Organization is headed to Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday to assess the Ebola situation and the country’s health system. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus plans to meet with President Felix Tshisekedi and his senior advisers to…
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…
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…
The World Health Organization says it is saddened by the death of Dr. Peter Salama, the former director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program who was deeply invested in the battle against the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Salama, 51, died “suddenly” on Thursday, according to media reports….