COVID-19 Updates

Paris, France | AFP | It is not the first catastrophe they have faced. But while today’s global pandemic bears no resemblance to Syria’s almost decade-long civil war, some refugees believe their experience of violence and exile helps them deal with the anxiety sparked by the novel coronavirus. AFP interviewed four …

Moscow, Russia | AFP |  The coronavirus pandemic might have brought the film industry to a halt but Andrei Konchalovsky, one of Russia’s most renowned film and theatre directors, is as busy as ever. He wants to make a documentary about daily life under quarantine, exploring the poetic side of the …

Masindi, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  A patient who tested Positive to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Masindi district has been transferred to Hoima Regional Referral hospital for specialized medical attention.  The patient who is a police officer attached to Masindi Central police station was confirmed on Saturday through the ongoing health …

Why Kadaga is right and Museveni is wrong about the role of MPs in the Coronavirus fight THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Uganda’s elites are very angry that their legislators allocated themselves Shs10 billion to aid the fight against the coronavirus. Many see the act as a …

It’s not just about money Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga is facing a public relations disaster for allocating Shs20 million to each MP, ostensibly to do supervisory and advocacy work in the government fight against the Coronavirus disease COVID-19. But her reaction to President …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Danish Government has offered sh6 billion (14,500,000 Danish Kronner) to support Uganda’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The two grants, 10 million DKK for WHO and 4.5 million  DKK for UNFPA, aim at supporting Government of Uganda’s efforts towards the emergency response to the …

Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Medics have deployed a robot in a Tunisian hospital caring for coronavirus victims to limit contact between staff and infected patients, in a first for the North African country. The tall, single-limbed machine is mounted on wheels and is capable of taking pulses and checking temperatures and blood oxygen levels. It …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine said five districts along the Uganda-Tanzania border are mostly at risk during this Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Dr. Atwine made it clear on Friday that Mbarara, Ntungamo, Isingiro, Rakai and Kyotera are at a …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | International health experts have asked the World Health Organisation (WHO) to identify the animal source of the coronavirus (COVID-19) so as to enable further research. The need to find the source was one of the recommendations that health experts made to WHO during the …

Sanaa, Yemen | AFP |  While many of the world’s markets have closed to curb the spread of coronavirus, in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, downtown districts selling qat — the ubiquitous mild narcotic — still bustle with people. Flouting social distancing rules, Yemenis jostle to select bunches of the chewable leaf from …