Coronavirus: Africa and the pandemic on Thursday May 7

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Africa counted, this Thursday, May 7, 52,175 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Covid-19 has already claimed the lives of 2,024 people on the continent, according to the African Union Center for Disease Prevention and Control. South Africa and Egypt are the two most affected countries, with 7,808 and 7,588 cases respectively. Next are Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria and Ghana.

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• Africa surpasses 2,000 dead

The African continent has today surpassed the symbolic bar of 2,000 people who died as a result of Covid-19. Algeria is the country most affected by the coronavirus epidemic and deplores 476 dead on its territory. Egypt, for its part, deplores 469 deaths, Morocco has 183 and South Africa 153. In the official reports, eight countries in Africa have not yet recorded any death linked to the coronavirus: the Central African Republic, Rwanda , Uganda, South Sudan, Eritrea, Namibia, Mozambique and Lesotho.

• Denis Sassou-Nguesso talks about the coronavirus crisis in the Congo

In an interview with RFI and France 24, the president of Congo-Brazzaville Denis Sassou-Nguesso returned to the coronavirus epidemic in his country. According to the head of state, no collapse of the Congolese economy in sight, despite the travel restrictions maintained until May 15 and the drastic fall in oil prices. “ Our Parliament has just approved the halving of our budget, but we have confidence. We believe that the world has experienced such serious situations in the past. The economies will recover, the oil will also recover , "he believes. Denis Sassou-Nguesso however requests emergency aid from the International Monetary Fund worth $ 300 to $ 500 million.

The president also mentioned the different treatments tested in the country, the Malagasy remedy of Covid-Organics, the protocol of Professor Raoult based on hydroxychloroquine in particular. " Since scientists have not yet developed an effective and universally accepted drug, we believe that all the trials that are done elsewhere and that have given some signs of effectiveness, we can try them in a hospital environment under control, to try to save lives,  "said Denis Sassou-Nguesso.

Find the full interview here  :  Denis Sassou-Nguesso on RFI: "We don't believe in a collapse of the Congolese economy"

• WHO warns of Malagasy remedy

During a video conference call, the regional director of the World Health Organization, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, called to order African leaders tempted to promote traditional remedies that have not been the subject of 'a serious clinical trial. " Our governments committed in 2000 to treating traditional remedies like other medicines by subjecting them to trials, " said Dr. Moeti. In recent days, several African countries, including Guinea-Bissau, Congo-Brazzaville and Niger, have announced that they have received packages of Covid-Organics, the Madagascan decoction based on artemisia presented as a treatment against coronavirus. The WHO official is also concerned about the consequences that the promotion of this drink could have on respecting barrier gestures. " Bragging about this product as a preventative could make people believe that they do not need to respect other measures " such as regular hand washing or social distancing, warned Dr. Moeti.

In addition, the South African Minister of Health, Zweli Mkhize, for his part announced that a team of scientists would help Madagascar in research on the effects of Covid-Organics on the coronavirus. " We are only involved in the scientific analysis of this plant, " said the minister on his Twitter account.  

Madagascar herbs: We received a call from the government of Madagascar, who asked for help with scientific research.Our scientists would be able to assist with this research.We will only get involved in a scientific analysis of the herb. We are not at that point yet.

• Easing containment measures in Mauritania

The Mauritanian government announced on Wednesday evening a reduction in containment measures against the Covid-19. The curfew is reduced by two hours from today, so it will be in effect from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. The markets will reopen with the obligation to scrupulously respect social distancing measures. Ditto for restaurants: they will not be able to receive customers inside. Meals will be brought to the door. The reduction in preventive measures also concerns the resumption of Friday prayers and strict control of the number of people in the mosques, with handwashing and wearing of the compulsory mask, and prohibition of any physical contact between the faithful.

• Senegal opens new centers to receive patients with Covid-19

Faced with the risk of saturation of hospitals, Senegal has decided to open three new reception centers, with a total capacity of 400 beds. The country had made the choice to hospitalize all those tested positive for Covid-19, including patients with few symptoms or asymptomatic. The latter will therefore be transferred to these new centers. Two of them, one located on the site of the former Dakar international airport and the other in Guéréo, were to receive their first patients today. According to the latest report from the authorities, Senegal registers 1,492 cases of coronavirus and 13 deaths.

• Doctors in Niger urge people to return to hospitals

Niger's health authorities are calling on residents of Niamey to return to health centers, which have been less crowded since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, because of the population's fear of being contaminated by going to the hospital. " You should not keep a pathology at home, " worries Ibrah Boubary, director of the central maternity hospital in the capital and member of the National Committee for the care of the coronavirus. " Since the advent of this pandemic, we have observed an underuse of hospital structures ," added the doctor. Since the detection of the first case in Niamey on March 19, hundreds of medical staff have been placed in quarantine after being in contact with a patient. “  At the very beginning, there were small flaws due to the ignorance of the pathology. But today all the hospital structures have set up a sorting system, which means that there is no possibility of mixing suspected cases of coronavirus with other patients,  ”insisted Ibrah Boubary. To date, Niger has recorded 770 cases of Covid-19 and 38 deaths.

• First coronavirus death in Comoros

The Comoros archipelago records its first death following the Covid-19. According to the latest report from the authorities, eight cases of contamination have been identified in the country, including three on the island of Mohéli, the smallest in the national territory. The first positive coronavirus test was announced by President Azali Assoumani on April 30.

• In Kenya, justice is done online

In Kenya, due to the coronavirus epidemic, justice must be exercised in digital mode. In mid-March, with the arrival of the first Covid-19 cases in the country, the president of the Supreme Court David Maraga had ordered the organization of the hearings by Internet. 7,000 judgments have since been rendered online. And if a few weeks ago, the magistrate had requested a reopening of the courts, he confirmed this Wednesday the maintenance, except in exceptional cases, of the online hearings. However, the use of digital is not without controversy. The association of jurists LSK denounces verdicts rendered on the basis of incomplete files: according to its president Nelson Havi, the magistrates cannot recover their documents, stored in closed courts which have not yet been disinfected. 

• New Nigerian state investigates "mysterious deaths"

Nigerian authorities have launched an investigation into the abnormal increase in deaths in northern Jigawa state. The state government has announced the dispatch of a team of five to investigate these now unexplained deaths and a possible link to the coronavirus epidemic. So far, Jigawa State has officially registered 39 Covid-19 positive cases and one death. A few days earlier, officials from the neighboring state of Kano, a territory also witnessing an unexplained increase in the number of deaths, had concluded that the latter were indeed, for the majority of them, caused by the coronavirus. In addition, the Nigerian government has decided to extend the ban on flights to or from Nigeria by another four weeks. The measure had originally entered into force at the end of March.

• Ethiopian Prime Minister warns opposition

Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, warns the opposition: legal proceedings will be launched against those who would like to take advantage of the health crisis to seize power. This declaration comes a few days after the announcement of the leaders of the Tigray region of the continuation of the legislative elections on August 30, despite the decision of the electoral commission to postpone the vote because of the epidemic of coronavirus. Opponent Jawar Mohamed was indignant at the Prime Minister's remarks. He denounces the will to intimidate the opposition on the part of Abiy Ahmed, and accuses the majority party of taking power unconstitutionally.

• African Union rejects Tanzanian President's accusations on tests

The director of the Center for Disease Prevention and Control of the African Union (Africa CDC), Dr. John Nkengasong, denies the accusations of the Tanzanian president that the tests sent to his country are defective. " The tests that Tanzania and all the African countries use are tests that we have validated and which we know are very successful, " he said during a press conference on Wednesday. Head of State John Magufuli said last weekend that samples from a goat and a papaya, which he had secretly sent to laboratories across the country, tested positive. The president thus questions the reliability of the kits " imported from abroad ", and therefore the official balance sheet of the number of contaminations in Tanzania. The kits had been delivered by Africa CDC and the Jack Ma foundation.

• Seven million dollars for Zimbabwe

The World Bank will lend Zimbabwe $ 7 million to help it fight the coronavirus. A spokesperson for the financial institution confirmed this Wednesday. Zimbabwe has so far been unable to benefit from any loan due to its arrears. Harare owes more than $ 1.2 billion to the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank. Ten days ago, the Zimbabwean Minister of Economy wrote to the various financial institutions, warning that the country was on the brink of an economic and health disaster due to its inability to access funding.

• Police in Chad assaulted by minister will not file complaints

In Chad, the soldier attacked a week ago by Defense Minister Mahamat Abali Salah will ultimately not file a complaint, contrary to what his lawyers announced earlier this week. On April 29, at the entrance to Parliament, the soldier asked the Minister to comply with the compulsory hand washing at the entrance to the building. Annoyed, Mahamat Abali Salah violently attacks the soldier, angering the deputies. The parliamentarians then demanded a public apology from the member of government, who complied with this requirement.

• The Games of La Francophonie are postponed to 2022

The precise dates of the next Games of La Francophonie in Kinshasa are now known: it will be from August 19 to 28, 2022. The Games originally scheduled for the summer of 2021 have been postponed by one year to avoid overlapping with the Tokyo Olympic Games , themselves displaced from 2020 to 2021 due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

The Orientation Council of the CIJF recommends new dates for the holding of the IX Games of La Francophonie: https://t.co/HgCtYLetnu #JeuxdelaFrancophonie #art #sport #jeunesse #excellence # diversity # responsibility # equity #rdc # kinshasa2021 # kinshasa2022 pic.twitter.com/DC7EDD3r1a

• A hippo takes advantage of the deserted beaches of Mozambique

The beaches of Mozambique deserted by tourists will have at least made one happy. The video of a hippopotamus bathing in turquoise water in the south of the country has toured social networks. And surely many jealous…

Watch: KZN hippo is “living his best life” in Mozambique after defying SA lockdown - https://t.co/WNYnI5BVsz pic.twitter.com/Zw8P0h6Dd4

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