Coronavirus updates As it happens (2020-08-16)

Aug 16, 2020

Covid19 Test Results Now Available In 48 Hours – Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo has indicated that the time it takes to produce coronavirus test results in Ghana has reduced from two weeks to about 48 hours.

According to him, test results are now available within 48 hours.

Aug 16, 2020

COVID-19: Ghana’s Cases Hit 42,532

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Ghana is seeing another rise.

This follows the confirmation of 322 new infections on Sunday, August 16.

Aug 16, 2020

French fear more for their health than their wealth in Covid-19 pandemic

People in France are more worried about health, rather than the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a poll published in the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

The Ifop poll, carried out between 13 and 14 August on just over 1,000 people over the age of 18, revealed that 52 percent of them had faith in the government to assist companies struggling in the fallout of the virus that has claimed more than 30,000 lives in France.

AFP - ALAIN JOCARD

Aug 16, 2020

Akufo-Addo Addresses Nation Tonight On COVID-19

President Akufo-Addo will address Ghanaians this evening, Sunday, August 16 on the measures put in place to counter the Coronavirus pandemic.

Tonight’s address will be the 15th of its kind.

Aug 16, 2020

France to call for masks at work as daily Covid-19 infections top 3,300

The French government is to call for face masks to be worn in all shared workspaces, as health officials reported a new post-lockdown high in daily coronavirus infections.

The public health agency on Saturday registered 3,310 fresh cases in the latest 24-hour period, continuing the upward trend of new highs not seen since April.

Alain JOCARD / AFP

Aug 15, 2020

COVID-19 Double Hit Black Girls – UNFPA Country Rep

Mr Niyi Ojuolape, the Country Representative for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), at the weekend said the outbreak of COVID-19 has doubled the plight of the 'black girl', especially in the developing world as their welfare was being overlooked.

“Being a black girl is hard. Being a black girl in the West is harder, as racism and gender inequality presents additional inhibitions.

Aug 15, 2020

France's secret spaces flourish in the aftermath of coronavirus lockdown

The unsung wonders of France are getting their moment in the sun due to the coronavirus.

Places such as the Creuse and the Haute-Vienne, in central France, the Moselle in the east, the Sarthe and the Ardennes have been perennially eclipsed by glitzier venues of the Cote D'Azur in the south or the Ile de Ré over to the west.

AP - Bob Edme

Aug 15, 2020

Modi says Covid-19 vaccine will reach all Indian citizens as soon as ready

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised that India's 1.3 billion citizens will all have rapid access to the coronavirus vaccine once ready, as he rolled out several national projects including digital health records for all citizens and internet services in India's 600,000 villages, on the country's Independence Day.

In scaled-down celebrations for the 74th anniversary of independence, Narendra Modi said economic self-reliance would be a cornerstone of his policies.

AP - Manish Swarup

Aug 15, 2020

GIZ, SECO, Handover COVID-19 Support Items To Ministry Of Food And Agriculture

The GIZ- Competitive Cashew Initiative (ComCashew) programme, with joint funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other essential health supplies to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).

Adhering to strict social distancing protocols, the event was attended by the Swiss Ambassador, H.E. Philipp Stalder, the GIZ Ghana Country Director, Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Hon. Dr Gyiele Nurah, the Director of Crop services, Mr. Seth Osei Akoto among others.

Aug 15, 2020

Covid-19: Caritas Ghana Dialogues To Re-Integrate Vulnerable People Affected By Pandemic

CARITAS Ghana Catholic Secretariat has held a day’s dialogue to facilitate and support resettlement and reintegration of vulnerable populations affected by COVID-19 pandemic in Kumasi, Ashanti regional capital.

Aug 15, 2020

Covid-19: Eight More Dead

Eight more persons have succumbed to COVID-19 in the country.

This brings the country’s death toll to 231.

Aug 14, 2020

Africans Rising Calls for Release of Incarcerated People Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity is a movement that believes that imprisonment in the time of a global health pandemic is an absolute injustice and a potential death sentence for all people living and working in prisons. Our #FreeThem campaign is a determined effort for radical change. We are calling on all African governments and heads of states to release people accused of non-violent crimes from detention, including journalists, human right defenders, activists, and political dissidents.

“The COVID-19 crisis is a call for unity and peace,” says Africans Rising Movement Coordinator Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan. “Governments should not put at risk the lives and well-being of citizens.”

Aug 14, 2020

Paris, Marseille move back into Covid-19 'red zone' as infections rise

France's two biggest cities, Paris and Marseille, have been declared high-risk Covid-19 areas – known as red zones – after health officials announced a sharp increase in nationwide infections.

The government decree grants authorities powers to impose local restrictions to contain the spread of the disease in high-risk areas.

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Aug 14, 2020

GHAMOSA Commends His Majesty King Mohammed VI For His Africa Covid-19 Initiatives

On Monday April 13, King Mohammed VI held high-level talks with the President of Cote D’Ivoire Alassane Dramane Ouattara and the President of Senegal Macky Sall.

The phone conversations focused on the alarming evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent and its potential socio-economic impacts on African countries.

Aug 14, 2020

COVID-19: Ghana's Active Cases Drop To 1,906

Ghana continues to make significant progress in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as the country's active cases Thursday, dropped to 1,906 from a previous 2,007.

This follows the clinical recovery and discharge of a total of 39,718 persons, the Ghana Health Service announced via a designated website.

Aug 14, 2020

Nigeria's Covid-19 Cases Rise To 48,116

Nigeria has recorded additional 373 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed the new cases in a tweet late Thursday night, August 13, 2020.

Aug 14, 2020

FDA Must Review Mode Of Validating COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits – Medical Laboratory Scientists

The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) is urging the Foods and Drugs Authority (FDA) to review the current criteria for validating antibody Rapid Diagnostics Test kits (RDTs) for COVID -19 testing in the country.

According to the group, the “continuous use of Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), the so-called gold standards, as a yardstick for antibody RDTs validation makes it almost impossible for any COVID-19 antibody RDTs to get approval from the regulator”.

Aug 14, 2020

Covid-19 may push half the world’s youth into anxiety, depression: ILO

The Covid-19 crisis is having a devastating effect on the education and training of young people according to a survey by the International Labour Organization. India is a case in point.

Half of the world's youth is subject to anxiety or depression-causing circumstances and more than a third are uncertain of their future career prospects because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aug 14, 2020

From Ivorian student to footballer in China - with help from coronavirus

When Tobi Junior makes his debut in China's second division it will be the realisation of a life-long dream stretched across three continents -- with coronavirus giving an unusual helping hand.

The striker from the Ivory Coast earned his first professional football contract at the age of 25 when he joined Jiangxi Liansheng in China League One last month.

Tobi Junior has landed a deal with China's Jiangxi Liansheng. By Handout (Courtesy of Tobi Junior/AFP)

Aug 14, 2020

Child malaria spikes in Sierra Leone as parents fear coronavirus

Doctors in a rural Sierra Leone hospital may be accustomed to treating severely ill infants, but they recently admitted one of the worst cases they had ever seen.

An 18-month-old with pallid skin and thinning hair arrived on the wards in the eastern town of Hangha in July suffering from an alarming combination of pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria.

The dangers of avoiding healthcare are especially acute for children during the ongoing rainy season -- when malaria cases spike. By Saidu BAH (AFP)