South Africa shuts schools for a month
President Cyril Ramaphosa has shut public schools in South Africa for a month, and pledged to crack down on corruption in aid and procurement spending related to the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
The announcement came a day after researchers revealed that excess mortality data suggested that South Africa’s Covid outbreak had contributed to 60% more deaths over a 10-week period from early May than official figures suggested , and among further steep increases in the number of confirmed cases in the country.
There are now more than 400,000 cases of Covid-19 in South Africa with more than 6,000 deaths.
“We have taken a deliberately cautious approach to keep schools closed during a period when the country is expected to experience its greatest increase in infections,” President Ramaphosa said during a TV address to the nation on Thursday evening.
“This has also been the experience in a number of other countries where schools have opened and have also had to close.”
Schools were shut during a strict lockdown imposed in March and April.
Ramaphosa’s address received a mixed reception. Some critics claimed that government policy is overly influenced by the concerns of key constituencies of the ruling African National Congress party, including teachers’ unions. Others highlighted the failure to investigate and convict senior ANC officials and other individuals linked to a series of corruption scandals.
The president said that 36 cases of Covid-related graft were already at an advanced stage of investigation, and that substantial fines had been paid by companies for price fixing during the outbreak.
Updated
at 6.13am EDT
France has reported a rise in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases after more than 1,000 new infections were recorded in 24 hours.
In the week of 6-13 July, the national health authority, Santé Publique France said there was a 27% increase in the number of cases. This compared with 21% and 13% the previous weeks and could not be explained by an increase in testing, which was only 3% in the same week.
Santé Publique said there had been an rise in Covid-19 cases among the over-75s and an increase in cases in care homes. The authorities say there has also been an increase in coronavirus cases among young adults.
The increases were due to people dropping their guard and not systematically employing health safety measures including keeping a 1-metre distance, they said.
“Santé Publique France and the Assurance-Maladie observe a slackening of the application of barrier gestures which results in an increase in the number of contacts at risk per patient with Covid-19, and less adherence to physical distancing in particular.
During the summer and holidays, it may seem artificial to greet each other at a distance, talk from a distance, wash hands regularly and wear masks in enclosed spaces, but this individual and collective effort is crucial to prevent the virus from encroaching on our freedom and the epidemic from rebounding,” read a statement.
On Friday, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, held a meeting of the country’s defence council at the Élysée to discuss the rise in cases and consider new measures including whether to tighten controls French borders with Belgium and Spain and possible quarantine measures for international passengers at airports.
Updated
at 6.15am EDT
The Afghan health ministry has urged people to stay indoors and avoid gatherings for the upcoming Eid celebrations as the number of confirmed coronavirus related deaths has reached 1,225.
Ahmad Jawad Osmani, the country’s acting health minister told a press conference on Thursday that hospitals were filled with Covid-19 patients.
Osmai said that Afghanistan is still in the midst of the outbreak. “We are in a better position to fight with coronavirus because the percentage of people infected in Afghanistan is dropping. The number of people visiting hospitals has also decreased, but that does not mean that we will not follow medical instructions,” he added.
The health ministry in the country recorded 14 new deaths from Covid-19 on Friday. In its latest update, it said the number of people who tested positive for the virus had reached 35,988, an increase of 60 on the day before.
Most new deaths were reported in Kabul. The capital is the country’s worst affected area with 489 deaths and around 15,000 confirmed cases. Another death was reported in Helmand province.
The United States has allocated more than $36.7 million to help Afghanistan address the Covid-19 pandemic, and expedited $90 million through the World Bank to support Afghanistan’s national health and education sectors and local government needs, the US embassy in Kabul announced Thursday.
Belgian government pauses easing of lockdown after rise in infections
The Belgian government has paused its planned easing of the country’s lockdown and brought in new restrictive measures after the daily infection rate hit numbers not seen since mid-May.
Of the 370 people newly tested positive on Monday, 32% were in the city of Antwerp but the relatively small size of the country has forced the government to block plans to allow large gatherings.
Belgium’s prime minister, Sophie Wilmés, said: “Since last week, the average infection rate has increased considerably. The reproduction number has also risen above 1 since last week. This indicates that the epidemic is flaring up again.
“Young adults between 20 and 30 are the most frequently affected. Although the number of infections is increasing throughout the country, we also see more local flare-ups”.
From Saturday, wearing a face mask will be mandatory in an increased number of public places including busy shopping streets, markets and in public buildings. People in a restaurant will also need to use a mask when visiting the bathroom and they will be required to leave an email address or telephone number.
With the holiday season in full flow, all returning travellers will have to complete a form within 48 hours of arrival in Belgium.
Wilmes said: “It’s a blow to our morale but we must take action today so that we have no regrets tomorrow. We must act collectively. Everyone is an actor in this crisis,” said Wilmès.
She added: “These rules are not advice but instructions. And as always, take care of yourself, and take care of others. And the best way to do that is by following the measures.”
Updated
at 4.43am EDT
Some good news: Scientists in New Zealand say the country has the lowest Covid-19 death rate in the OECD group of wealthy nations, with four confirmed deaths from the virus per million inhabitants of the nation.
That compares with five deaths per million people in Australia, 666 deaths per million in the UK, and 428 deaths per million in the US. Belgium had the highest death rate, with 845 deaths per million population.
If New Zealand had reported the average death rate among the OECD’s 37 member countries, the Otago University researchers say, 990 people would have died. The country’s actual death toll was 22, with fewer than 1,500 confirmed cases.
New Zealand is the only OECD country that has recorded more than 28 days with no known community transmission of the virus. There are 21 active cases of the virus, all diagnosed in returning travelers, who are in managed isolation facilities.
Updated
at 2.54am EDT
Global report: Red Cross warns of big post-Covid-19 migration as WHO hits back at US
The coronavirus crisis could spark huge waves of fresh migration once borders reopen, the head of the Red Cross has warned. It comes as the WHO’s chief accused the US of making “untrue” and “unacceptable” claims against the global health body.
The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Jagan Chapagain, said he was deeply concerned about the secondary effects of the pandemic, as border closures and Covid-19 restrictions have driven millions into poverty.
“Increasingly we are seeing in many countries the impacts on the livelihoods and the food situation,” he said in an interview with Agence France-Presse.
Many people are already faced with the choice of risking exposure to the novel coronavirus or going hungry, Chapagain said, warning that the desperation being generated could have far-reaching consequences.
“What we hear is that many people who are losing livelihoods, once the borders start opening, will feel compelled to move,” he said. “We should not be surprised if there is a massive impact on migration in the coming months and years.”
A fund set up by 1917 director Sam Mendes to help theatre freelancers hit by the impact of Covid-19 has raised £1.6m, but industry figures have said more support is needed to avoid an exodus of workers from the sector.
The Theatre Artists Fund, which was launched at the start of July with a £500,000 donation from Netflix, has had more than 4,000 applications in less than a month and will provide one-off grants of £1,000.
Mendes said the fund had received donations from actors and writers including Michaela Coel, Armando Iannucci and Imelda Staunton, with £85,000 in donations coming – in part – from members of the public. But despite the support, Mendes said the grants would provide assistance to only a small fraction of the freelancers who made up 70% of theatre’s workforce: