Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s retired Archbishop and anti-apartheid icon, has died aged 90. Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and veteran of South Africa’s struggle against white minority rule, died on Sunday. “The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a...
South Africa
South Africa Department of Health on Friday lifted contact tracing for anyone who has come into close contact with Corona virus-infected person as it battles with omicron variant. Health official, Ramphelane Morewane told broadcaster eNCA that the previously obligatory self-isolation has been lifted adding that tests would only be...
The UK government has removed Nigeria and 10 other countries from its red list. Health Secretary Sajid Javid, announced this on Tuesday while addressing Members of Parliament. According to him, the red list is “now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad”. “So I can announce...
South Africa’s economy shrank for the first time in a year in the third quarter as the country was hit by riots and tighter Covid restrictions, official statistics showed Tuesday. After four consecutive quarters of growth, the economy contracted by 1.5 percent between July and September compared to the...
The World Health Organization said Friday it had not seen any reports of deaths relating to the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. The WHO said it was collecting evidence about the variant of concern (VOC), as countries around the world scramble to stop it from spreading. But despite a...
African countries are stepping up measures to detect and control the spread of the Omicron variant. This became necessary as weekly new COVID-19 cases in the continent rose by 54 per cent due to an upsurge in southern Africa, said the World Health Organisation in a statement released on...
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa has called for a lifting of the travel ban imposed on his country and other sister countries. Ramaphosa said the restriction (which he termed discriminatory) should be reversed to avert long-lasting damage to the economies of the countries affected. The South African leader said...
By CALLISTUS OFFOR, Abuja – The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant in the country. A statement issued on Wednesday by the NCDC Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, said the three cases were linked to passengers from South Africa Recalled that...
The Nigerian government has reassured the Republic of South Africa that it will continue to strengthen bilateral ties between both countries for the mutual benefits of both country’s citizens and economies. Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said this on Monday at the closing of the Ministerial Meeting...
The surprising number of mutations in the Omicron Coronavirus (COVID-19) variant could signal that it originated in a patient with HIV or another immunodeficiency, a top German immunology expert said. Carsten Watzl, secretary general of the German Society for Immunology, told dpa that it was not only conceivable but...
World Health Organisation (WHO) says it still ‘not clear’ whether Omicron COVID variant is more transmissible or more severe than Delta variant. WHO, in a statement on Sunday, said that its experts, researchers in South Africa and around the world are currently conducting studies to better understand Omicron. The...
The head of the World Health Organisation in Africa on Sunday urged countries to follow the science rather than imposing flight bans in a bid to contain the new Omicron coronavirus variant. “With the Omicron variant now detected in several regions of the world, putting in place travel bans...
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday called on countries to “immediately and urgently” reverse scientifically “unjustified” travel bans linked to the discovery of the new coronavirus variant Omicron. “We call upon all those countries that have imposed travel bans on our country and our southern African sister countries...
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Sunday said it was monitoring emerging evidence on the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, which was first recently identified in Southern Africa. The new variant “is considered highly transmissible” and has already triggered a new wave of travel restrictions targeted at countries in...
The Angolan authorities on Saturday announced the suspension of flights to South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Tanzania due to the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant, known as B.1.1.529 or Omicron. Francisco Pereira Furtado, the Angolan minister of state and head of the security house of...
South Africa’s health ministry on Friday attacked a global rush to impose travel bans to slow the spread of a new Covid variant as “draconian,” unscientific and contrary to WHO advice. The new strain, named Omicron, has been blamed for a surge in cases in South Africa, but has...
Police on Monday reported that a group of armed gangsters attacked the police station of Malamulele in South Africa’s Limpopo province. According to police reports, the gunmen took rifles, pistols as well as an unknown quantity of ammunition, and forced some of the officers into one of their official...
President of the African Import Export Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, has said Africa’s creative industry is a potent instrument that could grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of African countries and pull the youths out of poverty. Oramah said this at the two-day Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), which...
The Intra-African Trade Fair 2021 (IATF 2021) came to an end on Sunday in Durban, South Africa, recording $36 billion deals during the week long event. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event held physically in Durban, South Africa, while some other participants joined virtually from...