Kenya Insights

Category: Coronavirus

  • Kenya Has Ordered 379,000 Tablets Of Hydrochloroquine From India As Option For Coronavirus Treatment

    Kenya Has Ordered 379,000 Tablets Of Hydrochloroquine From India As Option For Coronavirus Treatment

    Kenya has joined the countries “repurposing” the banned antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine for emergency use ahead of mass testing for Covid-19.

    The country has ordered a one-off consignment of 379,000 tablets of the hydroxychloroquine from India just three weeks after the Asian nation partially lifted a ban on the export of the drug.

    The deal follows last week’s telephone conversation between Foreign Affairs secretary Raychelle Omamo and Indian External Affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

    “In keeping with excellent bilateral ties and as a special gesture, India has allowed one-time export of prohibited Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate USP 200 mg (379,000 tablets) to Kenya to support Government of Kenya in its fight against Covid-19 pandemic,” said a communique from the Indian government.

    In early April, India partially lifted a ban on the exports of the malaria drug after President Donald Trump sought supplies for the US, which has topped the world’s Covid-19 casualties with more than million confirmed cases and more than 60,000 deaths. In Kenya where the first case of Covid-19 was reported on March 13 and the number of cases was 396 by yesterday.

    Hydroxychloroquine, which has been approved for Covid-19 treatment in Jordan, the US and France as well as China has been tested and found to strengthen cells in the respiratory tract where the coronavirus punctures and releases its genetic material.

    Laboratory findings published by medRxiv, an online server for medical articles show the alkaline-based Hydroxychloroquine protects the cell from becoming acidic, an environment that enables coronaviruses to multiply

    “The end result is the coronavirus is bumped out of cells and cannot infect them. (How azithromycin contributes to this process isn’t clear yet, but doctors suspect that it may quell the worst respiratory symptoms of Covid-19 by reducing inflammation caused by the viral infection in the lungs.),” it said.

    Thursday, Ms Omamo and her India counterpart confirmed the arrival of the second tranche of essential drugs — HIV medicines worth $154 million — in Nairobi, a gift to Kenya by the Government of India.

    “The first tranche of essential medicines, as part of India’s commitment to providing essential medicines to the people of Kenya, was delivered in July 2018,” said the statement, which added that India had also donated chlorine in the form of Calcium Hypochlorite for water treatment following a request from the Kenyan government.

    While an India-based drug manufacturer has received export orders for Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate, the European Union regulator and the World Health Organisation say the science does not support the decision.

    Currently, there is no known coronavirus vaccine or treatment for the Covid-19.

    Article originally appeared on Business Daily.

  • Coronavirus: Manchester United Puts Measures To Re-Open Old Trafford

    Coronavirus: Manchester United Puts Measures To Re-Open Old Trafford

    English Premier League club Manchester United confirmed the approval on Wednesday to install 1,500 barrier seats at the Old Trafford Stadium as a trial measure.

    “The approval from Trafford Council is an agreement in principle for the club to install around 1,500 barrier seats in the North-East Quadrant in sections N2401 and N2402,” the club said in an online statement.

    On the move, the club’s managing director Richard Arnold said: “It should be stated, up front, that our overwhelming priority is to keep our people safe from the COVID-19 pandemic. It may seem strange to talk about stadium plans at this time, but football and our fans will return when it is safe, and our preparations for that must continue in the background.”

    The Old Trafford is one of the biggest stadiums in the UK, with a capacity of roughly 75,000.

    “Our belief is that the introduction of barrier seats will enhance spectator safety in areas of the stadium where – as with other clubs – we have seen examples of persistent standing. It also allows us to future-proof the stadium in the event of any changes to the current all-seater stadium policy. If the trial is successful, we may consider further implementation of barrier seating in other parts of the stadium,” Arnold said.

    “The barrier-seating trial is part of our broader plans to develop the stadium in ways which enhance the matchday experience for supporters,” he added.

    After 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives during a match against Nottingham Forest in in the standing terraces of Hillsborough Stadium in 1989, fans in the standing position were banned in the stadium in England.

  • Questions As US VP Pence Goes To A Coronavirus Hospital Without A Facemask

    Questions As US VP Pence Goes To A Coronavirus Hospital Without A Facemask

    (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence chose not to wear a face mask Tuesday during a tour of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, an apparent violation of the world-renowned medical center’s policy requiring them.

    Video feeds show that Pence did not wear a mask when he met with a Mayo employee who has recovered from COVID-19 and is now donating plasma, even though everyone else in the room appeared to be wearing one. He was also maskless when he visited a lab where Mayo conducts coronavirus tests.

    And Pence was the only participant not to wear a mask during a roundtable discussion on Mayo’s coronavirus testing and research programs. All the other participants did, including Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn, top Mayo officials, Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn.

    Mayo tweeted that it had informed the vice president of its mask policy prior to his arrival. The tweet was later removed. Mayo officials did not directly respond to a request for comment on why it was removed, or at whose request.

    “Mayo shared the masking policy with the VP’s office,” the health care system said in its response.

    Pence explained his decision by stressing that he has been frequently tested for the virus.

    “As vice president of the United States I’m tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus,” Pence said, adding that he is following CDC guidelines, which indicate that the mask is good for preventing the spread of the virus by those who have it.

    “And since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible healthcare personnel, and look them in the eye and say ‘thank you.’”

    Pence is not the only White House official who has shown a reluctance for face masks. When President Donald Trump announced new federal guidelines recommending that Americans wear face coverings when in public, he immediately said he had no intention of following that advice himself, saying, “I’m choosing not to do it.”

    Pence also went without a mask a week earlier when he visited a GE Healthcare facility that makes ventilators. Some at the event in Madison, Wisconsin, wore masks and others did not. The White House said then that Pence had tested negative for the coronavirus and suggested that under the guidelines developed by the coronavirus task force there was no need for him to wear a mask.

  • Kenya: Restaurants Re-Opening, Good For The Economy, Disastrous For The Health

    Kenya: Restaurants Re-Opening, Good For The Economy, Disastrous For The Health

    Government of Kenya has opened up the space for restaurants to keep running and here’s a bait for disaster. With community transmissions ongoing, I think this is a disastrous way to deal with the virus. We’re basically courting the worst. Here’s a comparison of two countries in Europe that could make sense. I’ll brake it down.

    Sweden and Denmark both had relatively mild flu seasons this winter, with fewer people dying compared to recent years. Then COVID-19 struck, and the neighbouring countries adopted very different strategies.

    While the Danes were among the first in Europe to go into lockdown, Sweden opted for the herd immunity approach, making it one of the few advanced economies in the world to do so. There was no strict lockdown, and social distancing was recommended but not dictated.

    A visiting ban at care homes was introduced at the beginning of April to protect the elderly, gatherings of more than 50 people were prohibited, and universities and colleges were recommended to offer remote learning.

    But otherwise, life carries on essentially unchanged: Most schools, restaurants, bars, clubs, and gyms are open, and people are practising social distancing.

    A lot has been said and written about Sweden’s strategy. Its outlier status has been met with horror by some, curiosity by most, and applause by those pressing their own governments to lift restrictions that are having a destructive effect on economies and societies. With the leaders of the UK, the US, and other countries under increasing pressure to scale back their lockdowns, the question of whether Sweden’s approach is working is of international concern.

    UK, initially, admitted to adopting the herd immunity approach, even though they withdrew stand, things on the ground tell a different story.

    Kenya, officially, has minimal cases and while the economically fragile country just like rest continue to juggle and do a lot of guesswork, some measures seem to go off the rail. As we speak, Kenya has been under a lengthened curfew and restricted movements. It seem to be going well given the reported numbers of Covid-19 scenarios but caution is being sidelined.

    Given the partial lockdown, bars and restaurants including many businesses have remained closed, the suffocated system is now easing and opening up for a smooth flow. The government has decided to reopen restaurants, in their defense, the state says that this will provide Kenyans who work there a chance to earn a living and allow for Kenyans to get a meal.

    This makes a logical sense. Africa unlike the western, can’t sustain a citizen’s welfare stimulus plan. We’re too poor for this. Lockdown can’t work for us. But now with the virus, which is the right way to go?

    Now the government is saying all the restaurants will have to adhere to the set requirements of testing the staff and screening of all customers. This is a realistically impossible decision to stop further spread and here’s why.

    Restaurant staffs will actively mingle with both customers and others outside the premises even after the tests. They’ll receive all type of customers all through, the temperature screening has been proven not to be 100% effective as some infected person can manage up slip through, mostly the asymptotic.

    Not unless the Kenyan government is silently embracing the herd immunity approach whereby basing hopes on under 4% mortality, many will develop antibodies and survive the virus. This will however come at the expense of losing many lives. This again is not the official position or insinuation but rather an opinion.

    Model that has been effective in other countries who’ve managed to contain the virus is testing and isolating. The nature of the virus is just that, cut contacts.

    Still on Sweden that has allowed citizens to mingle with loosened rules, it has recorded its deadliest week this century after 2,505 people died in a seven-day period earlier this month.

    Kenya is faced with yet another problem, dancing with the devil, the country ceased movements outside flagged counties but allowed trucks to move. Now over 80% of cases that have been tested positive in Uganda are of truck drivers from Kenya and Tanzania.

    Kenya has since started mass testing of the drivers at the border in Malaba and here’s where the trouble brews. There has been a reported traffic snarl up that has got drivers waiting for testing and clearance for upto 3 days. During this time and with a traffic that extends to almost 40KMs touching Bungoma, the drivers have actively been in contact with the locals.

    Lack of proper coordination would see possible transmissions with the locals. There should be zero contacts between the drivers and locals but that’s logistically impossible with drivers stuck on the road for three days. This why I say, dancing with the devil.

    Kenya and Africa even if we get billions in donations, the healthcare systems are so poor to stand, in fact, Covid19 has disapproved and overwhelmed even the best of the best systems like Italy.

    Kenya with a population of approximately 48M has not done even enough tests to tell a tough estimate of virus spread but were helpless. No wonder some are saying it’s now between us and God.

  • Kalembe Ndile Wants State To Allow Witchdoctors To Offer Covid-19 Treatment

    Kalembe Ndile Wants State To Allow Witchdoctors To Offer Covid-19 Treatment

    Former Kibwezi West MP Kalembe Ndile is appealing to the National government to recognize the crucial role played by herbalists in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

    Ndile who was addressing the press in Machakos on Sunday said that the government should test traditional remedies by consulting with herbalists given that there is no known cure for coronavirus.
    He reiterated that our country’s goal ought to be protecting ourselves from the virus adding that herbalists in the country have always treated many diseases with symptoms similar to those of Covid-19.

    “We truly respect the role of traditional medicine men. There is a significant amount of people who consult them and we cannot overlook that,” he said adding that most herbalists are quite talented.

    Ndile asked the State to allow researchers to make these natural herbs into clinical medicine and extract the coronavirus vaccines from the same if they are found viable.

    The former legislator further bewailed the negative impact of Covid-19, which has crippled the global economy and could potentially cause an irreversible economic meltdown, consequences of which might be too much for some countries.

    “It is about time for us to save the world. Tomorrow may be too late. Let’s all keep safe,” he said.

    Last week, Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina unveiled a concoction prepared with Artemisia, a plant with proven efficacy in malaria treatment.
    Rajoelina who sipped the dose said the herbal tea gives results within seven days adding that the product heals and is not harmful to the body, AfricaNews reported.
    According to Cameroonian naturapathic doctor, Anselme Kouam, a simple infusion of garlic or ginger, with some mint extract boiled in water, then poured into a bowl, would do the trick when one covers his head with a blanket, lowers his head and inhales the fumes.
    According to Kouam, this clears the airway and is effective against coronavirus though he confesses that he has not yet administered it to a Covid- 19 victim, the Daily Monitor newspaper reported.
    The Ministry of Health statistics indicate that Kenya has recorded 363 coronavirus cases, 14 deaths and 114 recoveries as of April 27.
    The Covid-19 disease which was first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019 has killed at least 207, 933 people with at least 3, 015, 298 infections and 888, 543 recoveries as of April 28 according to Worldometer’s count

  • Covid-19 Has Left Private Hospitals In Kenya Broke

    Covid-19 Has Left Private Hospitals In Kenya Broke

    By Abdi Mohammed

    Since March 13, 2020 when the first of Covid-19 case was confirmed in Kenya, the number of cases have risen to more than 350.

    A number of initiatives have been put in place to slow the spread of the virus. Schools, community gathering spaces like bars, gyms and golf clubs are all closed and workers advised to work from home.

    Public vehicles have reduced the number of people they can carry per trip. Kenyans have been ordered to put on masks whenever they leave their houses. In addition, five counties which so far bear the burden of the disease have been put under a partial lockdown.

    The government has put its focus in preventing the spread of the virus and building the capacity of the healthcare system to handle those who are or will get infected. In that regard, we applaud the president for taking the virus with the seriousness it deserves and protecting the lives of citizens.

    The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented global health and economic crises. All over the world, different countries have come up with different economic measures to help their citizens overcome the economic burden if they survive the virus.

    Our government has also introduced a number of measures to cushion the economy. However, in doing so, it forgot one important sector; private healthcare providers who account for more than 50 per cent of health service provision.

    Policymakers at the Ministry of Health and medical associations have advised providers and doctors to halt non-essential procedures in order to preserve vital supplies for fighting Covid-19. That advisory has had a negative impact on businesses. Elective procedures are the lifeblood of many hospitals and specialty clinics, but the scaling back has led some facilities to almost have no patients.

    Many owners of health facilities and doctors are now struggling to meet payroll and other expenses. The prices of medical consumables have in some cases increased by 1,000 per cent due to shortages and global demand.

    This means a direct increase on cost of doing business for hospitals. Although the government did the right thing to issue the advisory as we all take Covid-19 seriously, it is unfortunate that we don’t know how prevalent Covid-19 is and how long we should maintain the current status.

    Mental health

    The current preparedness and response is mainly geared towards Covid-19 and the health system preparedness. Non-communicable diseases, which include cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer and chronic lung diseases are forgotten and not part of the response.

    This can lead to an acute exacerbation or a life-threatening deterioration in the health of people with NCDs. Mental health needs are at the peak for both the healthcare workers and the general public.

    If the current status goes on for a few months without identifying specific facilities as Covid-19 centres and allowing the rest to continue with treatment and prevention of other diseases, we will have another crisis shortly.

    Before the Covid-19 outbreak in Kenya, many hospitals across the nation were already facing financial challenges. There has been a delay in payment by NHIF and other insurances which have forced most hospitals to operate from hand to mouth.

    The lull in patients and lost revenue from canceling elective surgeries may bankrupt most hospitals or force them to close. The same is happening in public hospitals, but luckily they are unlikely to close.

    The alternative is hospitals and doctors in the private sector laying off their medical staff at a time when we need them most. Most of these health providers face tough choices on whether to keep or send home their employees who will be badly needed when the pandemic reaches its peak.

    There are many other suppliers and companies that also depend on hospitals. These are pharmaceutical, food, transport, among others. Most hospitals in the private sector have less than 15 days cash on hand.

    As a hospital association, we appeal to the government to enforce pending bills settlement by NHIF and other insurances, which will improve hospitals’ financial status and allow them not lay off healthcare workers during this crisis.

    We are also appealing to be given grants as part of the economic stimulus and health system preparedness.

    We appeal for the easing of movement and resumption of elective and non-emergency clinics. This will not only avert another crisis of non-communicable diseases post Covid-19, but will give providers a lifeline to continue with their operations and be ready when the need arises.

    Dr Abdi is the chairman, Kenya Association of Private Hospitals

  • Third Donation From Jack Ma To Kenya And Africa Arrives

    Third Donation From Jack Ma To Kenya And Africa Arrives

    The third batch of donation for Africa made by Chinese billionaire philanthropist Jack Ma arrived in Ethiopia on Monday.

    The World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) assigned the Ethiopian Airlines Cargo and Logistics Service as a central supply hub to operate the international COVID-19 support supplies for Africa.

    Officials from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WFP, WHO and the Ethiopian government attended the handover of the donation, as the consignment was unloaded from a cargo aircraft of the Ethiopian Airlines.

    Fitsum Abadi, the head of the airline’s cargo and logistics service, said the third batch of materials included 61,000 kilograms (134,482 pounds) of face masks and protective gear as well as ventilators.

    “We will begin transporting the donation to 54 African countries beginning Tuesday,” he said.

    Keeping afloat

    Ethiopian Airlines has been one of the worst-hit airlines in Africa losing $550 to the COVID-19 onslaught.

    “Yes we have lost the amount to global travel restrictions owing to the spread of the virus,” Fitsum said, adding “our cargo and aircraft maintenance services, however, have been performing better.”

    According to him, 80% of the loss was incurred by the passenger service.

    “We have been lifting cargo of agriculture products from African countries to deliver them to destinations to Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East,” he said, adding the cargo aircraft were bringing into Africa industrial products from various countries.

    Responding to a question, Fitsum said “our cargo was doing its best to keep the airline afloat,” adding: but “we cannot say we are compensating for all the 80% of the loss incurred by our passenger service.”

    Africa so far recorded more than 1,400 deaths from the coronavirus, with nearly 32,000 cases.

  • Coronavirus Lingers in Air of Crowded Spaces, New Study Finds

    Coronavirus Lingers in Air of Crowded Spaces, New Study Finds

    The new coronavirus appears to linger in the air in crowded spaces or rooms that lack ventilation, researchers found in a study that buttresses the notion that Covid-19 can spread through tiny airborne particles known as aerosols.

    At two hospitals in Wuhan, China, researchers found bits of the virus’s genetic material floating in the air of hospital toilets, an indoor space housing large crowds, and rooms where medical staff take off protective gear. The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Research, didn’t seek to establish whether the airborne particles could cause infections.

    The question of how readily the new virus can spread through the air has been a matter of debate. The World Health Organization has said the risk is limited to specific circumstances, pointing to an analysis of more than 75,000 cases in China in which no airborne transmission was reported.

    But as the virus fans across the globe and infections near 3 million, scientists are trying to understand exactly how contamination occurs.

    People produce two types of droplets when they breathe, cough or talk. Larger ones drop to the ground before they evaporate, causing contamination mostly via the objects on which they settle. Smaller ones — those that make up aerosols — can hang in the air for hours.

    The researchers, led by Ke Lan of Wuhan University, set up so-called aerosol traps in and around two hospitals in the city that was home to the pandemic’s first steps.

    They found few aerosols in patient wards, supermarkets and residential buildings. Many more were detected in toilets and two areas that had large crowds passing through, including an indoor space near one of the hospitals.

    Especially high concentrations appeared in the rooms where medical staff doff protective equipment, which may suggest that particles contaminating their gear became airborne again when masks, gloves and gowns are removed.

    The findings highlight the importance of ventilation, limiting crowds and careful sanitation efforts, the researchers said.

  • Kagwe Fires Kenya’s Top Covid-19 Scientist Over Flimsiest Excuse

    Kagwe Fires Kenya’s Top Covid-19 Scientist Over Flimsiest Excuse

    A top scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) has been demoted for failing to provide COVID-19 sample results to the Health Ministry on time.

    According to local media Sunday, Dr. Joel Lutomiah has been asked to resume his role as a research scientist at the institute’s Center for Virus Research, where he was serving as director. He also served as chairman of the KEMRI Rapid Response team.

    Kenya’s Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe instructed KEMRI Director-General Yeri Kombe to remove Lutomiah from his position with immediate effect.

    According to the Daily Nation newspaper, a letter to Lutomiah on the delayed submission of COVID-19 results said that “You, therefore, have failed in your duty to honor a matter that is of very serious national importance. I hereby relieve you of your duties as the Director, Centre for Virus with immediate effect.”

    While announcing 12 more cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the national tally to 355, the Health Ministry defended Lutomiah’s dismissal, saying the move was due to how sensitive the matter is.

    Ministry of Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman told a nationally televised media briefing that “whatever decisions that were made were in line with streamlining and improving the coordination of test results being received in good time.”

    Doctor Lutomiah has over 40 years’ experience in entomology, parasitology, pandemic influenza and arbovirology.

    Kenya has recorded 14 deaths and 106 recoveries so far from the coronavirus.

    After originating in Wuhan, China last December, the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions, with Europe and the US currently the worst-hit.

    The pandemic has killed more than 206,000 people worldwide, with the number of cases totaling over 2.9 million and more than 864,000 recoveries, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

  • RwandAir Slashes Salaries Of Lowest Earners By 8% And 65% For Top Earners

    RwandAir Slashes Salaries Of Lowest Earners By 8% And 65% For Top Earners

    Rwanda’s RwandAir will cut the salaries of its lowest paid employees by 8% and by 65% for its top earners as it seeks to survive the coronavirus crisis, an internal memo seen by Reuters on Sunday showed.

    The carrier, which flies a fleet of 12 Boeing and Airbus planes to 29 destinations across three continents, has been one of the rising stars in Africa.

    In February, Qatar Airways said it was in talks to buy a 49% stake in the airline.

    “We considered several other alternatives and the choice we made is the best option at this time,” RwandAir’s management wrote in the memo, which two employees told Reuters they have received.

    The management of the young airline, which is owned by the government and has not yet made a profit, could not be reached immediately for comment.

    Airlines around the world have been forced to ground their planes after governments imposed travel restrictions and closed borders to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Air Mauritius said this week that it has entered voluntary administration due to the crisis, joining Virgin Australia and South Africa Airways who have called in administrators.

  • Oxford Scientists Makes Clear Their Plan To Try Covid-19 Vaccine In Kenya

    Oxford Scientists Makes Clear Their Plan To Try Covid-19 Vaccine In Kenya

    University of Oxford researchers have begun testing a COVID-19 vaccine in human volunteers in Oxford today. Around 1,110 people will take part in the trial, half receiving the vaccine and the other half (the control group) receiving a widely available meningitis vaccine.

    Of the first two volunteers to take part today, one will likewise receive the vaccine and the other the control.

    The researchers started screening healthy volunteers (aged 18-55) in March for their upcoming ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine trial in the Thames Valley Region. The vaccine is based on an adenovirus vaccine vector and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and has been produced in Oxford.

    The Oxford Vaccine Centre COVID-19 Phase I Clinical Trial Explained

    The study is to test a new vaccine against COVID-19 in healthy volunteers.

    It aims to assess whether healthy people can be protected from COVID-19 with this new vaccine called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. It will also provide valuable information on safety aspects of the vaccine and its ability to generate good immune responses against the virus.

    What is the vaccine being tested?

    ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is made from a virus (ChAdOx1), which is a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees, that has been genetically changed so that it is impossible for it to grow in humans.

    Genetic material has been added to the ChAdOx1 construct, that is used to make proteins from the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) called Spike glycoprotein (S). This protein is usually found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 and plays an essential role in the infection pathway of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus uses its spike protein to bind to ACE2 receptors on human cells to gain entry to the cells and cause an infection.

    By vaccinating with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, we are hoping to make the body recognise and develop an immune response to the Spike protein that will help stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering human cells and therefore prevent infection.

    Vaccines made from the ChAdOx1 virus have been given to more than 320 people to date and have been shown to be safe and well tolerated, although they can cause temporary side effects, such as a temperature, headache or sore arm.

    What does the study involve?

    Up to 1102 participants will be recruited across multiple study sites in Oxford, Southampton, London and Bristol. These participants will be randomly allocated to receive either the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or a licensed vaccine (MenACWY) that will be used as a ‘control’ for comparison.

    At the start of the trial we will also recruit a separate small group of 10 volunteers who will receive 2 doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 four weeks apart.

    What is the MenACWY vaccine?

    The MenACWY vaccine is a licensed vaccine against group A, C, W and Y meningococcus which has been given routinely to teenagers in the UK since 2015 and protects against one of the most common causes of meningitis and sepsis. This vaccine is also given as a travel vaccine for high risk countries.

    The MenACWY vaccine is being used as an ‘active control’ vaccine in this study, to help us understand participants’ response to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. The reason for using this vaccine, rather than a saline control, is because we expect to see some minor side effects from the ChAdOx1 nCOV-19 vaccine such as a sore arm, headache and fever. Saline does not cause any of these side effects. If participants were to receive only this vaccine or a saline control, and went on to develop side effects, they would be aware that they had received the new vaccine. It is critical for this study that participants remain blinded to whether or not they have received the vaccine, as, if they knew, this could affect their health behaviour in the community following vaccination, and may lead to a bias in the results of the study.

    Who can take part in the study?

    Participants must: Be aged 18-55 years old, be in good health, and be based in one of the recruiting areas.

    Participants must NOT: Have tested positive for COVID-19, be pregnant, intending to become pregnant, or breastfeeding during the study, or have previously taken part in a trial with an adenoviral vaccine or received any other coronavirus vaccines.

    How will the trial work?

    The main focus of the study is to find out if this vaccine is going to work against COVID-19, if it won’t cause unacceptable side effects and if it induces good immune responses. The dose used in this trial was chosen based on previous experiences with other ChAdOx1 based vaccines.

    Study participants will not know whether they have received the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine until the end of the trial.

    The first few days of vaccinations will be planned as follows:
    Day 1:
    The first two participants will be vaccinated, one with the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine and one with the control vaccine.
    Participants monitored for 48 hours.

    Day 3:
    A further six participants will be vaccinated, three with the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine and three with the control vaccine.
    Participants monitored for 48 hours.

    Day 5:
    Progress to vaccinating larger numbers of participants.

    What about after the vaccination?

    Participants will be given an E-diary to record any symptoms experienced for 7 days after receiving the vaccine. They will also record if they feel unwell for the following three weeks.

    Following vaccination, participants will attend a series of follow-up visits. During these visits, the team will check participants’ observations, take a blood sample and review the competed E-diary. These blood samples will be used to assess the immune response to the vaccine.

    If participants develop COVID-19 symptoms during the study, they can contact a member of the clinical team, and we will assess them to check whether they have become infected with the virus. If a participant was very unwell, we would call our colleagues in the hospital and ask them to review the volunteer if appropriate.

    When will the results be available?

    To assess whether the vaccine works to protect from COVID-19, the statisticians in our team will compare the number of infections in the control group with the number of infections in the vaccinated group. For this purpose, it is necessary for a small number of study participants to develop COVID-19. How quickly we reach the numbers required will depend on the levels of virus transmission in the community. If transmission remains high, we may get enough data in a couple of months to see if the vaccine works, but if transmission levels drop, this could take up to 6 months.

    What if it doesn’t work?

    A high proportion of vaccines are found not to be promising even before clinical trials. Moreover, a significant proportion of vaccines that are tested in clinical trials don’t work. If we are unable to show that the vaccine is protective against the virus, we would review progress, examine alternative approaches, such as using different numbers of doses, and would potentially stop the programme.

    What are the next steps?

    We plan to vaccinate 800 volunteers in the UK over the next month. If the trial is successful in the UK, then the Oxford team will approach scientists in the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and will approach the Government of Kenya for permission to evaluate in Kenya.

    Article was originally published by Oxford University.

  • President Orders Private Jet To Fly Home Covid-19 Infected Citizen Home After Being Denied Treatment

    President Orders Private Jet To Fly Home Covid-19 Infected Citizen Home After Being Denied Treatment

    Turkey on Sunday brought home one of its citizens from Sweden who contracted coronavirus but was not given treatment.

    A Turkish air ambulance left Malmo Airport at 9 a.m. local time (0700GMT) and arrived at the Ankara Esenboga Airport at 1:30 p.m. local time (1030GMT).

    After routine health checks, the patient Emrullah Gulusken and his three children were taken to Ankara Sehir Hospital.

    In Malmo, Sweden, Gulusken tested positive for COVID-19 but was denied treatment by authorities. His daughters Leyla and Samira shared posts on social media, asking for help.

    Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca took swift action, and brought the family back.

    “A daughter did something that would be an example to all. Our country took very swift action. Our ambulance aircraft brought the patient from Sweden this morning,” Koca wrote on Twitter.

    “Dear Leyla [daughter of Gulusken], we have cured over 25,000 patients, Emrullah Gulusken will recover as well,” he said.

    Daughters of the Turkish expat thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Health Minister Koca for their initiative.

    After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 185 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

    While billions of people are under containment to slow the spread of the virus, few countries including Spain and Austria have started easing the restrictions.

  • More Than 2.9M People Have Been Infected With Covid-19 Worldwide

    More Than 2.9M People Have Been Infected With Covid-19 Worldwide

    Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world, with about 2.9 million confirmed cases in 185 countries as of Sunday afternoon, according to a running tally by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

    The university’s data showed that the number of virus-linked deaths reached 203,332, while the number of people who recovered stands at 824,002.

    A total of 2,900,422 cases are recorded worldwide, and the US is the hardest-hit with the highest number of infections and deaths — more than 939,200 and nearly 54,000, respectively.

    While Italy has the second-highest death toll with 26,384, Spain has the second-highest cases — over 223,700.

    The virus was first detected in Wuhan, China late last year.

    Despite the rising number of cases, most who contract the virus suffer mild symptoms before making a recovery.

  • Over 1 Million People Could Be Having Covid-19 In Kenya Now, A Doctor Says

    Over 1 Million People Could Be Having Covid-19 In Kenya Now, A Doctor Says

    By Dr.Samson Misango

    For those people who love numbers about Coronaviruses, listen up.

    In the last 24hrs, 15 samples in Kenya out of 545 that were tested turned positive. Bringing the total to 296 OF THE PEOPLE TESTED.

    296 is not the number of cases in Kenya, but the number of positive samples out of the total tested. Anyone trying to use these figures to explain some Epidemiological trends is a liar..

    There is no curve from those figures…

    The testing is currently targeted at quarantined and suspected people, not the general population.

    Quarantine was initially meant for suspected persons, but due to the clumsiness and dumb foolery of our security agencies enforcing stupid Curfew and lockdown measures, in cahoots with some misguided medics, quarantine is now a detention without trial site for any citizen who rubs the security agencies the wrong way.

    That means, quarantine is now a reflection of the general population who are trying to have a normal life.

    Back to the above figures…for those people who are looking at figures. Let me scare you, then I will unscare you.

    15 out of 545 translates to 2.75%. Since Quarantine is now just a general place for any common petty offender, the 2.75% is the concentration of Covid 19 in Kenya.

    By extrapolation, in Nairobi with a population of 4.4 million, 2.75% are Covid 19 positive ie 121,000.

    Mombasa, with a population of 1.2 million, 2.75% are Covid 19 positive ie 33,000.

    Kiambu with a population of 2.4 million, 66,000 are positive..

    Nakuru with a population of 2.2 million, 60,500 are positive.

    Kakamega with a population of 1.9 million, 52,250 are positive.

    Kenya, with our 48 million population, 2.75% are Covid-19 positive, ie. 1,320,000.

    Are the figures scary…?…yes..because you have been blinded by our reaction to the confirmed positive cases.

    Where are all these people above?

    Living with us. YES… WITH US! Mostly in very good health.

    Someone wants you to believe that we will Quarantine all the cases as we diagnose them…it is a logistical impossibility…

    It is a waste of our resources, just like huduma namba, BBI and many other nonsensical things we like engaging our energy on.

    We will never test them all and they will keep increasing and spreading the virus as others recover, but the antibody test results will one day tell the whole story.

    What’s my point?

    By the above extrapolations, our current testing is not telling us anything because we will keep on detecting more and more people and it is not going to change anything. Apart from stigmatizing positive cases.

    THERE IS NO CURVE WE ARE FLATTENING.

    Coronavirus is with us….2.75% as of today and increasing, but WAIT….we are not dropping dead from it.

    IT IS a highly Infectious BUT MILD DISEASE….and we will transmit it in perpetuity.

    The press statements can go on for the rest of the year but we will never reach our real infection levels…we will always have new confirmed cases as long as we do more testing.

    We can choose if we want to go on with this national circus of announcing the new confirmed cases for the rest of our lives or go back to our normal lives and accept that it is with us and we are living with it.

    We have so many other more important matters to occupy our resources on. And those matters are being worsened by our bizzare fixation with this virus.

    We do not need this merry go round with no end in site. If you doubt me, ask anyone in authority “what’s the end game?”

    You will most likely be met by the answer “the next two weeks will be critical in our fight”.

    DO NOT STIGMATIZE COVID-19 POSITIVE people. Most are not even having symptoms! You must have seen that viral video of the quarantined driver lamenting about being well.

    Let no one scare you with new numbers,. Unless they tell you that they have confirmed 1,320,000 people tomorrow…we are chasing ghosts.

    Lockdowns are at best a waste of time and at worst an economic, medical and social catastrophe….they will not change what is already here. The horses left the stable months ago and are happily grazing in the fields.

    Leave the doors open.

    Practice good basic hygiene to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

    CONTINUES…

    The true extent of the prevalence of this mild but highly infectious disease will be exposed soon. It is just a matter of time.

    Antibody testing shows over 4% of this US community has had the infection. About (get this) 55 times more positive cases than previously confirmed!!

    Many without even knowing so….long before the press and politicians started getting hysterical about the infection and began spreading panic, fear and alarm for reasons best known to themselves.

    Lazy intellectuals on my wall are bursting their piles when I suggest that we may have over 2% infection rates in our country…already spread out…based on the positive rates in our quarantines (which are not really quarantines but general detention camps without trial)

    The lazy intellectuals have had over 6 weeks and nearly 300 patients at their disposal to describe to us about the Covid-19 in our population but they will instead wait to react to any write up that does not support their fear mongering…or to quote some mzungu who will.

    Fact: Mandera now has Covid positive tests because Amref facilitated testing for them. They have positive numbers because they have had testing done, not because they are a hot spot….I challenge anyone with contrally information to declare so. And as a reward to Mandera county for their testing efforts, they are now on lockdown…?…

    This is so surreal…you can’t make these stuff up.

    I wonder how people in Amref now feel..?

    Fact: The more testing we do, the more positives we will get, in whichever county…there is no curve to flatten.

    Then someone will suggest that we close that county because of increased numbers …wah!

    You really can’t make these stuff up…

    Rushing to close stable doors after the horses already bolted…why?

    Maybe to justify the Ksh40 billion that have been “spent” and keep the circus in town, or maybe just being plain incompetent, or maybe both.

    Whatever the reason, let us not stigmatize Covid positive patients or punish counties with aggressive testing..

    There is no curve to flatten…let us live with this mild virus.

    Stop spreading fear, panic and alarm.

    Practice good basic hygiene to stop the spread of infectious diseases.

  • Dr. Misango: Lockdown In African Countries In This Coronavirus Pandemic Is A Stupid Idea

    Dr. Misango: Lockdown In African Countries In This Coronavirus Pandemic Is A Stupid Idea

    By Dr. Sam Misango

    I want to dispel this myth about containment of a disease in the developing world, specifically Sub-Saharan African States.
    This applies to matters pandemic and Covid-19, because this is where we are.

    In very simple language, the management of pandemics goes through different stages, facilitated and generously financed by the World Health Organisation (WHO)

    1. The existence of a national pandemic disaster management plan
    2. Pandemic Disease Onset Surveillance System
    3. Activation of Containment mechanisms for infected and suspected persons/animals
    4. Prevention of infection among the well members of the population
    5. Treatment and disease mitigation for the infected and affected persons
    6. Post pandemic assessment and lessons learnt
    7. Preparation for the next surge or next pandemic

    Most African countries that are WHO affiliated have a national pandemic disaster management plan (on paper) which can be tweaked to handle any sub type of disaster.

    The disaster management plan is activated by an efficient surveillance system that should pick the earliest occurrence of an infection in the community. Operative term here is efficient surveillance system (eg in Cuba primary health care system)

    The containment restricts the initial infection to the focus point of origin, or to multiple foci points of origin, to prevent its spread and enable the management system to study the characteristics of the new disease, and prepare or tweak the system to deal with the anticipated increasing numbers of the infection.

    The containment is usually not sustainable beyond 2 months since the social economic side effects of the containment measures have to be weighed against the benefits of preventing the spread of the disease which eventuallly reaches its peak of new infections then decline.

    New cases will continue erupting inspite of strict containment measures because they are as a combined result of multiple origin foci and spread by previously infected persons. The system characterizes new cases by aggressive screening and categorizing them into mild, moderate or severe and critical illnesses.

    When the system is efficient and can pick out new cases as they arise, it can show how new cases are increasing even in containment and eventually peak then drop off as a graph, with or without treatment/mitigating measures.

    That is why containment helps in flattening the curve…of new cases.

    When the system reacts after the virus has been in circulation for an unknown period of time, containment is a stupid reaction because what is being picked out by screening are new and existing cases in a pandemic that has most likely blown itself away.

    This has already happened in Africa. The pandemic has blown over and we did not even notice it. Our reaction to the pandemic is however what will be remembered..How we hysterically closed and locked the stable doors after the horses had already bolted.

    THERE IS NO CURVE TO FLATTEN!

    This is the reason why I repeat..lockdown in African countries in this pandemic is a stupid idea.

    Containment measures will only become useful once we have efficient surveillance systems to pick out new cases that signify the beginning of a pandemic.

    What we should be doing now is concentrate at point 6 and 7.

    We cannot pretend to be at any curve of increasing new cases. We will continue picking existing cases as we test more people.This pandemic blew over already. The lockdowns and preparedness of facilities for Covid-19 patients are a waste of our time and just a justification to spend money.

    They already recovered or died of other diseases.

    We should be doing extensive community testing to find out just how much the virus is part of our system, the impact it has had on our demographics, whether we have sufficient herd immunity or not and prepare ourselves for the next pandemic, not the same one but a different one. We cannot pretend to prepare for the next surge of this pandemic when we did not even notice the primary one ?

    We went over the curve many weeks, probably many months ago.

    Those still waiting for people to drop dead with Coronaviruses in Africa will have to find other ways of killing us then get a post mortem diagnosis of Covid-19.

    The virus is with us and we will live with it. In perpetuity. Do not stigmatize people living with it after testing positive.

    Open up the country because we are not achieving anything more with curfews, lockdowns and social distancing at this phase of the pandemic. Creating a mountain out of a mole hill for a crisis that isn’t there.

    Those politicians, self proclaimed political analysts and alarmists advising the president not to open schools and the country are misleading the president. We have other more important issues that are affecting our people that need to be attended to. He should lead like Magufuli and Nana Akufo-Addo.

    Don’t talk to me about China, Italy, Spain, Germany, USA etc….

    Talk to me about Africa, and this pandemic in Africa.

    The cure or attempt at cure should not be worse than the disease.

    Stay healthy. Observe good basic hygiene to stop the spread of infectious diseases.

    The Writer is a senior surgeon and urologist.

  • Covid-19: Separating Facts From Fictions

    Covid-19: Separating Facts From Fictions

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s musings about whether disinfectants and ultraviolet light can be inserted into patients’ bodies to treat COVID-19 have alarmed doctors and drawn warnings from the makers of Lysol, Dettol and Clorox.

    Here are some other claims that have circulated about how to treat COVID-19 or stop the transmission of the new coronavirus, and the facts according to doctors and health experts:

    TREATMENT

    Fiction: Disinfectant injected into people infected with the new coronavirus could help clear COVID-19, the disease it causes.

    Fact: Drinking or injecting bleach or other disinfectants is extremely dangerous and could result in death.

    Fiction: Ultraviolet light inserted into the body could help kill the virus and speed recovery.

    Fact: While UV light is known to kill viruses contained in droplets in the air, doctors say there is no way it could be introduced into the human body to target cells infected with COVID-19.

    Fiction: Antibiotics can prevent and treat the new coronavirus.

    Fact: Antibiotics do not work against viruses, only bacteria. They will not prevent or treat infection with the new coronavirus.

    There are currently no specific proven medicines for COVID-19 infection, but those infected can relieve and treat mild symptoms with over-the-counter fever-reducing medicines such as acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol, and aspirin.

    TRANSMISSION

    Fiction: The new coronavirus can be spread by mosquito bites and in Chinese food.

    Fact: No. The new coronavirus is a respiratory virus that spreads primarily via droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or breathes out, or through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose.

    PROTECTION

    Fiction: Regularly rinsing your nose with saline can prevent infection with COVID-19.

    Fact: There is no evidence that regularly rinsing the nose with saline has protected people. There is some weak evidence that the practice can help some people recover more quickly from the common cold, but it does not prevent respiratory infections.

    Fiction: Some social media posts suggest that spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body can protect against COVID-19 infection, or that gargling bleach or drinking excessive amounts of water can somehow “flush it out.”

    Fact: There is no evidence to back these claims.

    Good hygiene practices including frequent hand washing and avoiding close social contact can help reduce the risk of infection.

    Fiction: Hand dryers are effective in killing the new coronavirus.

    Fact: No. Hand dryers are not effective against COVID-19, but frequently cleaning your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub, or washing them with soap and water, is. Clean hands should be dried thoroughly with a clean towel or air dryer.

    Fiction: Cold weather, hot weather, snow, eating garlic or taking a hot bath have also been suggested as ways people can prevent themselves from becoming infected.

    Fact: There is no evidence behind these claims and no evidence as yet to suggest that COVID-19 will be affected by weather or the seasons.

    The best way to protect yourself is by washing your hands frequently and avoiding contact with anyone who might be infected. This way, you can eliminate viruses that may be on your hands and avoid infection that might occur by touching your eyes, mouth and nose.

  • Covid-19: The Shackled Wanjiku

    Covid-19: The Shackled Wanjiku

    By Jobless Mjamaa George.

    The hovering tension and fear in the atmosphere pushes me to shout out from my hibernating shell, not about only the do’s and don’ts of the government, but welcoming and accommodating the massive numbers joining the jobless world. Perturbed by what the future holds, staring down the barrel months without pay with no one to address makes me wonder if are we in a people centered government or a government of self aggrandized individuals.

    With respect to the greatest pandemic of the century, we have future outcomes at hand based on how we respond to the economic aftermath. I do pray for the president during his sleepless nights as apart from it taking life’s and disruptingmarkets, it’s a measure of competence in the governments relative success to combat virus and its economic effects. This isthe nitty gritty of his legacy.

    I take a visit to the future and one thing that is crystal clear is that business is not as usual, the daily tenet of mankind will be completely different and the consequences we can only begin to imagine today.

    A pot of corona, inadequate planning and incompetent leadership has placed Wanjiku on a new and worrisome path doubting thevalues and virtues of the harambee philosophy and the subsequent philosophies put forth by former President Kibaki and of course the moribund Big Four Agenda of the current regime.

    The barbaric approach to social welfare could be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back, end game to too much public relation.

    From an economic perspective, it’s win or lose:

    Holistic thinking, what we need is a different economic mindset. Cushioning Kenya via a collective approach, being able to marshal the resources to protect the core functions of economy and society. Prioritizing the protection of life and wellbeing will reduce the atmosphere of hopelessness and fear surrounding Wanjiku. Protecting parts of the economy that are essential to life: the production of food, energy and shelter for instance, so that the basic provisions of life are no longer subject to the whims of the market. A shift from the principle that people have to work in order to earn a living, to a move towards the idea that people deserve to be able to live even if they are unable to work. These will eventually lead to a more humane system that leaves us more resilient in the face of future pandemics and other impending crises.

    The losing part is descending into barbarism, afact scenario we don’t want to here. We have ushered a bigger number to the joblessbench, the markets are affected and Wanjiku is left with two beasts, corona and hunger, an outcome situation that we have not yet seen. Barbarism is ultimately an unstable state that ends in ruin after a period of social devastation. The affected sectors layoff workers, businesses fail and workers starve because there are no mechanisms in place to protect them from the harsh realities of the market. Not to mention the overwhelmed hospitals, is Wanjiku guaranteed of proper health service?

    The pandemic is peaking and the worst to come won’t be an accident but ignorance, the desperate Wanjiku is a catalyst to the widespread virus a factor that needs to be addressed. When we get to the face of widespread illness, support might be offered to businesses and households, but if this isn’t enough to prevent market collapse, chaos would ensue. Hospitals might be sent extra funds, but overwhelmed, those who need treatment will be turned away in large numbers and left to die. The subsequent failure of the economy and society would trigger political instability and unrest leading to a failed state and the collapse of both state and community welfare systems.

  • Will COVID-19 Be the End of Africans in Guangzhou? I Think So, and This Is Why

    Will COVID-19 Be the End of Africans in Guangzhou? I Think So, and This Is Why

    Migration to China will never be the same after COVID-19. The health crisis and its consequences will severely impact on local, translocal, and transnational forms of migration. Once COVID-19 ceases to be a threat, foreigners in China will face a new regime of mobility characterized by artificial intelligence-based surveillance technologies.

    In a post-pandemic China, there will be little or no room for the irregular forms of migration, mobility, and abode that have made possible the existence of thriving African communities in the Pearl River Delta region.

    Is this the end of African migration to China as we know it?

    Will COVID-19 fundamentally change the ways in which we think about migration and mobility in the PRC, and in the world at large?

    I think so.

    As it is now well known, over the last fortnight, an ongoing number of incidents have emerged through social media where black people have been mistreated, persecuted, evicted from their houses and hotel rooms (without prior notice which has effectively left many of them homeless and denied entrance into commercial venues (such as restaurants) in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

    These incidents were triggered by Guangzhou’s local government decision to implement a strict surveillance and testing program and impose a 14-day quarantine on all African nationals, regardless of travel history or testing results.

    These measures were supposed to prevent a potential outbreak in this foreign community. However, they got out of control.

    The deluge of evidence shared through social media prompted a strong, and unprecedented response in Africa, where many governments summoned Chinese ambassadors to answer for the incidents.

    A great deal of the indignation on the African side was compounded by the fact that many in the continent saw Africa’s role in the early days of the pandemic as strongly supportive of China.

    So, the images of black people sleeping under bridges, families with children being evicted from their legally rented places of abode, as well as entrance and service denial to blacks, were seen by many not only as a form of Chinese racism but, perhaps more importantly, as a Chinese betrayal of African solidarity in these difficult times.

    Africa’s strong diplomatic response forced China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the issue.

    Unsurprisingly, China’s response was to deflect and spin the narrative as yet another situation distorted by Western media and fake news, and to point out that China does not discriminate against any foreigners.

    A crucial element in the attempt to spin the narrative has been to emphasize a couple of COVID-19 related incidents: the first around a Nigerian patient who after testing positive for the virus attempted to escape confinement and violently attacked medical personnel.

    The second incident relates to a group of Nigerians who, while infected, were roaming around the city and patronizing restaurants and shopping centers.

    These cases have effectively been used to shift the blame onto the African population for not abiding by the rules.

    COVID-19 may well mark the entrance to a new stage in the process of the construction of a global architecture of control and surveillance. African overstayers and the thriving commercial sectors in which they insert themselves may be among the first ‘victims’ of the new normal in China.

    For the last two decades, Guangzhou has been at the forefront of the African presence in China. Due to the overwhelming presence of foreigners, the city’s foreign population management capabilities have been put to a test. This has often resulted in tensions between foreign communities (mostly West African who often report harassment and discrimination) and local police; and between local, provincial, and national policymakers (while Beijing grants thousands of entry permits to African nationals for diverse political reasons, Guangdong’s authorities feel that they are the ones who have to deal with the urban impacts of Beijing’s policies in relation to African nationals).

    The practical implication of this governance disjuncture is that, throughout the last decade, the city of Guangzhou has seen a sharp rise in the numbers of foreigners that overstay their visas.

    In 2014, in the context of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and to allay fears of a potential spread in China, Guangzhou’s government reported that some 16,000 Africans were legally residing in the city. Last week, in the midst of the controversy, local authorities reported that the whole African population, consisting of some 4,500 individuals, had been tested. A sharp decline in the population in only six years. However, these figures describe the legal residents, not the overstayers. It is well known that visa overstayers (mostly West Africans) account for a significant portion of the African population in the city.

    A great deal of the intense commercial activity that takes place between Guangzhou and places like Addis Ababa, Mombasa or Lagos is organized by them. As in many other parts of the world, one of the paths that these overstayers take is that of hiding (or ‘losing’) their passports. By doing so, they ‘voluntarily’ become undocumented, and effectively set themselves down a highly precarious path where the main aim is to be untraceable if caught overstaying.

    Untraceability, however, does not bode well in a pandemics scenario where asymptomatic individuals shed the virus, and where one of the main strategies is to ‘test and trace’ in order to mitigate.

    Accordingly, Guangzhou’s longstanding overstayer population is cast in a new light under COVID-19. Local authorities not only fear an outbreak among the city’s foreign communities (especially amongst a group of foreigners without clear, stable and documented identities) but also a central government crackdown/purge on them (the local authorities) were Guangzhou’s foreign community to become a virus hotbed. The impossibility of fully managing and/or controlling the overstayer population exacerbates these pandemic-related fears and anxieties.

    [Technology, surveillance and foreign mobility in post-pandemic China] COVID-19 is proving to be a landmark in terms of the relation between technology, mass surveillance and mobility control in the country. From the use of robots and drones to facial recognition and multiple apps, one of the most widely reported aspects of the Chinese response to the outbreak has been the country’s reliance on technology and artificial intelligence.

    At this point, it is impossible to ascertain for just how long we will live with COVID-19. It is not unthinkable that special mobility measures could remain in place even after COVID-19 ceases to be a threat. In a post-pandemics China, undocumented individuals will have a hard time trying to circumvent these new technological hurdles.

    For example, without a legal abode, it is impossible for foreigners to apply for Alipay Health Code, a system that assigns a color code to users indicating their health status, and determining their access to public spaces such as malls, subways, and airports. This is having a significant impact on the forms of mobility that are allowed, and the ones that are disallowed, in the country.

    In the past, foreign migration in the country was driven by the traditional logics of trade (e.g. commercial migrants) and, for those with illegal status, a cat-mouse circumvention game. In the near future, the new regime of foreign mobility in China will be a post-pandemic one driven by rationales of crisis and emergency.

    Fear and anxiety will be the logic of this regime, which will be compounded by surveillance through technology. Indeed, it will be almost impossible to be an undocumented or sans papiers individual in this context. The invisibility and untraceability often associated with undocumented individuals will be regarded by authorities as ‘high-risk’ in the new massive surveillance program in place in China.

    COVID-19 may well mark the entrance to a new stage in the process of the construction of a global architecture of control and surveillance. African overstayers and the thriving commercial sectors in which they insert themselves may be among the first ‘victims’ of the new normal in China.

    Indeed, this may well be the end of traditional forms of irregular abode, at least in China. COVID-19 may, or may not, be the end of migration as we understood it since the early 20c, but it may well be the last nail in the coffin of an already declining African population in GZ.

  • DHL Launches Dedicated Freight Service to Africa From China

    DHL Launches Dedicated Freight Service to Africa From China

    DHL Global Forwarding has launched a dedicated 100-tonne weekly air freight service for organizations and governments shipping goods from China to Africa and the Middle East.

    Capitalizing on Dubai’s strategic geographical location as the gateway to countries in the region, DHL will consolidate cargo from across China into Guangzhou and air freight them via Dubai to their various destinations across Africa and the Middle East, all within two or three days.

    “DHL Global Forwarding is bolstering logistics support to our customers in the region who need to ensure stable supply chains, especially for medical and critical supplies during this critical period,” says Amadou Diallo, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Middle East and Africa.

    “With multiple flight cancellations that have strained worldwide air freight capacity, we remain committed to leveraging our capabilities, global network and customized solutions to ensure that goods and critical resources continue to reach people and communities in Africa and the Middle East.”

    Dubai plays a key role as a gateway between China and the rest of Africa and the Middle East. Africa is Dubai’s third-largest trading partner in volume terms and Africa’s non-oil trade with Dubai has been growing steadily over the last decade, accounting for 10.5% of the emirate’s total non-oil foreign trade in 2018.

    Named after the Nguni Bantu word, ubuntu (“humanity”) used across Africa to refer to the universal bond of sharing, UbuntuConnect refers to the China-Africa lane where the bulk of the cargo is expected to comprise of personal protective gear such as masks, gloves, hand sanitisers and goggles. Equally, part of the cargo will head to other countries in the Middle East to plug the demand gap there.

    Whilst the secured uplift from China will be in operation for four weeks, DHL Global Forwarding is actively seeking to secure routes to all of Africa and boost capacity to the Middle East and Africa in the longer term.

  • Conspiracies About 5G and the Coronavirus Are Absolute Nonsense

    Conspiracies About 5G and the Coronavirus Are Absolute Nonsense

    A conspiracy theory suggesting the coronavirus is tied to the spread of 5G cellular communications technology has spread across the internet with the help of social media accounts ranging from small-time wellness influencers all the way to A-list celebrities like Woody Harrelson.

    The claim is a remixed version of existing conspiracy theories about 5G that have been spreading in fringe circles, suggesting it causes cancer and other ailments. And, even compared to most conspiracy theories, the notion makes no sense.

    Conspiracies often rely on mysterious, but obviously false, premises that are very difficult to fully disprove. QAnon conspiracy theorists, 9/11 truthers, and chemtrail people push hidden government plots that are so classified that normal people wouldn’t be able to verify or disprove them. Anti-vaxxers shroud their theories in convoluted pseudoscience that can be difficult to parse.

    Coronavirus conspiracies about 5G, though, don’t even add up in the face of simple, widespread or easily learned knowledge about the virus or the technology.

    Normal cell towers that broadcast out previous generations of mobile data, like 4G and 3G, sent their signal for miles in each direction. Frequencies for 5G are disseminated through “small cells,” which are little boxes that can be placed on street lights and other utility polls. The small cells usually spread signals no more than a mile and a half, and often up to a range of just several blocks. Given that 5G has only been rolled out in certain places, if such digital broadband signals were a cause of the coronavirus, there’d be block by block hotspots of outbreaks that left other parts of cities totally unscathed. The majority of the country without any 5G would have no cases at all.

    Unsurprisingly, it’s not working out like that. Cities in the U.S. that don’t yet have any 5G have still seen COVID-19 infections. El Paso, Texas doesn’t have 5G yet, but still has 531 recorded cases, according to numbers compiled by the New York Times—that’s over seven times more than nearby Las Cruces, New Mexico, which does have 5G. Maine’s Cumberland County, home to Portland, doesn’t yet have 5G either but has almost 400 recorded cases.

    The rollout of and spread of 5G can be so targeted that it’s likely that entire communities, even in cities that already have the technology, may never gain access. Cellular industry analysts predict that telecom providers will not end up deploying the protocols in poor communities with lower broadband demand, similar to how the companies have already digitally redlined poor communities, even in dense urban areas, with poor broadband infrastructure.

    So if 5G were causing coronavirus, it would be sparing the most vulnerable, who are concentrated in places where 5G coverage is more limited or still nonexistent. But it’s not: the virus has hit poor communities of color harder than other groups in the U.S.

    Doug Brake, the director of broadband and spectrum policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington think tank explained that if there was any link between the two, maps of coronavirus outbreaks would correspond tightly with maps of 5G coverage. They don’t, and where there is overlap, it’s simply because dense, highly populated cities are both the kind of places where the virus spreads easily and where 5G has first been adopted.

    When you look internationally, the theory gets even more harebrained. “It’s a global pandemic. It’s in all sorts of countries where 5G hasn’t been rolled out. It’s a tenuous claim in the first place,” Brake says.

    Iran, one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus, has not even implemented 5G yet, and doesn’t have plans to until 2021, according to state media. India, which has also seen outbreaks, doesn’t have widespread 5G coverage yet. On the other hand, South Korea, which has managed to contain its outbreaks, has already implemented 5G.

    Regardless of all this easily accessible information, which isn’t shrouded in secrecy or difficult to understand science, conspiracies about mobile broadband frequency continue to spread—with no clear end in sight.