London, March 1, 2021 (AltAfrica)-French authorities have granted temporary approval of a monoclonal -synthetic antibody treatment for Covid patients at risk of developing severe forms of the disease. The therapy, which uses laboratory-made proteins to mimic the immune system’s defences, is the first of its kind to be authorised in France.  Health Minister Olivier Véran said France had already received thousands ...

London, Jan. 11, 2021 (AltAfrica)-Africa passed the milestone of 3 million confirmed cases COVID-19 on Sunday, including more than 72,000 deaths, according to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. eople. The high proportion of cases in South Africa, could be because the country carries out more tests than many other African countries. READ ...

London, Dec. 17, 2020 (AltAfrica)-French President Emmanuel Macron became the latest head of state to test positive for coronavirus on Thursday, forcing several other European leaders into quarantine as the continent struggles with a winter surge in infections. With Europe now approaching 500,000 deaths since Covid-19 first emerged a year ago, the EU has pledged ...

London, Oct. 27, 2020 (AltAfrica)-More than 30 African countries reached out to Russia to ask for assistance in tackling coronavirus outbreaks, Andrei Kemarsky, an official said. Kemarsky, who is Head of the Department of Africa at the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. READ ALSO: VACCINE MAY BE NEEDED TWICE AS RESEARCH FOUND ANTIBODIES ‘FALL ...

London, Oct. 12, 2020 (AltAfrica)-The virus responsible for Covid-19 can remain infectious on surfaces such as banknotes, phone screens and stainless steel for 28 days, researchers say. The findings from Australia’s national science agency suggest SARS-Cov-2 can survive for far longer than thought. READ ALSO: CAMBODIAN FARMERS DEPLOY SCARECROWS TO WARD OFF CORONAVIRUS However, the ...

London, August 25, 2020 (AltAfrica)-Wastewater (sewage) containing coronaviruses may be a serious threat, according to a new, global study led by researchers from the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The new paper, published in Nature Sustainability, by an international collaboration of 35 researchers, evaluates recent studies on coronaviruses in wastewater and previous airborne ...

London, July 6, 2020 (AltAfrica)-A group of scientists say there is evidence that novel coronavirus in smaller particles in the air can infect people and are calling for the World Health Organization to revise recommendations to reflect the new reality The scientists say potential for Covid-19 to spread through airborne transmission by lingering in the ...

London, June 23, 2020 (AltAfrica)-Voters in Malawi will return to the polls Tuesday to elect a president after the courts nullified the results of the election held more than a year ago. The re-run election is holding despite recent spike in the number of recorded cases of covid-19 READ ALSO: 39 STUDENTS IN EGYPT TEST ...

London, June 23, 2020 (AltAfrica)-The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa has breached the 100 000 mark, as the official figure stands at 101 590, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Monday. Mkhize reported a further 61 Covid-19-related deaths – one from Limpopo, three from KwaZulu-Natal, 18 from the Eastern Cape and 39 ...

London, May 30, 2020 (AltAfrica)-Two opposing narratives have emerged about COVID-19 in Africa. The first is that cases are doubling, infections are increasing, and an uncontrollable swell of COVID-19 cases and deaths will soon overtake healthcare systems across the continent. The other says that the epidemic in Africa may actually be subdued and that the ...