
<p>(Reuters) &#8211; The World Health Organization has warned of the risk that COVID-19 could overwhelm strained public health systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Here is a selection of measures countries are taking to prepare for the virus and limit its spread.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SOUTH AFRICA </h3>



<p>With more cases than any other country in sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa is barring entry to foreign travellers&nbsp;coming from or transiting through&nbsp;high-risk countries including Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom and China, according to an advisory issue by the foreign ministry on Tuesday. </p>



<p>Travellers who arrived from these countries since mid-February must report for testing. Those arriving from medium-risk countries – Portugal, Hong Kong and Singapore – will undergo high intensity screening. </p>



<p>South Africans are advised to cancel or postpone all non-essential foreign travel.&nbsp;The government has also ordered schools to close early for the Easter break and will prohibit gatherings of more than 100 people. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">NIGERIA </h3>



<p>Africa’s most populous nation has stepped up surveillance and is preparing for the possibility of an influx of patients.  </p>



<p>Lagos, the biggest city with some 20 million people, could handle 2,000 cases, said Bamidele Mutiu, who heads a regional biosafety team. To do this, they would need to use two camps previously housing people displaced by violence, he said. </p>



<p>Authorities are checking the temperature of anyone who arrives at Nigeria’s airports, ports and land borders. </p>



<p>Those coming from high-risk countries such as China, Iran, Italy and Spain are asked to self-isolate for 14 days, said Tarik Mohammed, a technical advisor at the Niger Centre for Disease Control. If they develop symptoms, a laboratory team will visit them and collect a sample for testing. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KENYA </h3>



<p>The East African country is suspending travel from any nation with reported COVID-19 cases.  </p>



<p>Only Kenyan citizens, foreigners with residence permits and United Nations workers will be allowed to come in, provided they proceed on self-quarantine, the government said this week. </p>



<p>Schools and universities are closing, and public minibuses are providing hand sanitizer. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">ETHIOPIA </h3>



<p>Ethiopian Airlines said on its website that medics stationed at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, a key regional transit hub, carry out continuous health screenings 24/7. </p>



<p>The government in the Horn of Africa country has closed schools nationwide and offered to transport people on government buses to ease congestion on public transport. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">RWANDA </h3>



<p>The East African country is flooding its capital, Kigali, with portable sinks for hand-washing at bus stops, restaurants, banks and shops. Schools, universities, churches and courts are closed nationwide. Some flights are suspended. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CAMEROON </h3>



<p>From Wednesday, Cameroon, in central Africa, will close land, air and sea borders indefinitely, the government said in statement on Tuesday. International flights will be grounded, with the exception of cargo planes. Schools and restaurants will shut, and gatherings of more than 50 people are banned. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">LIBERIA </h3>



<p>The West African country is applying lessons learned fighting a devastating Ebola outbreak in 2014-15.  </p>



<p>“We were one of the first countries to start enhanced screening at the airport on Jan. 25,” said&nbsp;Mosoka P. Fallah, acting director general of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia. </p>



<p>More than 200 people have been trained as field epidemiologists and check for diseases in all 90 districts, said Tolbert Nyenswah, senior research associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States and former incident manager for Liberia’s Ebola response. </p>



<p>“If there is a case of a suspected disease, a sample is sent to a lab and tested.” </p>



<p>There are hand-washing stations at public places including stores, shops, schools, hospitals, restaurant and government offices. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SENEGAL </h3>



<p>Has been taking all passengers’ temperatures since Jan. 28 and asks for contact details, so officials can reach them if someone else on the plane tests positive, a spokesman for Dakar airport said. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">GHANA </h3>



<p>Has implemented some of the most stringent measures in West Africa with a mandatory 14 days of quarantine for all people arriving from abroad. Travelers from countries with over 200 cases of coronavirus are barred from entering the country unless they are Ghanaian citizens or residents.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">MAURITANIA </h3>



<p>After confirming its first case on March 13, the West African country closed the international airport, suspended teaching in schools and universities, and banned weekly markets.  </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">MADAGASCAR </h3>



<p>One of the world’s poorest countries, the island nation has suspended all flights for 30 days, a blow to its tourism industry. </p>



<p>(Reporting by Africa bureaux)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2150U6-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2150U6-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


Clarification on COVID-19 “hotspots” as SA moves to level 3 lockdown

FACTBOX: What Africa is doing to fight coronavirus


<p>Report by Josiane Kouagheu, Juliette Jabkhiro and Aaron Ross</p>



<p>YAOUNDE/DAKAR (Reuters) &#8211; When a passenger arriving from Brussels at Cameroon’s Yaounde Nsimalen airport on Saturday was found to have a temperature, health officials say he was whisked to a hospital and diagnosed inside four hours as the country’s fourth case of coronavirus.</p>



<p>The central African country was doing more generalised screening for disease long before China revealed the new virus that has killed around 7,000 people globally. Along with other countries on the continent, it hopes its experience guarding against Ebola and other epidemics will help its health system cope with a pandemic that could quickly overwhelm it. </p>



<p>“We have cases that were not caught by the measures in France and Italy that were caught here,” Georges Alain Etoundi Mballa, who runs the health ministry’s epidemic response, told Reuters, describing the screening as a “spying network”. </p>



<p>“Epidemics come and go, but we keep on the surveillance.” </p>



<p>The virus now ravaging Europe has appeared in at least 26 out of 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In most of them the recorded cases are still in single figures and have come in from abroad &#8211; notably Europe &#8211; rather than emerging at home. [nL8N2BA5PT] </p>



<p>The stakes are high &#8211; if the disease gets into Africa’s poorest areas, squalid, cramped conditions could cause it to spread at lightning speed. </p>



<p>Hospitals are already overburdened with cases of measles, malaria and other deadly infectious diseases, and conflicts have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed infrastructure. </p>



<p>Asking patients to self-quarantine at home is not practical in many areas, where families cram into a single room, share a communal tap or latrine, and survive on daily earnings. </p>



<p>“Africa should brace itself for a serious challenge,” John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on March 11. “I still believe containment is possible, but only with extensive testing and surveillance.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">EBOLA EXPERIENCE </h3>



<p>In some places that looks all but impossible. </p>



<p>In South Sudan, devastated by a five-year civil war, the government has just 24 isolation beds, said Dr. Angok Gordon Kuol,&nbsp;incident manager for the outbreak at the Ministry of Health. </p>



<p>He said public officials were trying to encourage hand-washing, but many in the impoverished East African nation of 12 million people could not afford soap and did not have running water. </p>



<p>The health ministry in Burkina Faso, which is under siege from jihadist groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda, said in a report last week that the country lacked the resources to deal with the outbreak. </p>



<p>Its border crossings have no sites to isolate suspected cases, and the West African country does not have enough skilled health workers, the report said. “This can result in high mortality rates and an increased risk of spreading the disease.” </p>



<p>Ebola killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It devastated communities but provided valuable lessons.  </p>



<p>The Africa CDC, set up by the African Union in 2017, has been working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen emergency coordination, improve testing and surveillance, and equip treatment centres. </p>



<p>“We know the fragility of our system, and because of that, when the outbreak was declared, the countries just went into action,” said Mary Stephen, technical officer at the WHO’s Africa office. </p>



<p>The number of countries with labs able to diagnose COVID-19 in the region increased from two to 39 in just over a month. But that still leaves eight countries without. </p>



<p>Passengers arriving at major airports have temperatures checked and are asked to fill out travel questionnaires, and in Nigeria, a taskforce meets regularly to evaluate the risks. </p>



<p>“We will never be caught pants down,” said Bamidele Mutiu, who helped coordinate the West African country’s Ebola response and now runs a biosafety lab in Lagos.  </p>



<p>With three confirmed cases, Africa’s most populous nation is scrambling to increase the number of isolation beds and provide more specialized medical training and equipment at state hospitals.  </p>



<p>“Our health system is not as strong as we’d like it to be,” said Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. “It is because we are a bit worried about our capacity to deal with a large outbreak that we are focused so intensively on prevention and early detection.” </p>



<p>Promoting good hygiene is a key part of that effort. But that is easier said than done. Less than half the population in 34 African countries have basic hand-washing facilities in their homes, according to a 2017 United Nations survey. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">KEEPING CLEAN </h3>



<p>In Senegal’s capital Dakar, announcements ring out through loudspeakers on passing cars urging people to wash their hands.  A group of school children in soccer shirts reels off highlights from a recent lesson &#8211; a crash course in preventing COVID-19. </p>



<p>But in their suburb, Pikine, where more than a million people live, the water is frequently cut off. </p>



<p>“Cleanliness is important, but here it’s not easy,” said Marcelle Diatta, a 41-year-old mother of four who lives in a two-bedroom apartment with four extended family members. </p>



<p>Khary Faye Sougou, head nurse at a local health centre in Pikine, where donkey carts jostle with delivery trucks on sandy alleyways, said she was encouraging residents to stockpile bottles of water; but not everyone could afford to do so.  </p>



<p>In Senegal, a West African country that has recorded 27 cases, medical staff said they had received limited protective equipment beyond extra gloves and masks. </p>



<p>“If we have a case, maybe I’ll go with a mask and my white coat, and after the visit I’ll throw them away,” Sougou said.  </p>



<p>Ousmane Gueye, head of the crisis unit at Senegal’s health ministry, said the government was deploying protective gear to facilities that need it.  </p>



<p>There are ample stocks of masks and gloves and enough beds to accommodate dozens more patients, according to health officials. However, there are no reserves of ventilators, which are in short supply across Africa.  </p>



<p>In South Africa, which has recorded 62 cases of the virus, medical services could be “swamped” if it spreads within the country’s vast shanty towns, Susan Cleary, a health economist at the University of Cape Town, said.  </p>



<p>“Transmission in an informal settlement is a disaster, an absolute disaster,” she said. </p>



<p>(Additional reporting by Christophe Van der Perre in Dakar, Alexis Akwagyiram and Angela Ukomadu in Lagos, Paul Carsten in Abuja, Omar Mohammed in Nairobi, Giulia Paravicini in Addis Ababa, Wendell Roelf in Cape Town, Joe Bavier in Abidjan and Henry Wilkins in Ouagadougou; Writing by Aaron Ross; editing by Edward McAllister, Alexandra Zavis and Philippa Fletcher)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214328-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214328-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


Armed with lessons from Ebola, Africa braces for coronavirus surge

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<p>Ethiopia will manage the logistics and disbursement of millions of COVID-19 prevention and containment materials that Alibaba Foundation will donate to each one of the 54 African nations. Also, there are growing concerns over ethnic tensions and now the COVID-19 outbreak which may jeopardize the forthcoming general elections in the country. Mikael Arage, Technology, Business &#038; Politico-Economical Analyst joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


mikael

COVID-19: Billionaire Jack Ma to donate masks, test kits to all countries in Africa

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<p>At a time when there is the increased need for cashless transaction, there is a renewed hunger for the growth of mobile money platforms. But what can the telecoms do to bring about renewed trust and usage of these mediums. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Arnold Kwizera spoke to the Head of Airtel Money, Jidia Gasana for more.</p>


Behind the growth of Rwanda’s mobile money platforms

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<p>The current COVID-19 crisis has seen millions of dollars in investments lost across industries worldwide and it seems no one is safe, so what does that mean for vulnerable SMEs in Kenya and the rest of the region? Managing Director of Viffa Consult joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How Kenyan SME’s are coping with reduced business due to COVID-19

<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4TJQGn928CU" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>For Rwanda to develop into a higher middle income economy as set out in the Vision 2050, the country needs a robust private sector with the young entrepreneurs at the forefront. As they seek out what they believe to be profitable and business-focused careers, CNBC Africa spoke to some of the young people in the agriculture sector&#8230;.</p>


How Rwanda’s youth is reaping the benefits from agriculture


<p>Report by Clement Uwiringiyimana</p>



<p>KIGALI (Reuters) &#8211; Alarmed consumers thronged markets across Africa on Tuesday, many in masks and gloves, to stock up as the coronavirus spread on the world’s poorest continent.</p>



<p>Food prices rose in some parts, though at least one country, Rwanda, sought to control costs of staple foods.  </p>



<p>“It is as if people are preparing for war,” said an astonished shopkeeper as Rwandans clamoured for rice, cooking oil, sugar and flour at a market in the capital Kigali.  </p>



<p>“Prices have gone up &#8211; but still they buy.” </p>



<p>Initially spared as the coronavirus battered China and then spread out, Africa has seen a rush of cases this month and governments are taking drastic measures to curb its spread. At least 30 African nations have now reported more than 400 cases.  </p>



<p>For many poorer Africans focused on surviving day-to-day, panic-buying was a privilege they could not join in with.  </p>



<p>The Rwandan shopkeeper, who declined to give his name fearing a visit from inspectors, said Tanzanian rice in his market had risen from 27,000 francs ($29) to 30,000 francs per 25 kg bag while Pakistani rice was up from 22,000 francs to 28,000 francs.  </p>



<p>Speaking as shoppers in masks and gloves picked over items, he blamed wholesalers for the increases.  </p>



<p>The trade ministry in Rwanda, which has seven confirmed coronavirus cases, fixed prices late on Monday for 17 food items including rice, sugar and cooking oil. But it did not specify punishments for price-gouging.  </p>



<p>At the same Nyarugenge market complex in Kigali, 52-year-old shopper Beatrice was exasperated by the price rises.  </p>



<p>She has no job and a child to provide for.  </p>



<p>“I am here to buy rice but I can’t afford it,” she said, noting forlornly that rice had gone up even higher to 32,000 francs per bag by the time she was there. </p>



<p>“You can’t see your children go hungry. I will buy it anyway,” she said. “We don’t know when this coronavirus will stop. If I had enough money, I would buy a lot more food.” </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SUPERMARKET SAYS SORRY </h3>



<p>Kenya, a relative economic powerhouse in East Africa, also saw a rush on shops after reporting its first coronavirus case on Friday. Within minutes, shoppers at the upscale Carrefour supermarket near the United Nations complex in Nairobi began piling trolleys with wipes, sanitizer, and staples like rice and long-life milk.  </p>



<p>Tusky’s, another Kenyan supermarket, urged customers not to panic and this week launched a home delivery service.  </p>



<p>Like Rwanda, Kenya stepped in to try and curb price rises. </p>



<p>Its Competition Authority ordered another chain, Cleanshelf Supermarkets, to refund customers for overpricing hand sanitizers. The firm blamed it on action of one staff member.  </p>



<p>“The recent experience is unjustifiable and we are very sorry,” said Veronica Wambui, head of sales and marketing, in a statement the company posted on Twitter.  </p>



<p>From South Africa to Senegal, long lines snaked outside stores as families stocked up on essential health and food items from disinfectants to pasta. </p>



<p>Anna, the manager at Auchan supermarket in Dakar’s upmarket Mermoz area, told Reuters sales had doubled since last weekend. Hand sanitizer had run out and suppliers were struggling to fulfil orders, she said.  </p>



<p>“The most sold items are pasta &#8211; people have taken everything!” she said, adding that prices had remained the same there, though many desperate shoppers were not even checking. </p>



<p>($1 = 943.7830 Rwandan francs) </p>



<p>(Additional reporting by George Obulutsa and Katharine Houreld in Nairobi and Juliette Jabkhiro in Dakar; Writing by Elias Biryabarema and Katharine Houreld; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21421N-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21421N-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


“Preparing for war”: Africans scramble for groceries

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<p>In Rwanda, the Ministry of Health confirmed four more cases of the novel coronavirus – also known as COVID-19. Highlighting that all patients have been isolated from other patients and were undergoing treatment, two more cases were confirmed bringing the total of identified cases to seven. Journalist of The New Times, Edwin Ashiimwe joins CNBC Africa for more on news making headlines in Rwanda.</p>


How Rwanda is dealing with coronavirus

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<p>With seven cases of coronavirus confirmed in Rwanda, the government has stepped up measures to contain its spread. CNBC Africa’s Tesi Kaven had a conversation with Noella Bigirimana, member of the COVID-19 Task Force in Rwanda and Strategic Advisor to Director General at Rwanda Biomedical Center joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Rwanda steps up efforts to contain COVID-19

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<p>The Nairobi Securities Exchange shed more than half a trillion Kenyan shillings as investors reacted to cases of COVID-19 on the country&#8217;s economy. Felix Otieno, Investment Analyst from Cytonn Investments joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Kenyan institutions cooperating with govt. in combating COVID-19 outbreak


<p>NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) &#8211; More African nations confirmed their first cases of the coronavirus and shut borders amid fears of the disease’s impact on fragile health systems, as Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma pledged to donate over 1 million testing kits to the continent.</p>



<p>Thirty African countries &#8211; more than half the continent &#8211; are now treating nearly 400 patients with coronavirus, after Tanzania, Liberia, Benin and Somalia said they registered their first cases. </p>



<p>Africa had until recently been spared the rapid spread of COVID-19, which has infected at least 180,000 people worldwide and caused over 7,000 deaths. But health experts are concerned the continent’s often dilapidated health infrastructure will struggle to cope as cases mount. </p>



<p>“We cannot ignore the potential risk to Africa and assume this continent of 1.3 billion people will blissfully escape the crisis. The world cannot afford the unthinkable consequences of a COVID-19 pandemic in Africa,” Ma’s foundation said in a statement. </p>



<p>The foundation will send 1.1	million testing kits, 6 million masks and 60,000 protective suits and face shields to Ethiopia for distribution to Africa’s 54 nations, it said. </p>



<p>Earlier on Monday, the World Bank said it had committed $60 million to Kenya to help the East African nation battle the outbreak. </p>



<p>Some countries on the continent, such as conflict-hit Somalia, depend on donors to support basic public health facilities. </p>



<p>Somalian Health Minister Fawziya Abikar Nur said the ministry had quarantined and tested four Somalis who came from China last week, and one had tested positive for the respiratory disease. International flights to Somalia were suspended for two weeks, the aviation minister said. </p>



<p>In West Africa, the small and impoverished nation of Liberia announced its first case. Liberia was devastated by a 2014 Ebola epidemic that killed 4,000 people, and its healthcare system has remained underfunded despite promises of investment. </p>



<p>Benin, considered a relatively stable democracy in the turbulent West African region, also announced its first case. The Health Ministry said the Beninois national was being held in an isolation ward in the capital after returning from Belgium and Burkina Faso on March 11. </p>



<p>The Health Ministry in the East African nation of Tanzania also confirmed its first case, a Tanzanian woman who had travelled to Denmark, Sweden and Belgium. She had her temperature taken at the airport but had no fever and was allowed to pass, but later felt unwell at her hotel, the ministry said. [L8N2B913C] </p>



<p>Also on Monday, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Senegal and Cameroon all reported more cases and South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said his nation, which has 62 cases so far, may need to raid other government departments for funds to fight the disease. He did not provide any figures. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CRACKDOWN AS BORDERS CLOSE </h3>



<p>Many African nations, including some without reported cases, have ordered tougher control measures, including bans on public gatherings, halting flights and closing schools and universities. </p>



<p>In northern Africa, Tunisia said it would suspend international flights and close its land border in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. </p>



<p>Botswana, in southern Africa, said on Monday it would bar entry to travellers from 18 high-risk countries, including China, Britain, the United States, Iran, France and Italy.  </p>



<p>In West Africa, Senegal said it would suspend flights to and from France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal, as well as Tunisia and Algeria, for a period of 30 days. </p>



<p>Ivory Coast said it would bar entry to travellers from countries with over 100 cases, although Ivorian citizens and residents would be allowed to return if they went into quarantine for 14 days. It also closed schools, nightclubs and cinemas and banned gatherings of over 50 people, according to a national security council statement. </p>



<p>Ethiopia, Africa’s second-largest nation, joined the growing list of countries that closed schools for two weeks, suspended all large gatherings and cancelled all sports events, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said.  </p>



<p>Government buses will give people free rides to curb overcrowding in the public transport system, a statement said. </p>



<p>In Central Africa, Congo Republic said it would suspend all flights from high-risk countries from Thursday. Neighbouring Gabon reduced the number of flights from abroad to one a week per airline and ordered restaurants to close, barring takeout and delivery. </p>



<p>Nigeria’s Health Ministry said the country, Africa’s most populous, had strengthened contact tracing, stockpiled reagents used in test kits and increased testing capacity.  </p>



<p>Also on Monday, Kenyan police raided a clinic alleged to be selling fake coronavirus testing kits. Police detained staff and locked the facility, witnesses told Reuters journalists at the scene, after it had been advertising testing kits online. </p>



<p>(Reporting by Giulia Paraviciniin Addis Ababa, Adbi Sheikh in Mogadishu, Omar Mohammed, Baz Ratner and David Lewis in Nairobi, Juliette Jabkhiro in Dakar, Clement Uwiringiyiman in Kigali; Olivia Kumwenda in Johannesburg and Elias Biryabarema in Kampala; Diadie Ba in Dakar; Christian Elion in Brazzaville; Loucoumane Coulibaly in Abidjan; Gerauds Wilfried Obangome in Libreville; Writing by George Obulutsa, Katharine Houreld and Alessandra Prentice; Editing by William Maclean, Steve Orlofsky and Peter Cooney)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214194-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN214194-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


More African countries confirm first coronavirus cases as Jack Ma pledges aid

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<p>Uganda Stock Exchange has dropped 60 per cent in February and in other news, MTN has agreed to a $100 million USD in taxation and listing 20 per cent of its shares on the Uganda Stock Exchange. This is part of the discussion for it to be issued a 14 year long-term operation license. Analyst, Charles Bwogi joins CNBC Africa for more on Uganda’s market.</p>


Lack of investor confidence

Lack of investor confidence, declining company results drags USE to hit an all-time low

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<p>As the world copes in quarantine, the Kenyan private sector is making moves to alleviate customers&#8217; experience during this time with Safaricom waiving transfer fees and increasing daily M-Pesa transaction limits, to large supermarket chains like Tuskys providing home delivery services. Journalist, Joseph Bonyo joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Kenya increases transaction limits

Kenya increases transaction limits, encourages delivery services to halt COVID-19 spread

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<p>A plethora of measures has been taken by the Rwandan Government in order to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect the population, but what more should be done to protect vulnerable businesses in the private sector bound to be impacted at this time? Analyst, Moses Gahigi joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Rwanda moves to protect vulnerable businesses from COVID-19 impact


<p>NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) &#8211; Kenyan authorities raided a shop on Monday that was alleged to be selling fake coronavirus testing kits, as the World Health Organisation confirmed there were at least 327 cases on the African continent.</p>



<p>Police detained staff and locked the facility, witnesses told Reuters journalists at the scene, after the shop had been advertising testing kits online.  </p>



<p>In West Africa, the small and impoverished nation of Liberia announced its first case on Monday, meaning that 27 African nations are now treating patients with coronavirus. The disease has killed 6,509 people and infected almost 170,000 people worldwide, according to a Reuters tally. </p>



<p>Ethiopia, Africa’s second-largest nation, joined the growing list of countries that closed schools for two weeks, suspended all large gatherings and cancelled all sports events, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said.  </p>



<p>Free rides will be available on government buses to curb overcrowding in the public transport system, a statement said. </p>



<p>“The Prime Minister calls upon all to maintain calm and equip themselves with accurate information from the Ministry of Health,” Abiy’s office said.  </p>



<p>Nigeria’s health ministry said the country, Africa’s most populous, had taken additional measures including strengthening contact tracing, stockpiling reagents used in test kits and increasing testing capacity.  </p>



<p>Many African nations, including some without reported cases, have ordered tougher control measures, including bans on public gatherings, halting flights and closing schools and universities.</p>



<p>South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said on Monday that despite having some money available for coronavirus response through the National Disaster fund, the government may need to earmark further funding. </p>



<p>“As the situation develops we will need to set aside further funding, that means we will have to reduce programmes throughout the government system by reducing the allocated amounts,” Mboweni said at a conference outlining new measures to contain the outbreak. He did not provide any figures. </p>



<p>The number of cases in Rwanda increased to five on Monday, and Burkina Faso’s health ministry said that eight new coronavirus cases had been confirmed, bringing the total there to 15 since March 9. [nL8N2B90NF] </p>



<p>(Reporting by Giulia Paravicini, Baz Ratner and David Lewis in Nairobi, Juliette Jabkhiro in Dakar, Clement Uwiringiyiman in Kigali; Olivia Kumwenda in Johannesburg and Elias Biryabarema in Kampala; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Giles Elgood)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2131LL-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2131LL-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


Kenya raids shop selling fake coronavirus kits as Liberia confirms first case


<p>NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; The World Bank said on Monday it had committed $60 million to Kenya to help the East African nation battle the coronavirus outbreak that has spread to at least 30 countries on the continent.  </p>



<p>The funding will improve surveillance, laboratory services, isolation units, equipment, supplies and communication to help mitigate the virus in Kenya, the World Bank said on Twitter. </p>



<p>Kenya, East Africa’s richest economy, has confirmed three cases of the COVID-19 disease thus far. </p>



<p>(Reporting by Omar Mohammed; editing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alex Richardson)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2132KN-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2132KN-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


World Bank offers $60 mln to Kenya to fight coronavirus outbreak

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<p>President Uhuru Kenyatta in his address to Kenyans yesterday, announced new measures that included indefinite closure of schools as two more cases were confirmed in the country – this has had an effect on the Kenyan economy. George Bodo, Director of Callstreet Research and Analytics Ltd joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


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East Africa

FACTBOX: What Africa is doing to fight coronavirus

Armed with lessons from Ebola, Africa braces for coronavirus surge

COVID-19: Billionaire Jack Ma to donate masks, test kits to all countries in Africa

Behind the growth of Rwanda’s mobile money platforms

How Kenyan SME’s are coping with reduced business due to COVID-19

How Rwanda’s youth is reaping the benefits from agriculture

“Preparing for war”: Africans scramble for groceries

How Rwanda is dealing with coronavirus

Rwanda steps up efforts to contain COVID-19

Kenyan institutions cooperating with govt. in combating COVID-19 outbreak

More African countries confirm first coronavirus cases as Jack Ma pledges aid

Lack of investor confidence, declining company results drags USE to hit an all-time low

Kenya increases transaction limits, encourages delivery services to halt COVID-19 spread

Rwanda moves to protect vulnerable businesses from COVID-19 impact

Kenya raids shop selling fake coronavirus kits as Liberia confirms first case

World Bank offers $60 mln to Kenya to fight coronavirus outbreak

Panic buying grips Kenya over COVID-19 fears

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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