Friday, June 9, 2023

Coronavirus

Africa’s malaria deaths could double due to coronavirus fallout

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By Skylar Thoma

MAIN IMAGE: The WHO warns that as many as 769,000 people could die from malaria this year if current efforts to combat the disease, such as the distribution of treated mosquito nets, are interrupted. SOURCE: Twitter @WHO

As many as 769,000 people in Africa could die from malaria this year as efforts to combat the disease are interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the WHO warned Thursday.

The global health body’s Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti warned that malaria deaths could soar if the distribution of treated mosquito nets is interrupted.

She said a recent analysis had found that if the net distribution outlets were closed and malaria case management was halted, malaria deaths could match numbers last seen in 2000.

In 2018, Africa recorded 213 million malaria cases and 380,000 deaths, accounting for the vast majority of malaria deaths worldwide.

WHO officials are concerned that as countries combat the coronavirus pandemic, malaria will not be the only disease that spikes – other diseases will also not get the attention or resources they require.

These fears are based on the experience of the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. According to Moeti, malaria and other diseases were reponsible for more deaths than the Ebola virus itself during that epidemic.

“Let us not repeat that again with COVID-19,” Moeti said.

Moeti urged countries to follow the updated WHO vaccination guidelines, which recommend that countries prioritize routine vaccinations for children and adults who are at risk of catching diseases like influenza. Vaccination campaigns for diseases where there is no active outbreak may need to be put on hold.

She said one in four African children remain under-immunised. “To protect communities from diseases like measles, polio and yellow fever, it is imperative that routine immunization continues,” she said.

The Measles and Rubella Initiative reports that 24 countries have postponed their measles vaccination campaigns as a result of the coronavirus. The global coalition warned that over 117 million children are at risk of not getting a vaccine for measles, despite the fact that a vaccine has been available for over 50 years.

“Disease outbreaks must not remain a threat when we have safe and effective vaccines to protect us”, WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press conference on Friday. “While the world strives to develop a new vaccine for COVID-19 at record speed, we must not risk losing the fight to protect everyone, everywhere against vaccine-preventable diseases”.

Health officials are also concerned that as some countries begin to allow people to return to work and begin to reopen commercial buildings, there may be an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, reports Reuters. The severe form of pneumonia develops in water pipes that have not been used for an extended period, meaning building owners have been advised to take extra sanitation precautions as they reopen.

Ramaphosa announces 5-stage plan to ease lockdown

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By: Laura Peterjohn

MAIN IMAGE: Ramaphosa addresses South Africa in a national broadcast on Thursday night, detailing a 5-stage plan aimed to re-start the economy while easing the nation’s lockdown. SOURCE: Siyabulela Duda/GCIS

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled plans to begin easing the country’s lockdown in a week’s time.

On Thursday night Ramaphosa addressed the nation, revealing a 5-stage plan to move South Africa out of its 35 day lockdown and help re-start the economy.

From 1 May, South Africa will move from level 5 to level 4 which will allow for the relaxation of some restrictions and the gradual re-opening of businesses. The Daily Maverick reports that food retail stores will be able to sell all products normally sold in their stores (there have been severe restrictions on what can be sold under the hard lockdown), mines will begin to reopen, and schools will begin to reopen in phases. 

Businesses will be permitted to open in a gradual manner, reports CNBC Africa. Before allowing workers to return to work, strict sanitation protocols must be observed to prepare the workplace. But workers will not be allowed to resume work in batches of more than one-third. This is in order to maintain strict social distancing guidelines.

The sale of cigarettes will also resume.

Bars, shebeens, conference and convention centres, entertainment venues, cinemas and theatres will stay closed. Concerts, sporting events, and religious, cultural and social gatherings other than funerals will all still be not permitted.

South Africa will also keep its border closed to all international travel, except for repatriation of South African nationals and foreign citizens. Travel between the provinces will remain forbidden except for the transport of goods. 

The Daily Maverick reports that though Ramaphosa aims to begin the re-opening of SA, the virus peak is still expected to be months away and people should expect the lockdown to fluctuate between levels 5 and 3 until September.

Coronavirus entered US weeks earlier than previously thought

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By: Laura Peterjohn

MAIN IMAGE: Post-mortem testing has shown that people thought to have died of flu in California in February actually died of coronavirus, suggesting that the virus was present in the US weeks earlier than previously believed. SOURCE: Gustavo Fring, Pexels

California officials have confirmed that the coronavirus was likely to have caused the deaths of two people in the US state in February – suggesting that the disease was present in the US weeks earlier than previously thought.

Until now the first US death was thought to have occurred in Washington on February 29th.

But new tests show that coronavirus caused a death on February 6th – that of a woman who had developed flu-like symptoms in early January. Patricia Dowd, 57, had tested negative for the flu and the coroner was reportedly “baffled” by the death. In the last week, tissue samples from Dowd have tested positive for Coronavius.

Dowd had not traveled outside the country since November.

This news comes as cases worldwide are reported to have topped 2.6 million, with deaths exceeding 184,000. Some countries that had hoped to have already seen peak infection rates, such as Spain and Singapore, are reportedly seeing new growth. Spain’s daily rate of infection has been slowly climbing and on Tuesday it reported its highest number of new cases, and fatalities in a week. Singapore today reported more than 1,000 new infections for the fourth straight day.

In the US, Bloomberg reports, there have been more than 839,675 confirmed cases with 46,583 deaths.

However, the news of earlier deaths has prompted authorities to start re-evaluating those numbers and the timeline of the disease. 

CNN reports that California governor, Gavin Newsom has begun instructing medical examiners from all 58 counties in California to research deaths that might have been COVID-related as far back as December

Newsom said the move was intended “to ultimately help guide a deeper understanding of when this pandemic really started to impact Californians directly”.

It is thought that a bad flu season may have meant that some deaths were misclassified.

In Indiana, officials are beginning to track possible cases from mid-February, while the first cases previously reported were in March.

SA mobilises army to maintain order

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By: Laura Peterjohn

MAIN IMAGE: A tweet posted by news outlet News24 showing police busy with anti-looting patrols. Source: Twitter @News24

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered the mobilisation of the entire South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to help with enforcing the country’s lockdown regulation – one of its largest deployments in its history.

On Tuesday, Ramaphosa informed parliament in a letter that in addition to the 3,000 troops already deployed for coronavirus duty, he had ordered that an additional 73,180 soldiers, including reservists, should be mobilised for a limited period. The decision, which places all soldiers on standby while a decision is made on how they will be deployed, will be in force until 26 June 2020, costing the nation R4.59 billion.

The president’s letter was tweeted to the public by opposition leader John Steenhuisen on Tuesday evening, just before the President addressed the nation on measures to address the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. There have been calls from ANC members of parliament for him to be sanctioned for breaking parliamentary rules.

The deployment of the army follows several reports of looting of grocery stores and liquor outlets taking place across the country. 

In Bishop Lavis, a suburb of Cape Town, Checkers store delivery trucks were looted on Monday morning, reported Independent Online. Stones were reportedly thrown at 4 trucks, forcing them to a halt. Two of them had been delivering food relief parcels.

A major arterial road in the city, the R300, was closed by authorities several times this week as looters have stoned other delivery trucks and tried to force them to a halt, endangering other drivers and pedestrians

In Johannesburg, there have been reports of looting of vehicles carrying food parcels.

The SACP Gauteng second deputy secretary Sekete Moshoeshoe said in a statement his party was concerned that efforts to ensure that poor and vulnerable working class communities are cushioned during the lockdown were being “hijacked by opportunists who are diverting them for narrow selfish interests”.

Western Cape MEC for safety and security, Albert Fritz, has revealed that shop lootings took place in at least four areas on Tuesday, including the Cape Town suburbs of Manenberg, Sherwood Park, Nyanga Junction and Gatesville.

In a statement Fritz noted that a “humanitarian crisis” was unfolding because of the lockdown and it was “a struggle for many to put food on the table”. However, he said, “acts of criminality will not be tolerated”. He said he was engaging with the Cabinet on urgent solutions to address the spate of lootings.

Among several other incidents in the Western Cape this week, it was reported that a group attempting to overrun the Watergate Mall in Mitchells Plain were stopped, but looters managed to take goods from an Elsies River supermarket valued at over R3,000. Four people were arrested in this incident.

In another incident, in Delft South, about 50 people reportedly stormed a different supermarket, taking goods valued at around R4 000.

In Vredenburg on the West Coast, between 300 and 400 residents of Witteklip reportedly threw stones at the police who had stopped them from storming a local spaza shop. They had complained about not getting food parcels. Four people were arrested.

Fears of looting have caused some shop owners to clear their stores. DispatchLIVE reported that in the Cape Town suburb of Delft, shop owners had evacuated shops in the face of the risk from looters. 

Ramaphosa announces historic R500bn economic rescue package

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By Skylar Thoma

MAIN IMAGE: SA President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a plan for R500 billion in government spending to address the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. SOURCE: Twitter @PresidencyZA

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the largest economic relief package in South Africa’s history, amounting to approximately 10 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, in a televised address Tuesday evening.

The R500-billion stimulus package includes increased spending on health care, additional social grants, and loan guarantees.

Explaining the plan to the nation, Ramaphosa defended the current nationwide lockdown as “absolutely necessary” but acknowledged that measures to combat the virus have severely damaged the country’s economy, which had already been struggling prior to the outbreak of the epidemic.

“The pandemic requires an economic response that is equal to the scale of the disruption it is causing”, he said. 

As part of the massive surge in spending, R20bn will go to health care interventions, R200bn will be spent on loan guarantees, R100bn on job creation and support, and R20bn on supporting municipality spending.

Social grants will also be increased for a six-month period. Recipients of child care grants will see their grants go up by R500, and people who are unemployed and not receiving any social grants can apply for a temporary R350 monthly grant.

Ramaphosa also announced tax deferments and certain tax holidays for companies, including a three-month holiday on carbon taxes. In total tax measures will amount to an additional R70bn in relief.

The government will pay for R130bn of the package by transferring funds from other government departments. 

The remaining money will have to be borrowed from external sources, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The IMF had announced on Tuesday that South Africa could be eligible for $4.2 billion USD (R80 billion) in loans under certain conditions, according to Bloomberg.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is scheduled to announce details of how the plan will be funded, and is due to present an adjustment budget for the country. However, a time for this has not yet been specified.

Opposition parties generally welcomed Ramaphosa’s announcement. The DA said the president’s plan, “if executed correctly, could be the kick-start our economy needs to recover from the effects of Covid-19 and the lockdown”.

The EFF released a cautiously optimistic endorsement of the president’s stimulus package, calling the increases in social grants “a step in the right direction”. But the party asked for further details of how the relief will be implemented before they fully embrace the government’s strategy.

Some worry the stimulus package will not be enough. Reuters reports that COSATU, which participates in the National Economic Development and Labour Council, had demanded a stimulus package of 1 trillion Rand.

University of Witwatersrand economist Gilad Isaacs raised a number of concerns in an opinion piece about Ramaphosa’s plan. For instance, he suggested the amount that would be needed for the additional social grants would exceed the amount that had been set aside for that purpose.

Isaacs also pointed out that South Africans are generally skeptical of international financial institutions like the IMF which he said were “notorious for accompanying loans with anti-poor, pro-market measures of deregulation and slashing government and social spending”.

Ramaphosa promised that details of further relief efforts will be announced in the coming days. Plans to ease the lockdown in order to restart the economy in a phased way are expected to be announced on Thursday night when Ramaphosa is due to address the nation again.

South Africans face extended coronavirus restrictions

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By Skylar Thoma and Ayinde Summey

MAIN IMAGE: Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma speaks at a press briefing Thursday, announcing that some lockdown regulations “will remain in place for a long time”. SOURCE: Screen grab from Twitter @PresidencyZA

South Africa is facing an extended period of coronavirus restrictions – even if the country’s lockdown is partially lifted on April 30.

This was the message of Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Thursday as she announced details of a two-week extension of the country’s lockdown which has been in place since March 26.

In a publicly broadcast briefing of the national command council (NCC) on COVID-19, Dlamini-Zuma said that when regulations are eventually lifted, this would have to be done gradually. “When we do stop the lockdown, we cannot do it abruptly – that today it’s complete lockdown and tomorrow it’s open completely”, she explained. “We have to phase it in, so that there is an orderly move towards normality.”

Many of the regulations that have been in place since the start of the lockdown are being extended, the NCC announced. These include the existing ban on cigarettes and current restrictions around funerals, which limit the number of attendees to 50 people.

But some amendments have been introduced. Dlamini-Zuma said the government is expanding the ban on liquor products by banning the transport of alcoholic beverages. Earlier this week the Gauteng Liquor Forum threatened legal action against the government if it did not ease restrictions on alcohol sales. The government asked the organisation to wait until Friday for an official response. The Forum has not yet responded to the announcement of the extension of the liquor ban. 

The government is also beginning to open up the mining industry, allowing many mines to operate at 50 percent capacity. Dlamini-Zuma added that “all the mines that supply Eskom must be fully operational”.

“Some [regulations] will remain in place for a very long time”, Dlamini-Zuma said, although she did not specify which these would be.

As of Thursday South Africa had 2605 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Worldwide there are now over 2 million cases with over 140,000 deaths. 

Other countries are contemplating how and when to relax their measures to combat the virus. Japan announced Thursday that the government is extending lockdown measures to the entire country, intensifying its State of Emergency which was introduced less than two weeks ago in some of the country’s prefectures. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants to limit contact among the public by 80%,” reported Kyoto News. 

In the United Kingdom, foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said that stay home orders will be in place for at least another three weeks to avoid damage to the economy and public health.

Raab told reporters that according to research done by Sage, a company advising the UK government,  the infection rate in the country is below one per person, meaning each infected person is passing on the virus to one or less than one person. The government wants the rate to reduce further and is concerned that lifting the restrictions might cause another peak.

“We have been very clear that we will take the right decisions at the right moments based on the evidence. And they may well involve a transition out of the current measures. And, of course, they could be calibrated in different ways.” The Guardian reported Raab saying.

Five conditions will have to be met before restrictions can be lifted.

Among these are whether the NHS is able to handle the infection load; whether the death rate is consistently falling (to indicate whether the peak has passed throughout the country), and that there are sufficient testing spaces and PPE to account for future demand.

The Guardian quoted Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific advisor saying that to disrupt transmission and avoid a second wave, it would likely be necessary for people to prepare to work from home for a long period of time. Medicines and vaccines that are also essential have not yet been identified and, there is currently no way to tell when that will arrive, he said.

Here’s the Reason South Africa is Banning Alcohol and Tobacco

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By Laura Peterjohn and Lizzie Stricklin

MAIN PHOTO: The sale of tobacco has been banned in South Africa as part of the lockdown measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. SOURCE: Gerd Altmann, Pixabay

Lockdown in South Africa means no social gatherings, no travel, and no smoking or alcohol – much to the public’s disdain. But the science behind this decision suggests that alcohol and smoking not only help spread COVID-19, but weakens users’ immune systems.

The South African government banned the sale of alcohol and tobacco on March 27 as the state went into lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Although state officials have argued that the ban is a necessary precaution that has reportedly reduced crime, liquor license holders have stressed that the ban is causing undue economic hardship – even going so far as to threaten to take the government to court to force it to lift the ban on alcohol.

On Thursday the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, announced the ban on alcohol and tobacco sales would continue until the end of April, and that it would be expanded to also include the transportation of alcohol.

Although the ban has induced massive public outcry, medical and scientific studies support the government’s decision.

Links between COVID-19 and smoking – whether it’s tobacco, marijauna, or vaping

Numerous studies have shown that smoking both tobacco and marijuana damages the lungs, which makes the possibility of contracting a respiratory illness like the novel coronavirus more dangerous. Although fewer studies have been conducted on the health risks of vaping, studies suggest it poses a similar threat to healthy lungs.

Smokers may also be more likely to touch their face in the process of smoking or spread the virus by coughing or exhaling, according to Dr. Jonathan Winickoff of Harvard Medical School.

“You bring this device or cigarette to your mouth to inhale and you do so repeatedly,” Winickoff told The New York Times. “You touch the cartridge. You put it next to your face. You are spreading whatever is in your hand into your body. At the same time, many of my patients who smoke or vape have increased coughing or expectorating. And that’s a recipe for increased spread.”

A recent study in the European Respiratory Journal expanded on this, and reported that smoking tobacco may increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 because it elevates levels of an enzyme that makes it easier for the virus to enter the smoker’s lungs. Smoking was even identified in a past study as a factor in patients who contracted another coronavirus, known as MERS, in 2012.

The medical (and social) harms of alcohol

When it comes to alcohol, South Africa’s ban on its transportation and sale is, in part, to limit social gatherings, enforcing policies of social distancing with the hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19. In doing so, the ban may also lower incidents of violence, freeing space in emergency rooms for those fighting the disease.

The UN has reported a spike in cases of domestic violence since the beginning of the month, calling it “horrifying global surge in domestic violence”. The ban on alcohol sales is hoped to tamper down those incidents as alcohol is considered to be a fuel, although the increased proximity to abusers in abusive relationships during a lockdown is recognised as a concern.

The consumption of alcohol is also known to weaken one’s immune system. The World Health Organization has stressed that alcohol limits the body’s ability to fight infectious diseases like COVID-19, and encouraged people to remain sober and “make decisions with a clear head”. Studies have also shown that individuals who consume alcohol are at a higher risk for developing pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, both of which are common complications in severe cases of COVID-19.

Aadielah Maker Diedericks, a coordinator for the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance, told Public Radio International that “the ban is for people’s own good.”

“Food security is going to become a big issue,” she added. “And if we have people spending the little resources they have currently on alcohol, the bigger issue is going to be hunger.”

Divided support

Despite the scientific and medical backing for South Africa’s bans, calls against it have won some traction. The Garden Route Municipality in the Western Cape lifted the ban on tobacco sales in grocery stores, reportedly to prevent illegal cigarette sales. The Office of the State Attorney will release an official decision on Friday in response to the Gauteng Liquor Forum’s petitions against the ban on alcohol.

Organizations like the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance have supported the ban, however, emphasizing, “It is critical for the government to ensure its efforts to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 lockdown include those running liquor outlets, but without rescinding the ban.”

The Economic Freedom Fighters party also rejected calls to end the ban on alcohol, saying, “there is nothing essential about alcohol and it will only serve a destructive purpose in a time when we all need to practice maximum discipline and self-control.” This is in agreement with the African National Congress, which has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to deny the Gauteng Liquor Forum’s petitions and continue the ban on alcohol transportation and sales.

World leaders dismayed as Trump cuts US funding to WHO

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By Skylar Thoma

MAIN IMAGE: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks to the press following President Trump’s announcement that the United States’ funding for the organisation would be cut. SOURCE: Twitter @WHO

World leaders expressed concern on Wednesday after President Donald Trump moved to cut off US funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The move, which Trump said would be in place while his administration assesses the WHO’s response to the global coronavirus pandemic, drew criticism from the European Union, the African Union, and the United Nations.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ‘expressed regret’ at Trump’s decision and told reporters the organisation is assessing how its operations will be affected it. The United States contributes between $400 million and $500 million USD to the WHO’s annual budget.

“The United States of America has been a longstanding and generous friend of the WHO, and we hope it will continue to be so”, Tedros said. “Our commitment to health, science, and to serving all the people of the world, without fear or favor, remains absolute.” 

International leaders from various countries and organisations have criticised Trump’s decision which came at the same time as news that the global tally of coronavirus cases passed two million on Tuesday. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged “the international community to work together in solidarity” and said now was “not the time” for President Trump to cut funding. 

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian urged President Trump to reconsider his decision, praising the WHO’s efforts to combat the virus and pledging China’s continuing support for the organization.

Leaders from the African Union and the European Union took to Twitter to condemn Trump’s decision.

Trump has previously accused the WHO of being “China-centric”, claiming “the outbreak could have been contained at its source” had the WHO not defended China’s response to the virus in January.  Some scientists quoted by The Atlantic and the New York Times have suggested that the WHO was too willing to take China’s assurances on the spread of the virus at face value, and did not insist on sufficient transparency.

Guterres said a full assessment of what happened with management of the pandemic would need to be conducted in time, but not until the crisis had passed. 

“It is my belief that the World Health Organization must be supported, as it is absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against COVID-19.  This virus is unprecedented in our lifetime and requires an unprecedented response.”

The WHO is a subsidiary of the United Nations (UN), which works around the world to fight various epidemics, including COVID-19, Ebola, polio, influenza, HIV, tuberculosis, and others. They also support research into vaccines and help deliver key medical supplies to countries in need.

At present the WHO is coordinating global efforts to find a vaccine for the coronavirus. Tedros announced that “3 vaccines have already started clinical trials, and more than 70 others are in development”.

Trump has come under fire for his handling of the pandemic and his early suggestions that it was a hoax. Although he declared a national emergency on March 13, Trump has not invoked the Defense Production Act, which would allow him to force companies to manufacture critical medical supplies. His administration has so far refused to impose national social distancing measures, instead leaving those decisions to state and local governments.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, the president’s chief health advisor Dr Anthony Fauci acknowledged that lives might have been saved had the federal government acted more swiftly. Fauci revised his statement on Monday following reports that Trump was considering firing him. He said he had used a “poor choice of words”.

The United States is now the centre of the global pandemic, with almost 580,000 cases and more than 22,000 deaths as of April 14. The official death toll in New York City, the centre of the country’s outbreak, rose to over 10,000 this week after officials began to include in their count people who had presented with coronavirus symptoms when they died but had not been tested, according to the New York Times. 

Global domestic violence surges under coronavirus restrictions

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MAIN IMAGE: Domestic violence cases have increased across the world since the start of coronavirus restrictions. SOURCE: Tumisu on Pixabay

By Ainsley Ash

With at least a third of the world’s population on coronavirus lockdown, many women and children are at home, safe from the virus, but find themselves in more immediate danger of domestic violence.

“For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest — in their own homes,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier this month, during an address in which he urged governments to address the “horrifying surge” in domestic violence.

Argentina has seen emergency calls for domestic violence cases increase by 25% since the beginning of their 20 March lockdown, reports The Guardian. In Italy, advocates have said that calls have sharply decreased, but they have seen a massive increase in texts and emails. 

After lockdown was implemented in the Chinese province Hubei, reports of domestic violence in a single county in February tripled compared to a year ago, according to the Globe and Mail.

The UK’s largest domestic abuse charity, Refuge, has reported a 700% increase in calls to its helpline in a single day, reports The Guardian.

“It happens in all crisis situations,” Marcy Hersh, a senior manager for international humanitarian advocacy at Women Deliver said to The Guardian. “What we worry about is just as rates of violence are on the rise, the accessibility of services and the ability of women to access these services will decrease. This is a real challenge.” 

Some countries have responded by adjusting  the restriction of movement in cases of abuse. 

In Spain, the government has told women that, despite rigid lockdown rules, they will not be fined for breaking them if they are leaving home to report abuse. 

The UK government has developed an app called “Bright Sky” to discreetly provide information and support to victims while also promoting the #YouAreNotAlone hashtag on social media.

In South Africa, a country with already high rates of gender-based violence, resources are being stretched thin. Since the beginning of the lockdown, 148 people have been charged with crimes of gender-based violence. The national police hotline for gender-based violence reports received 2,300 calls in the first week of lockdown.

“Domestic violence shelters in South Africa are reaching capacity or are unable to take new victims due to lockdown and social distancing measures. In other cases, they are being re-purposed to serve as health centres,” Tina Thiart, a founding member of 1000 Women Trust, told Independent Online, 

President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote an open letter to the nation on Monday, addressing the increase in violence. 

“It is disturbing that during a time of such immense difficulty for our country, women and girls are being terrorised inside their own homes, forcing them to make desperate calls for help,” Ramaphosa wrote. 

He said the Interim Steering Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide wasconsulting with civil society organizations to develop guidelines to address gender based violence during Covid-19. 

He expressed condolences to the families of individual victims of gender-based violence.

Governments struggle to contain coronavirus threat to prisoners

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by Ainsley Ash

MAIN PHOTO: A montage of the faces of political prisoners being held in Egypt where a campaign is under way to secure their release in the face of the risk posed by coronavirus. Source @BowdyT

Prison authorities across the world are facing a coronavirus crisis in their institutions.

For many detention centres, confined spaces and limited access to hygiene and health care make it nearly impossible to practice the World Health Organization’s recommendations on social distancing and increased sanitation measures. The result is that inmates and correctional staff are at high risk of transmission of the virus which has already found its way into detention centres around the world. In some countries, prisoners are being released to reduce the threat of an even greater crisis.

In New York City, the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in the United States, Riker’s Island prison is facing what Ross MacDonald, chief medical officer of New York City’s correctional health service, called, “a public health disaster unfolding before our eyes”. As of Wednesday, more than 280 inmates and 440 employees have tested positive for COVID-19. This is a 6.6 percent infection rate, which is seven times higher than that of New York City, Newsweek reports. An inmate who was held on a technical parole violation has died after testing positive for Covid-19.

Amid calls from activists and public health officials, over 1,000 inmates who were being held on technical violations of their parole have been released. A New York Post report suggested that at least one of them has been rearrested for robbery. The Legal Aid Society in New York City has asked for the specific release of 105 inmates “due to their unique vulnerability to complications from COVID-19”. “Many have release dates that are only weeks away,” their statement read. “Given the exponential spread of the virus, this could mean the difference between life and death.”

CNN reports that in Chicago, at least 251 detainees and 150 staff members at Cook County Jail have tested positive for coronavirus. One detainee who tested positive for the virus had died, and at least 22 detainees had been hospitalized.

Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle described the situation in prisons as ‘a petri dish’ for the virus.

Authorities are also having to deal with outbreaks of violent protest in prisons as inmates become infected, according to the CNN report.

In Iran, thousands of prisoners have been temporarily released, most non-violent offenders serving short prison sentences, Al Jazeera reports. Among these, about 70,000 are believed to be those arrested during anti-government protests. 

The release decision has been met with strong opposition. Violent protests have erupted throughout the country, resulting in the death of 36 prisoners, according to Amnesty International.

Across the African continent, countries have begun to address the issue. At the end of March, Ethopian President Sahle-Work Zewde granted pardon to more than 4,000 prisoners who had been jailed for minor crimes or were nearing the end of their sentence. In Ghana, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has granted amnesty to 808 prisoners, 783 of whom were first time offenders, Business Insider reports. 

Among those seeking release from prison are some high profile inmates who are hoping for a personal reprieve. Julian Assange, the Australian-born Wikileaks publisher, is currently being held at a London prison. His bid for release was rejected by a judge on the grounds that there were no records of infections in the prison – but since then at least one person there has died of the disease.

Australian parliamentarians have petitioned for his release, arguing that he is a nonviolent prisoner with a chronic health condition, the Washington Times reports. 

In the US, convicted rapist and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein contracted the virus at a facility in New York, but is said to have survived the virus, according to Reuters. 

South Africa has reported its first coronavirus cases in prisons last week after an East London correctional worker became ill, according to News24. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases has started a screening and testing program at prisons across the country. 

South African prisons are chronically overcrowded, raising concerns for the spread of the virus, There are already high rates of TB in the prisons, especially the Multi-Drug Resistant strain (MDR-TB), another disease spread by close contact with a carrier. As of March 2019, 37 percent of South Africa’s prisons were overcrowded, according to Business Live. 

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