COVID-19

ADF STAFF In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many questioned why Africa appeared to be spared the level of devastation suffered by other continents. For months, the World Health Organization (WHO) described Africa as “one of…

ADF STAFF The highly transmissible, highly mutated BA.2 subvariant of COVID-19’s omicron strain has become the dominant strain in South Africa and is spreading quickly. “It really is quite incredible how quickly omicron has overtaken…

ADF STAFF Having taken “a brutal toll” on Africa, COVID-19 appears to be shifting out of the pandemic phase and health officials should be able to manage the disease long term, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s)…

ADF STAFF After taking a global leadership role in the fight against COVID-19, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has been upgraded as the continent’s independent health agency by the African Union (AU).…

ADF STAFF Drawing on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the African Union has approved a plan to boost the continent’s capacity for a forceful, unified and independent approach to future disease outbreaks. During their summit…

ADF STAFF The recent news that South Africa was lifting COVID-19 restrictions was met with celebrations. People gathered in restaurants and bars, on beaches and in parks. Some still wore masks indoors and kept their distance from…

ADF STAFF Researchers in South Africa say the omicron variant known as BA.2 has become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the country weeks after it was identified. The strain accounts for nearly 100% of new infections, prompting one…

ADF STAFF After two years of COVID-19, the disease severity is substantially lower among children and adolescents, compared with adults, scientific studies have reported. Not so in Africa. A new multicountry study in Africa found…

ADF STAFF Africa’s COVID-19 caseload has taken a sharp downturn since peaking around the beginning of the year. This offers hope that the fourth wave of infections may be abating in many countries. During his February 3 news briefing,…

ADF STAFF Muscle aches, fatigue, a scratchy throat and night sweats: Those are the most common symptoms of omicron, the COVID-19 strain that emerged in late November 2021. It was South African Dr. Angelique Coetzee who first alerted…