COVID-19 pandemic Archives - The African Mirror Test

Apr

20

2022

First Covid-19, now floods empty SA’s beach resorts

NEWS

SIYABONGA SISHI AFTER two years of the COVID-19 pandemic keeping tourists away, South African resorts along the popular eastern Indian Ocean coastline were hoping for a bumper Easter weekend. But torrential rain last week triggered floods and mudslides, killing more than 440 people, knocking out power and water supplies and covering the beaches in and around the main port city of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, with debris. Some hotels had a third of bookings cancelled and others were forced to close during what is normally the second-busiest time of the year. Provincial authorities say they were expecting around 360,000 arrivals but…

5 ways to tackle ignorance about evidence during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19

Author JOHN N. LAVIS, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Evidence-Informed Health Systems, McMaster University SOME political leaders — the Jair Bolsonaros and Donald Trumps of the world — have given the public the impression that they’re at war with the scientific community. They’ve willfully ignored evidence and trafficked in misinformation in ways that have led to botched pandemic responses and cost the lives of millions. But over the last two years, I’ve come to believe that the Bolsonaro or Trump approach is the exception, not the rule. In most countries, and across the United Nations system, it’s ignorance about…

Nigeria’s post-Covid-19 economic plan has delivered disappointing results: here’s why

COVID-19

OVER a year ago, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari launched an economic plan designed to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Author STEPHEN ONYEIWU, Andrew Wells Robertson Professor of Economics, Allegheny College Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Nigeria has recorded 207,618 cases of infection and 2,745 deaths as of October 11, 2021. The economic effects were devastating. Economic growth turned negative in 2020, unemployment and poverty rates increased, and companies went out of business. Dubbed “Bouncing Back: Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan”, Buhari’s COVID-19 plan focused on food security, job creation (especially for young people and women), renewable energy, support…