NAIROBI, Kenya -- Burundi has become at least the second African country to say it doesn’t need COVID-19 vaccines, even as doses finally begin to arrive on the continent that’s seeing a deadly resurgence in cases.
The health minister of the East African nation, Thaddee Ndikumana, told reporters on Thursday evening that prevention is more important, and “since more than 95% of patients are recovering, we estimate that the vaccines are not yet necessary.”
The minister spoke while announcing new measures against the pandemic. The country closed its land and water borders last month. It now has well over 1,600 confirmed coronavirus cases.
Neighboring Tanzania this week said it had no plans to accept COVID-19 vaccines after President John Magufuli expressed doubt about them, without giving evidence. He insists the country has long defeated the virus with God’s help but faces growing pushback from fellow citizens, and officials with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have urged Tanzania to cooperate.
Burundi’s previous government under the late President Pierre Nkurunziza also had been criticized for not taking COVID-19 seriously. But current President Evariste Ndayishimiye last year described the virus as Burundi’s “worst enemy.”
Last month he told a religious meeting in the political capital, Gitega, that “we are seeing new cases of COVID-19 because God is punishing us” for not respecting vows to serve the country without corruption.
When leaders don’t fulfil such promises, “it’s the whole family that has to be punished,” he said. - Eloge Willy Kaneza, Associated Press/ABC News
Members of medical team carry the body of a deceased COVID patient on a stretcher at a Ministry of Health Infectious Disease Unit in Juba, South Sudan, May 28, 2020. Photo AFP
JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN - South Sudan has imposed a one-month, partial lockdown after a jump in coronavirus cases. Africa’s youngest nation has confirmed more than 4,000 cases and 65 deaths but, some residents worry this first lockdown since June could hurt people’s livelihoods.
South Sudan’s national task force on COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, said Wednesday the partial lockdown was necessary after a surge in cases.
Taskforce member Doctor Richard Laku said virus cases have doubled in the past week.
"In the last seven days, we have recorded 218 confirmed cases, compared to the week before which is the week of 20-26th," said Laku. "We have 140 cases, but the week 2nd of February we have 218 cases which shows almost doubling of the cases along the two weeks, and this shows that the possibility rate has been increasing from last week to this week.”
The chairman of the taskforce, Hussein Abdelbagi, said the new lockdown measures affect all businesses and events that attract large crowds.
"Ban all the social gatherings, such as sporting events, religious events including Sunday church prayers, Salat Al Juma Mosque Prayers, funerals, wedding ceremonies and political events," said Abdelbagi. "Two, closure of all pre-schools, schools, universities and all the other institutions of learning, except classes scheduled for examinations with observations of strict protective measures.”
Abdelbagi said while bars and clubs will be closed, restaurants and tea shops are allowed to operate but must adhere to strict COVID-19 measures.
Buses and taxis must reduce passenger numbers by half, he said, and enforce wearing facemasks and social distancing.
He added that all incoming passengers on international flights must have test results showing they are free of the coronavirus.
On the streets of Juba, there was mixed reaction to the restrictions.
Thirty-five-year-old Godfrey Fred said he is worried the lockdown will affect people’s incomes.
"If you don’t move, survival itself will be very difficult, so at least we need our government to take another measure [but] not close everything because there are very many ways of preventing the disease," said Fred.
Thirty-four-year-old Data Gordon has doubts the lockdown can be enforced.
"I don’t see this new lockdown being implemented, because it is going to be a ground for corrupt practices like bribery for law enforcers who will definitely take, and we will get back to where we started," said Gordon.
Fifty-seven-year-old William Edward said the lockdown was a good idea to reduce the virus’ spread but said ordinary South Sudanese would need government support.
"Government has to provide things for the people to support them while they are in lockdown period to help them," said Edward. "So as South Sudan, people are suffering a lot and it’s not easy to get food, either they can break the lockdown because of the situation they are facing.”
South Sudan imposed its first lockdown in March last year but lifted it in June after the level of reported COVID-19 cases dropped. - Winnie Cirino, Voice of America
Tanzania's government, which has been criticised for its handling of the pandemic, has no plans to rollout Covid vaccines, the health minister says.
The comments come days after President John Magufuli warned officials against acquiring vaccines saying they could harm people, without giving evidence.
Critics have accused him of playing down the threat posed by the virus.
Millions of people have already been inoculated in many countries after the vaccines were given emergency approval.
Vaccines are rigorously tested in trials involving thousands of people before being assessed by health regulators. They look at all the data on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines before approving them for use on a wider population.
Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged Tanzania to consider inoculating its population.
Tanzania is one of the few countries in the world to not publish any data on Covid-19 cases. It last did so in May, when about 500 cases and 20 deaths were recorded. The following month, Magufuli declared Tanzania "coronavirus-free".
Last month, the president said some Tanzanians had travelled abroad to take the vaccine but "ended up bringing us a strange coronavirus". The comments were seen as an apparent admission that the virus may be circulating in the country.
At a news conference on Monday, Health Minister Dorothy Gwajima said: "For now the government has no plans to receive the Covid vaccine being distributed in other countries."
The minister urged Tanzanians to take precautions and to use traditional medicine as a way of dealing with coronavirus, although their efficacy to combat the virus has not been scientifically confirmed.
A blogger shared photos of Dr Gwajima and other officials inhaling steam and taking a herbal concoction.
Dr Gwajima also warned media outlets not to report unofficial information on coronavirus or any disease. The warning comes after the Catholic Church said it had observed an increase in requiem masses, blaming funerals on a spike in coronavirus infections.
The US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised against all travel to Tanzania and updated its alert to level four, meaning transmission of coronavirus in the country is "high or rising rapidly".
Many African states are buying vaccines through an international scheme called Covax, but some are also planning to negotiate directly from pharmaceutical companies.
The Covax scheme aims to make it easier for poorer countries to buy vaccines amid growing concerns that wealthier nations are snapping them up and practising "vaccine nationalism".
South Africa, which has the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths on the continent, received its first shipment of vaccines on Monday the AstraZeneca vaccine from a manufacturer in India.
About 1.2 million front-line health workers would be the first to be inoculated, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
More than 1.4 million people in South Africa have contracted the virus and 44,164 are known to have died, according to Johns Hopkins University research.
African states that have started rolling out vaccines include Egypt, Guinea, Morocco and Seychelles. - BBC/Bulawayo24
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