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See the High-Tech Robots Helping in the Fight Against Coronavirus in Rwanda | #COVID19 Updates
226 more persons have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of infection to 6401, with 1734 recoveries, while 192 others have died from the virus.
According to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), 131 of the new cases were recorded in Lagos, 25 in Ogun, 15 in Plateau, 11 in Edo, 7 in Kaduna, 6 in Oyo, 5 in FCT, 5 in Adamawa, 4 in Jigawa, 4 in Ebonyi, 4 in Borno, 3 in Nasarawa, 2 in Bauchi, 2 in Gombe, 1 in Enugu and 1 in Bayelsa State.
A breakdown of cases by state can be found via https://t.co/Z5x7UFXpXd pic.twitter.com/KlrqsTT0Ib
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) May 19, 2020
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Robots used to attend to coronavirus patients in Rwanda
In a move aimed at reducing contact between medics and patients, the government of Rwanda has launched the use of robots in the fight against COVID-19.
The 5 robots which were named Akazuba, Ikizere, Mwiza, Ngabo and Urumuri, are manufactured by a Belgium-based company.
The robots have the capacity to screen between 50 to 150 people per minute, capture both video and audio data. These robots will assist in coronavirus screening, deliver food and drugs to patients, as well as act as video-conferencing links between patients and doctors. Their main purpose is to reduce health workers’ exposure to Covid-19.
Rwanda’s health ministry says the units have a number of abilities, including:
- Screening 50 to 150 people per minute
- Recording and storing patient data
- Alerting health workers to abnormalities
- Warning people who aren’t wearing masks, or are wearing them improperly
Akazuba, Ikirezi, Mwiza, Ngabo and Urumuri will be mainly used in screening temperature , monitoring patient status and keeping medical records of #COVID-19 patients pic.twitter.com/PoSyZOXNxH
— Ministry of Health | Rwanda (@RwandaHealth) May 19, 2020
Akazuba, Ikirezi, Mwiza, Ngabo and Urumuri will be mainly used in screening temperature , monitoring patient status and keeping medical records of #COVIDー19 patients in #Rwanda treatment centres @UNDP_Rwanda @RwandaICT @RwandaHealth
— Rwanda Biomedical Centre (@RBCRwanda) May 19, 2020
I’m deeply imprssd by #Rwanda’s appetite 4 innovtn! Pleasd 2 hand ovr these anti-epidemic robots 2day 2 hlp fight #Covid19. Thx Hon @MusoniPaula 4 ur vision & Hon @DrDanielNgamije & @nsanzimanasabin 4 the collabtn. @UNDPAccLabs & @RwandaGov wrkng tgthr! @ASteiner @ahunnaeziakonwa pic.twitter.com/hUwHIzU9r1
— Stephen Rodriques (@sarodriques) May 19, 2020
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WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti calls for continued support to make health a reality for everyone in Africa
At the World Health Assembly on Tuesday, Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, said the coronavirus pandemic had reached every member state, and that over half of the countries had community transmission of the virus.
She, however, called for the continued support to make healthcare a reality for every African country. She stated that the African Region is on the verge of being certified free of wild poliovirus, and according to her, the development is a major public health milestone in Africa.
Watch the video below:
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There are over 86,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa – WHO
The World Health Organisation on Tuesday reported that COVID-19 cases in Africa increased to about 86,000 on Tuesday.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, gave the update on its official Twitter account. “There over 86,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent – with more than 33,000 recoveries and 2,700 deaths,” it said.
According to the chart, Lesotho, Comoros, and Seychelles currently have the lowest confirmed cases in Africa. Lesotho had only one confirmed case with no death; Comoros had 11 reported cases and one death, while Seychelles recorded 11 confirmed cases with no death. The figures showed that South Africa, Algeria, and Nigeria had the highest reported cases in Africa. Ghana had 5, 735 reported cases and 29 deaths, while Cameroon recorded 3, 529 confirmed cases, and 140 deaths.
As at Tuesday morning, South Africa had 16,433 cases and 286 deaths followed by Algeria with 7,201 cases and 555 deaths, while Nigeria had 6,175 confirmed cases and 191 deaths.
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Not all hand sanitizers are up to standard – Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health
Dr. Osagie Ehanire
Osagie Ehanire, The Minister of Health, on Tuesday, while addressing journalists at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja, said a study carried out by a research institution in the Federal Ministry of Health revealed that not all sanitisers in circulation are up to standard.
According to Channels News, the Minister gave an advisory on identifying standard sanitisers in the market stressing the importance of checking the NAFDAC number and ingredients used in producing the sanitiser.
I will start by using the opportunity to issue an advisory on sanitiser. You will see a lot of sanitisers out in the market. A study carried out by research institution in the Ministry of Health has shown not all of them are up to standard.
In buying sanitisers, there is an advisory I will like to share. You must look first of all at the NAFDAC number. A sanitiser should have a NAFDAC number.
Secondly, it should have a place where the ingredients are displayed. You must see that it contains a minimum of 60% alcohol. If it is anything different from that, the sanitiser is not going to do the job you think it is doing.
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NAFDAC already testing coronavirus potential remedy drugs submitted by Nigerians
Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General for NAFDAC revealed that the agency has started working on coronavirus potential remedy drugs submitted by Nigerians.
The NAFDAC DG who spoke on a televised programme explained that submissions were made after the agency called for expression of interest for the COVID-19 related medicines from researchers and practitioners, and the four applications submitted would undergo “due diligence”.
According to The Nation, Adeyeye said:
I made a call for people to submit their application and I believe we have about three or four now and we are going to expedite the processing because it takes a while for us to go through the laboratory testing and what not but I have already given the directive to expedite.
So, where we are right now is just to make sure that the information submitted is okay and by the end of the week, we may be sending these samples to the lab after we must have gone to inspect the site where the products are made because we don’t want a product that somebody will take and the person will start vomiting.
So, we will go and inspect the site to make sure that whatever sample we are going to get must have been prepared in an environment that will not make the drug to compromise the health of the user.
On the criteria that a remedy must meet before it is presented to NAFDAC as a possible cure or drug, she said:
If somebody says he or she has a remedy for COVID, first of all, we want to know the history of the plant or the family the plant belongs to, background information on the botanical characteristics of the plant, we will also want to know whether the plant has been used for anything before because sometimes, we use one plant for several diseases and the usage will be different for a particular disease.
We will also ask for any written or published document about the plant because the plant may not come from Nigeria and it may be available in other climes. So, we want to ensure that we get enough information and once that application is submitted with the information, then we will start the process and part of the process involves inspecting where the medicinal product was prepared to be sure that it is not going to compromise the health of the people.
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Brazil now has the third-highest number of cases in the world
The country reported 17,408 new cases and 1,179 new deaths — it’s largest one-day jump since the pandemic began. Brazil now has the third-highest number of cases in the world, behind the US and Russia.
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Over 20,ooo cases of coronavirus recorded in the US
According to Johns Hopkins University, At least 20,260 new coronavirus cases and 1,574 COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the United States on Tuesday.
That brings the national totals to at least 1,528,568 cases and 91,921 fatalities. The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
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Cambridge University will hold all classes online for the 2020-21 academic year
The University of Cambridge is moving all classes online for the upcoming academic year, until the summer of 2021, the university announced on Tuesday, according to BBC.
Cambridge University has become the first UK institution to announce it is moving all lectures online until summer 2021.
The statement from the university reads:
The university is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic.
Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the university has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year.
Lectures will continue to be made available online and it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person, as long as this conforms to social distancing requirements.
This decision has been taken now to facilitate planning, but as ever, will be reviewed should there be changes to official advice on coronavirus.
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US CDC releases detailed guidelines for reopening the country
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted 60 pages of detailed guidelines to reopen the country on its agency website.
The latest CDC document provides a detailed road map for schools, restaurants, transit and child-care facilities on the categories to consider before reopening.
The guidelines lay out a three-phased approach for reopening and offered six “gating” indicators for local or state authorities to decide when it was time to move onto the next phase.
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