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BY MOSES MATENGA POLICE yesterday said only those classified as essential service providers would be allowed to travel into city centres for the next 30 days as government intensifies measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 which has already stretched the country’s health delivery system. Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said those who defied the directive would be arrested while warning against failure to put on face masks. “In view of the revised COVID-19 regulations announced by the government, the police reiterates that only employees in the essential service sectors such as health, security, food distribution, banking institutions, mining services, communication and telecommunications, agricultural production will be allowed to pass through checkpoints and roadblocks,” Nyathi said. Zimbabwe goes into lockdown starting today as announced by Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga at the weekend. The lockdown was necessitated by a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the last two months. On Sunday, Zimbabwe recorded 774 new cases and three deaths. The country has recorded over 380 deaths to date. “Police will effect arrests on anyone who will be found in public places such as supermarkets, banks, pick-up points and others without wearing or improperly putting on masks and not practising social distancing,” Nyathi said. Those in the essential service include health workers who police said should be in uniform and in possession of identity documents while those in civilian attire should produce a letter from their employers stating the place, dates and times of reporting for duty. “Members of the public, entities in the essential services sectors such as food distribution and retailers, mining, communication and telecommunications, agricultural production, security companies as pronounced by government and the media are advised that after consultation with the COVI-19 ministerial taskforce, movement and exemption letters will be issued by the Ministry of Industry,” the police said. Commercial A2 and A1 farmers should carry with them offer letters or lease agreements while communal farmers need letters from the headmen or village heads. On buying food, Nyathi said: “There is no need for movement exemption letters for those going to buy or restock foodstuffs or medication within a five-kilometre radius from place of residence, unless there is no such establishment within that radius or needed service is not available there, in which case, one may obtain it from the nearest location to his or her home.” l Follow Moses on Twitter @mmatenga
Nationwide protests have taken place since October 7 despite the disbanding of the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit.
The demonstrators have been accused of attacking police stations and personnel.
The rallies which are mostly attended by young people have become avenues to vent against corruption and unemployment.
Rights groups say at least 15 people have been killed the demonstrations began in early October.
While protecting him from the coronavirus, it would normally also put him in danger in Manenberg, one of a number of violent and poor neighborhoods on the outskirts of Cape Town known as the Cape Flats.
The mask’s colors identify Preston as a member of the Americans, a criminal gang usually unwelcome on the turf of the rival Hard Livings gang.
But today, he’s working side-by-side with other notorious gang members to deliver bread, flour and vegetables to poor families who are struggling during South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown, which has closed industries and left many in Manenberg without work.
Preston stands in a courtyard with the other gang members amid an unlikely truce, bowing his head as Danny, a senior member of the Hard Livings, says a prayer.
Manenberg resident Cristal van Rensburg says two cousins were killed by gang members, with one shot 30 times in the face and chest.
So when a homeless man told Lester how difficult it was for people living on the streets to wash their hands to avoid catching or spreading the coronavirus, it was only natural for Lester to spring into action.
With those places closed down due to the pandemic, and with hand hygiene more important than ever, Lester decided the solution was to buy portable sinks and distribute them in public places where homeless people tend to gather.
The result was Love Sinks In, a campaign of Lester’s Atlanta-based nonprofit, Love Beyond Walls, which advocates for homeless and underserved populations.
The concept has been so well received that Lester has been recruited by homeless advocates in other cities to bring Love Sinks In to locations including Chicago, Dallas, and Austin; San Bernardino, California; Birmingham, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio; and various locations in New York, Nevada and Utah.
Lester, a father of two, has also written a book on the realities of homeless called “I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People.”
With Namibian schools scheduled to reopen for face-to-face teaching and learning for the critical 11 and 12 grades, the Namibia National Teachers' Union (Nantu) says all schools should get health safeguards before 3 June.
Failure by government to provide such health protective gears, the union has threatened that no schools shall reopen.
Therefore, Nantu stands firm on its position which was communicated to the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture last week that no school shall open until the mentioned demands and concerns are not met,\" stated Loide Shaanika, the secretary general of Nantu
Government has announced schools will reopen in four different phases, starting with grade 11 and 12 in the first phase on 3 June who are expected to sit for national examinations at the end of the year.
She said Nantu discovered that there is a clear indication that schools are not yet ready due to the lack of some basic health and safety gears, and moreover the financial resources to address these challenges.
Based on that, the union strongly demands to the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture to ensure schools have put in place safety mechanisms before 3 June.
Oyo State's cases of COVID-19 has reached 199, following the nine new infections.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, on Friday night, announced the nine new cases in Oyo.
However, Governor Seyi Makinde, who is Chairman of the State COVID-19 Task Force, has said they were doing everything to contain the spread of the disease.
The governor had tweeted that almost all the COVID-19 cases in the state had mild or no symptoms.
meaning \"with the proper management of cases that we have put in place, they will recover without any complications.
The country is convulsing with civil unrest because we all watched George Floyd murdered by the police on camera with a casual brutality that has become emblematic of the troubled relationship between Black Americans and police authority.
Now, as another generation protests police brutality, I believe things have gotten worse, not better with this national problem.
We are educating Black children in a nation on edge, trying to uplift hope rather than sow discontent.
But, how do we approach that for Black children in the midst of a breakdown in the country’s social contract?
After meeting with a group of Black civic leaders, of which I was a part, Governor Gavin Newsom said, “The Black community is not responsible for what’s happening in this country right now — we are.
The Department of Social Development appeared before Portfolio Committee on Social Development to give an update on its food distribution programme
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, food donation organised by the Rotary clubs of Thika and Thika West, with support from the Bank of Africa, is going on.
The Kenya Network of Women with Aids (Kenwa), with offices at the heart of Kiandutu, tells of people with HIV who are in dire need of medicines.
Ms Josephine Wanjiru, who is in-charge of Kenwa in Kiambu, says: \"Since Covid-19 was first reported in Kenya, the government forgot that other ailments exist.
People are dying in the slums for luck of HIV drugs, and they will continue to die if the government does not act fast\".
Benjamin Githae of Rotary District 9212 said that the food distribution mainly targeted the blind, those engaged in prostitution and people living with HIV.
“MDEAT COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS” JUNE 4: The Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust (MDEAT) hosts a monthly talk show on WMBM (AM 1490), covering juvenile justice topics related to its program, Miami-Dade County Teen Court, every first Thursday of the month at 2 p.m. Three alumni share in their own words what they learned and the difference it made in their lives: Attorney Leonard Thompson, Jr., assistant state attorney, Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office; Stephen Kelly, a Miami Dade College dual enrollment student, Miami-Dade Youth commissioner and chair of the Advocacy and Legislation Committee; Ceniryia Benitez, a psychology major at MiamiDade College – Wolfson Campus and MDEAT office support specialist/student intern.
For other information call 305.375.5661, email MDEATInfo@miamidade.gov, or visit FOOD DISTRIBUTION JUNE 5 GREYNOLDS PARK: MiamiDade County Commissioner Sally A. Heyman and Feeding South Florida will host, starting 9 a.m. at 18501 NE 22nd Ave., North Miami Beach, on a first-come, first-served basis, to feed families during the coronavirus pandemic.
Broward County Public Schools will be broadcast live on Beacon TV June 15 through June 28; the schedule is at Beach County streaming graduation ceremonies began May 26.
VIRGINIA KEY BEACH 75TH ANNIVERSARY WELCOMES FAMILY STORIES: The City of Miami’s Virginia Key Beach Park Trust is reaching out to families, descendants and friends of those who participated, to help tell the heroic stories of the courageous action by African American citizens of Miami that changed the course of South Florida history.
Call 305-960-4603 and/or visit TAKE CONTROL: Opa-locka Commissioner Joseph L. Kelley and the City Commission will host for free COVID-19 testing Sunday, June 7 at 1 p.m. at Sherbondy Park, 380 Bahman Ave. All pastors and clergy are asked to encourage their congregation to come together to fight against COVID-19.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The next few weeks are critical to tamping down a disturbing coronavirus surge, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress on Tuesday — issuing a plea for people to avoid crowds and wear masks just hours before mask-shunning President Donald Trump was set to hold a campaign rally in one hot spot.
Fauci and other top health officials also said they have not been asked to slow down virus testing, in contrast to Trump’s claim last weekend that he had ordered fewer tests be performed because they were uncovering too many infections.
Troubling surges worsened Tuesday in several states, with Arizona, Texas and Nevada setting single-day records for new coronavirus cases, and some governors saying they’ll consider reinstating restrictions or delaying plans to ease up in order to help slow the spread of the virus.
Scientists eventually recommended the general public use cloth masks, after they better understood that people with no symptoms could be spreading the virus — even though they don’t offer as much protection as the sophisticated masks reserved for health workers and aren’t a substitute for staying 6 feet away from other people.
Trump, meanwhile, doubled down on testing claims that have public health experts appalled, tweeting Tuesday:
“Cases are going up in the U.S. because we are testing far more than any other country, and ever expanding.
Nairobi — Government Spokesman Colonel (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna Monday waded into the on-going public debate on whether motorists can be arrested for failing to wear a face masks while in their private cars.
Speaking during the daily government briefing on the status of the COVID-19, he said police officers are not supposed to arrest motorists who do not put on face masks.
Colonel (Rtd) Oguna however defended police officers who have been enforcing guidelines on the mandatory wearing of masks in public places saying the measures are aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Oguna who was responding to complaints from private motorists who have accused police officers of harassing individuals in private cars for failure to put on masks even when they are alone in their cars.
He however urged motorists to always have their masks on while stepping out of their cars.
The US recorded a one-day total of 34,700 new COVID-19 cases, just short of the nation's late-April peak of 36,400, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
While new cases have been declining steadily in early US hot spots such as New York and New Jersey, several other states set single-day case records this week, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada and Texas.
Florida's single-day count of new confirmed cases surged yesterday to 5,500, a 25 per cent jump from the record set last week and triple the level from just two weeks ago.
In Arizona, cases will probably exceed statewide hospital bed capacity within the next several weeks if the trend continues, said Dr Joseph Gerald, a University of Arizona public health policy professor.
In a sign of the shift in the outbreak, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey announced they will require visitors from states with high coronavirus infection rates to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
Based on the limited information available to date, the risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is considered low.
The CDC is still learning about the virus that causes COVID-19, but it appears that it can spread from people to animals in some situations.
The CDC believes until they can learn more about how this virus affects animals, they recommended treating your pets as you would other human family members to protect them from a possible infection.
If you are sick with COVID-19 restrict contact with your pets, and other pets, just like you would with other humans.
Based on the limited current information, the risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is low.
… . In contrast, unemployment rates for Black Americans rose slightly moving from 16 … coverage were particularly striking for Black Americans residing in the 14 states … current presidential campaign. As an African American and professional nurse, I know …
She announced Wednesday that her Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation will donate money to organizations dedicated to helping underserved communities in Chicago; Baltimore; Nashville, Tennessee; Milwaukee; and Kosciusko, Mississippi, where she was born.
“The reason I’m talking about it is because there is going to be a need for people of means to step up,” Winfrey said in an interview with The Associated Press.
In Nashville, where Winfrey lived with her father and started her media career, she is giving $2 million to NashvilleNurtures, a collaboration with Mount Zion Baptist Church and Tennessee State University, Winfrey’s alma mater.
In Baltimore, where Winfrey also built her media career, she’s donating money to Living Classrooms Foundation and Center for Urban Families.
Before giving out millions to others, Winfrey said she first helped the people closest to her.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has advised citizens to obey public health regulations to wear masks when entering public places.
So if that operator says no mask no roti, no mask don’t come in here they have an authority to tell you that.
Rowley said a joint police and district medical officer will soon begin to enforce public health regulations throughout the country.
He said, “If you don’t (comply) and there is no authority for police to act under the regulations there will be the opportunity for the district medical officer to act under Public Health Act.”
The medical officer has that authority and if what you are doing offends the Public Health Act the district medical officer has a lot of power to act.”
Both the need and the relief have been on display in the historic civil rights city of Selma, where volunteers distributed free food to scores of people, many of whom shared rides from isolated communities just to get to the school where boxes of fruit and vegetables were available.
Black Belt counties have eight of the nine worst infection rates in Alabama, where more than 21,600 have tested positive for the virus, and more than 730 have died.
And more than $4 million in pandemic assistance grants announced last week will go to agencies that serve Black Belt counties in Alabama.
While broadband access is spotty across much of rural Alabama, some entire counties lack service in the Black Belt.
But in far-flung areas where around a third of families either lack a vehicle or share just one, simply getting food to people has been a problem, since normal distribution channels through churches and assistance groups broke down during the virus shutdown, she said.
Mombasa — Hundreds of residents in Kibarani, Bahati and Kwa Punda informal settlements in Mombasa on Friday protested over what they termed as biased relief food distribution in Mombasa County amid crippling restrictions, including cessation of movement, which had impacted livelihoods in the coastal city .
The protesters blocked a section of the road at Kibarani leading to Changamwe roundabout demanding food distribution by the county government of Mombasa.
The demonstrations came ahead of the roll out of the second phase on a county-wide food distribution program.
The residents of Kibarani, Bahati and Kwa Punda informal settlements protested the failure by the county government to include them in the first phase despite having been registered for the program.
Another protestor alleged two people had died of hunger in Kibarani, claims the county government is yet to respond to.
Love Beyond Walls provides sinks for the homeless to wash their hands during coronavirus pandemic in Atlanta, Georgia on March 18, 2020.
(Courtesy Love Beyond Walls)
Terence Lester, founder of nonprofit Love Beyond Walls, poses in his personal protection equipment while providing sinks for the homeless in Atlanta, Georgia on March 22, 2020.
Amid a continued surge in hospitalizations and ICU admissions, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday made public the coronavirus models California is using to inform its public health orders, calling on “citizen scientists,” “experts in artificial intelligence,” “Nobel laureates” and everyday people to help improve the models.
The uptick in coronavirus-related hospitalizations largely derives from several southern and central California counties, including Imperial, Kings, Los Angeles, Stanislaus, San Bernardino, Orange and Kern counties, CalMatters’ tracker shows.
California on Thursday adopted the world’s first regulation to force manufacturers to ramp up sales of zero-emission trucks and buses over the next 15 years, CalMatters’ Rachel Becker reports.
Under the rule passed unanimously by the state’s air board, 55% of delivery vans and large pickups, 75% of larger vehicles like school buses and 40% of big rigs sold in California must be zero-emissions by 2035.
Assemblyman Jim Patterson, a Fresno Republican, requested Thursday a state audit of the Employment Development Department, pointing to data showing 75% of Californians who called the department one week in May couldn’t reach a live representative.
POLICE yesterday blocked a planned Zanu PF march to the United States embassy in Harare in protest over the killing of US citizen George Floyd last week, but described the protest as a “noble cause” that should be shelved until the COVID-19 lockdown is over.
Zanu PF, through its national commissar Victor Matemadanda had planned a demonstration today at the embassy, but the police said the protests would break lockdown regulations.
“The office acknowledges receipt of your notification letter dated June 2, in which you intend to stage a demonstration against the killing of a black American George Floyd by the US police and the illegal economic sanctions at the US embassy on June 4, 2020.
Zanu PF and government officials have taken mass protests, that have engulfed US over the killing in of Floyd, a black man at the hands of a white policeman as an opportunity to attack the superpower, with Matemadanda claiming the US was behaving like the “chief justice of the world.”
Statements by the Zanu PF and government officials apparently angered the US government.
Kenya confirmed a record 307 new cases of Covid-19 Tuesday, raising the national tally to 6,673.
