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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Coronavirus: African states impose strict restrictions | Coronavirus: African states impose strict restrictions |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Several African states have imposed far-reaching restrictions in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus. | Several African states have imposed far-reaching restrictions in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus. |
| South Africa has announced a ban on travel from the worst-affected countries and has banned gatherings of more than 100, while Kenya has also imposed sweeping travel restrictions. | |
| The measures are an attempt to prevent a major outbreak on a continent with poor health services. | The measures are an attempt to prevent a major outbreak on a continent with poor health services. |
| At least 27 African states have so far been affected by the virus. | |
| Liberia, where more than 4,800 died during the Ebola outbreak of 2014 and 2015, has become the latest African state to report a case of coronavirus. | |
| The executive director of the state-run Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Eugene Nagbe, tested positive after returning from Switzerland on Friday. | |
| In total, more than 300 people have been diagnosed with the virus in Africa. Six deaths have been reported. | |
| Most of the cases involve people arriving from Europe and North America. | |
| But South Africa imposed the most severe restrictions on its citizens since the end of white-minority rule after reporting its first local transmission. | But South Africa imposed the most severe restrictions on its citizens since the end of white-minority rule after reporting its first local transmission. |
| In an address to the nation on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national disaster as the number of cases rose to 61. | In an address to the nation on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national disaster as the number of cases rose to 61. |
| "Initially, it was people who had travelled out of the country, especially from Italy, who had positively tested for the virus," he said. | "Initially, it was people who had travelled out of the country, especially from Italy, who had positively tested for the virus," he said. |
| "It is concerning that we are now dealing with internal transmission of the virus," Mr Ramaphosa said. | "It is concerning that we are now dealing with internal transmission of the virus," Mr Ramaphosa said. |
| More on Africa and the virus: | More on Africa and the virus: |
| What else has South Africa done? | What else has South Africa done? |
| Mr Ramaphosa said he would chair a government command council that would "coordinate all aspects of our extraordinary emergency response". | Mr Ramaphosa said he would chair a government command council that would "coordinate all aspects of our extraordinary emergency response". |
| Among the measures he announced are: | Among the measures he announced are: |
| What has Kenya done? | |
| In an address to the nation, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced: | |
| But Kenya's efforts to tackle the global pandemic have been hampered by nurses who have started a go-slow at a coronavirus isolation ward at the Mbagathi Hospital in the capital, Nairobi. | |
| The nurses say there is a shortage of protective gear and they have not received adequate training on how to deal with patients. | |
| The hospital has admitted 22 people who came into contact with the first confirmed case in Kenya. | |
| Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man has been arrested in the eastern town of Mwingi for publishing "false information", Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations said in a tweet: | |
| The man would be charged under cybercrime legislation, and risked a fine of up to $50,000 (£40,000) or a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. |