NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s government plans to seek help from the International Monetary Fund, pay pending bills to suppliers and quickly process company tax refunds to support the economy in the face of the coronavirus crisis, officials said.



Patrick Njoroge, the central bank governor, told a news conference on Tuesday that the government is seeking emergency assistance from the IMF of up to $350 million. 



“This is assistance that doesn’t have the conditionalities of programs &#8230; a lot of this could be directed towards budget support,” Njoroge said, adding that more support will be sought from the World Bank. 



Kenya has 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and the disease is hurting crucial tourism and farm exports. 



The government expects revenue collection to be hit as both imports and domestic consumption slow, Finance Minister Ukur Yatani told Reuters late on Monday. 



“We are looking at underperformances as a result of just COVID-19, of about 70 billion (shillings) &#8230; in terms of revenue for the remaining three months (of this financial year),” he said, adding that situation was evolving fast. 



Yatani said the government would shift planned spending towards urgent development projects. 



It plans to release 49 billion shillings ($460 million) to suppliers for the unpaid bills and expedite the payment of close to 10 billion shillings in value-added tax refunds to businesses in the next two to three months, he said. 



The World Bank is making $60 million available to Kenya’s health sector to help it deal with the outbreak. 



President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been meeting business executives, said on Monday that fiscal stimulus measures would be will be announced later this week. 



Kenya’s central bank has already implemented stimulus measures, cutting interest rates by a heftier than expected 100 basis points on Monday and reducing the amount of cash that banks are required to hold as reserves. 



It is also letting borrowers restructure loans if they enter into difficulties due to the outbreak. 



Yatani said the government and firms were seeking new sources of raw materials imports to keep industries going during the crisis. 



“We already have challenges with the inflow of (materials) inputs&#8230; inputs are either delayed or are not moving in as required,” he said. 



($1 = 106.6000 Kenyan shillings) 



(Additional reporting by Omar Mohammed; editing by John Stonestreet)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21B1A7-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21B1A7-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.

Kenya to seek IMF help, pay arrears, speed tax refunds over coronavirus, officials say

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; The Nigerian president’s chief of staff has tested positive for coronavirus, a source with direct knowledge said. 



The illness of Abba Kyari, who is in his 70s, brings the disease into the immediate circle of 77-year-old President Muhammadu Buhari. 



Kyari has a history of medical complications, including diabetes, and is the gatekeeper to the president. Many who wish to deal with Buhari must go through Kyari, including Nigeria’s top politicians and businessmen. 



He traveled to Germany in early March with a delegation of other Nigerian officials for meetings with Siemens AG. It is unclear if he self-isolated upon his return to Nigeria. 



A presidency spokesman did not comment on whether Buhari has been tested. The president himself has undisclosed medical ailments, and spent five months in London for treatments in 2017. 



(Reporting By Paul Carsten and Alexis Akwagyiram, writing by Libby George; Editing by Angus MacSwan)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21B1H5-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21B1H5-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

Nigerian president’s top aide tests positive for coronavirus – source

– By Neels Barendrecht, Chairman of Agility Holdings
and Director of Agility Risk Solutions, Singapore



In February I returned from a
Singapore business trip. COVID-19 had not yet been declared a pandemic at this
time, however in light of the global events unfolding I took the decision to
self-isolate for the safety of my colleagues, friends, community and to help
protect our country, which at that time had no confirmed cases. 



While some may have thought I
was being overly cautious, as subsequent events in South Africa and the recent
announcement of a national disaster have shown – this was certainly the right
and responsible thing to do. 



As a business leader, I feel
it is my duty to set an example to the rest of the business by diligently
following this process, showing respect for our fellow colleagues and citizens.
The basics of risk management dictate that we have to be mindful of the
potential consequences that wider exposure to this virus could have, and take
proactive measures to prevent this as far as possible. 



One of the most difficult
aspects of my decision to self-isolate at home was that my family who live with
me also needed to enter into these self-quarantine measures. Fortunately, my
family have been most supportive and understand why these measures are
necessary for the greater good. We are also enjoying spending some quality time
together for a change. 



Our Medical Director of
Agility Health, Dr Jacques Snyman,
points out that in my circumstances – which will no doubt be applicable to
others – self-isolation in its true sense is often not practical unless one
lives alone. My family’s possible exposure to any risk of COVID-19 that I could
have after travelling means that our self-imposed family quarantine would aim to keep
any possible risk associated with the virus “in the family”, and not expose
anyone else to possible infection. 



I have been asked whether
life in isolation is a lonely experience, and to what extent it has impacted my
ability to work. Surrounded by my nearest and dearest, who are isolated with
me, I am fortunate not to feel “cut off” and thanks to technology, I am mostly
as effective in my professional capacity as ever ­– if not more so in some
respects because I’m spending less time travelling and commuting, and more time
‘online’.



This said, we have had to
cancel a number of family events because we are not to leave the house under
any circumstances. We are learning to think differently about things we have
taken for granted, and I find myself performing risk analysis in my daily life
for simple things that we would have hardly spared a second thought for before
the advent of this novel coronavirus. 



I now find myself considering
whether the benefit balances the risk of ordering fast food for delivery, which
by this point in our local outbreak could potentially carry traces of the
highly contagious virus. I suspect I will be avoiding buffet tables for some
time to come. 



There is a silver lining to
be found amid the alarm surrounding the coronavirus, and this is that we are
all taking on more responsible behaviours that we should have embraced long
before the threat of COVID-19. 



Just as the threat of Day
Zero in the Western Cape made us far more careful about conserving water and
respecting this limited resource, the COVID-19 pandemic is giving us a
much-needed wake up call when it comes to the importance of hygiene and putting
in place contingency measures.



Proper hygiene will not only
help us in the current situation, it will help to reduce other infectious
illnesses that are all too widespread and also pose significant health risks –
particularly to immunocompromised individuals in our country. 



The behaviours that we will
need to fully embrace to contain the threat of COVID-19, and the agility we as
a society will need to develop in response to the unfolding situation, are
responsible behaviours that will hopefully stay with us far beyond this crisis.




These are things we should have been doing all along, and if COVID-19 provides the stimulus we need to start practising better hygiene, let us do our best to take these lessons to heart.

Op-Ed: Living and working in self-isolation – Seeking the ‘Silver lining’ of the COVID-19 precautions

JOHANNESBURG &#8211; South Africa’s rand rose against the dollar on Tuesday, boosted by the promise of unlimited dollar funding from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which helped sentiment globally, even as an impending 21-day lockdown threatened the local economy.



At 0832 GMT, the rand traded at 17.7200 to the dollar, 0.73% stronger than its previous close. Stocks also rose. 



President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday that South Africa would shut down for three weeks from Thursday in a bid to contain the coronavirus, joining a number of economies around the world taking drastic measures not usually seen in peacetime. 



While likely to have huge consequences for an economy that had already tipped into recession in the final quarter of last year, the measures were widely praised as the decisive, harsh action needed to contain the outbreak. 



The rand did not react to this announcement, Peregrine Treasury Solutions said in a note. The currency is usually led by global factors, and markets around the world were on Tuesday benefiting from an uptick in sentiment following the announcement of a package of extraordinary measures from the Fed. 



Peregrine said however that the rand would likely remain on the back foot. 



“The prospects for an already struggling local economy are now even more bleak, as all businesses except for essential services and goods are to be halted,” it said. 



The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index was up around 4.5%, with the broader all-share index also rising by just shy of 4%. 



Miners were the biggest winners on the blue-chip index, with the likes of Sibanye-Stillwater, BHP Global and Anglo American Platinum enjoying rises of 13%, 10.9% and 9.9% as prices of commodities like oil, platinum and gold rose. 



But consumer-focused firms likely to be affected by the lockdown suffered. 



Bonds also took a tumble, with the yield on the benchmark instrument due in 2030 gaining 91 basis points to 13.215%. 



(Reporting by Emma Rumney; editing by Nick Macfie)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21B157-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21B157-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.

ArcelorMittal South Africa fined R3.64 million over hydrogen sulfide emissions

S.Africa’s rand rises on Fed support even as lockdown looms

FULL ADDRESS: Ramaphosa announces nationwide lockdown from Thursday midnight

KINSHASA (Reuters) &#8211; Congo has imposed a two-day lockdown in one copper- and cobalt-producing province and shut down public markets in another after two people tested positive for the coronavirus on a flight to the capital of one of the provinces.



The governor of Haut-Katanga province, Jacques Kyabula, issued the lockdown order late on Sunday and said the boundaries of the southeastern province would also be closed. Ivanhoe, MMG Ltd and Chemaf are among the mining companies with concessions in Haut-Katanga. 



Ivanhoe and MMG did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sandeep Mishra, a general manager at Chemaf, confirmed its mines were suspending operations for two days to ensure the safety of employees. 



The governor of neighbouring Lualaba province, home to mines owned by Glencore and China Molybdenum, ordered all public markets to close on Monday except those selling food and medicine. 



The order by Lualaba Governor Richard Muyej does not appear to apply to mining activities. A Glencore spokesman declined to comment. China Molybdenum did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 



Together, Haut-Katanga and Lualaba account for nearly all of Democratic Republic of Congo’s output of cobalt, a component in electric car batteries. Congo produces about 60% of the world’s cobalt. 



Indigo Ellis, Head of Africa Research at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said she expected the lockdown to weigh heavily on copper output. 



“The greatest risk to copper output from DR Congo is the potential for smelter or logistics-related bottlenecks, preventing mines from shipping concentrates,” Ellis said. 



Authorities are now trying to locate passengers who were on the flight on Sunday from the national capital Kinshasa to Lubumbashi, the capital of Haut-Katanga, on which two passengers tested positive for the coronavirus. 



In a video posted on Twitter, Governor Kyabula asked them to stay at home and contact the medical services. 



Only the military, police, medical staff and authorised civil servants will be allowed to travel around the province, he said. Otherwise, transport from trucks to bicycles and barges has been halted. 



“No activity will be tolerated in Haut-Katanga during this 48-hour period,” Kyabula said. 



The two cases from the flight took the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Congo to 30, including two deaths. 



About 1,400 cases of coronavirus have now been reported across Africa, according to the World Health Organization. 



There are concerns that the continent will not be able to handle a surge in cases without the depth of medical facilities available in more developed economies. 



(Additional reporting by Helen Reid; additional reporting and writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Timothy Heritage)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21A2FO-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21A2FO-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

Congo imposes 48-hour lockdown on mining province over coronavirus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; The World Bank’s executive board is expected to consider later this week the first fast-track funds to help Afghanistan and Ethiopia respond to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bank’s president said on Sunday.



In a blog posted on LinkedIn on Sunday, David Malpass said funding for the projects could come out of a $14 billion Fast Track Facility (FTF) approved last week to help countries deal with the health and economic impact of the coronavirus. 



The respiratory disease has infected more than 305,000 people around the world, and killed more than 13,000, according to the latest Reuters tally. 



In the blog, Malpass said World Bank teams were preparing projects in 40 countries for up to $1.7 billion under the FTF. 



Projects in Afghanistan and Ethiopia were the most advanced and would be presented to the board this week, he said, teeing them up for formal approval. Work was also advancing on projects in 14 other countries, he said, without naming them. 



These projects could then be quickly replicated in other parts of the same country, through funding from other multilateral development banks, or in other countries. 



In addition, the Bank and the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the Bank, were working to free up $1.5 billion in COVID-19 funding in 24 countries by restructuring existing projects, he said, without naming them. 



The IFC was also working to start extending trade finance and working capital lines to clients, with regular board action expected on those efforts in the next two to four weeks.



Malpass said Bank officials were in close touch with finance ministers and central bankers from around the world to discuss their needs and responses to the crisis. 



Bank officials had also identified ways to support countries as they race to procure much-needed medical equipment and upgrade medical facilities. 



(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Peter Cooney)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21A0O6-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21A0O6-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.

World Bank moving forward on first $1.7 bln in pandemic aid projects

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Monday that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had risen to 402, a jump of 128 since Sunday’s announcement that could worry public health experts concerned about the country’s readiness to deal with the epidemic. 



President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster and imposed measures like travel bans to curb the spread of coronavirus. He is expected to address the nation later on Monday on new measures to mitigate the impact of the virus. 



(Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Alexander Winning)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21A1U4-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21A1U4-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

Clarification on COVID-19 “hotspots” as SA moves to level 3 lockdown

South Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases jump by 128 to 402

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria confirmed its first fatality from coronavirus, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said in a tweet on Monday. 



The patient was a 67-year-old man who returned following a medical procedure in the United Kingdom with underlying medical conditions including multiple myeloma and diabetes and was undergoing chemotherapy, the NCDC said. 



(Reporting by Libby George; editing by Jason Neely)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21A1KJ-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN21A1KJ-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

Nigeria confirms first fatality from coronavirus -NCDC

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African financial services group Alexander Forbes said on Monday a deal to purchase 200.8 million of its own shares from shareholder Mercer Africa for just over 1 billion rand ($56.36 million) was cancelled due to the impact of coronavirus on markets. 



Investment company African Rainbow Capital (ARC) will still acquire 193 million Alexander Forbes shares from Mercer for a similar price, increasing its shareholding to 33.9%, as planned. 



($1 = 17.7426 rand) 



(Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Kim Coghill)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21A0NW-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21A0NW-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.

Alexander Forbes cancels $56 mln plan to buy out shareholder

Rwanda today announced new measures to deal with COVID-19, as the numbers rise. Rwanda now has 17 confirmed cases. Below is the statement issued by Rwanda&#8217;s Prime Minister <a href="https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GGRV_enZA783ZA785&amp;sxsrf=ALeKk01Vv8z7tMpiNktaHvITloO0zYAHEA:1584815619903&amp;q=%C3%89douard+Ngirente&amp;stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLVT9c3NEwzsKjKyyo3eMTozS3w8sc9YSmnSWtOXmO04eIKzsgvd80rySypFNLjYoOyVLgEpVB1ajBI8XOhCvEsYhU83JmSX5pYlKLgl55ZlJpXkgoAoMsPZnMAAAA">Édouard Ngirente</a>. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="696" height="1024" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Rwanda-covid-696x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-364788" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Rwanda-covid-696x1024.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Rwanda-covid-204x300.jpg 204w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Rwanda-covid.jpg 734w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px" /></figure>



For more on COVID-19 visit <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/category/coronavirus/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/category/coronavirus/</a>

COVID-19: Rwanda on lockdown

By François Conradie &#8211; Senior Political Economist



President Peter Mutharika is using his office to thwart the
decision by the Constitutional Court to annul the results of the May 2019
election in which he was re-elected, and to direct government to hold a fresh
election. 



After Parliament approved some changes to electoral legislation in
line with the Court’s directive that presidential elections should henceforth
be won by absolute majority rather than relative majority, Mr Mutharika used
his veto power on Tuesday, March 17, and refused to ratify Parliament’s
changes. 



A spokesperson for the presidency said that, in the president’s
opinion, the proposed changes are unconstitutional. 



Mr Mutharika’s appeal against the original Constitutional Court
ruling is still pending; the ruling in the appeal case is expected in April.



This is the most dramatic move to block the implementation of the
Constitutional Court ruling, and it comes in conjunction with a few other moves
by the head of state that are of a nature to cause concern. 



Also on Tuesday, Mr Mutharika fired the chief commander of the
Malawi Defence Force, General Vincent Nundwe, and replaced him with former air
force commander Major General Andrew Lapken Namathanga. 



General Nundwe had been appointed in June and was widely popular
for his men’s handling of protests over last year’s election: on several
occasions, soldiers came between protesters and police officers whose
repression of marches was turning violent, so the army was praised for being on
the side of the people. 



General Nundwe will be “assigned to other duties in the public
service”, in the words of the statement from the presidency. 



The deputy commander of the defence force was also replaced and a
number of senior officers received promotions. 



An unnamed senior officer who spoke to AFP said that Mr
Mutharika’s intention with the move is to “put people who work for his interests
and from his home area” in positions to advance his personal and political
interests. 



Mr Mutharika has already given the army the order to use force
against protesters participating in a planned march to State House on
Wednesday, March 25.



On Friday, March 13, Mr Mutharika dissolved his Cabinet. 



The move came a few weeks after his Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP) formed an alliance with the United Democratic Front (UDF), in order to
bolster the challenge from the two most important opposition parties, the
Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the United Transformation Movement (UTM). 



He has made explicit his intention to make the Cabinet bigger:
since 2014, the year of his first election, he has stuck to a promise he made
in the campaign ahead of that poll to limit the size of Cabinet to 20
ministers. 



Sympathetic commentators say that the relatively more robust
health of the economy means he can now name a team of up to 30. His intention
is probably to give more portfolios to the UDF to bolster his alliance. 



On Tuesday, his spokesperson said he had decided on a new team and
would announce it “soon”. In the interim, all ministerial powers vest in the
president.



A rough few weeks lie ahead. It seems as though Mr Mutharika’s
plan is to delay the new election for as long as possible, but he does seem to
have accepted that it will go ahead, hence his focus on the new Cabinet and the
alliance with the UDF. 



As the new campaign starts, we will expect protests and for the
overhauled army to be as forceful as the police in dealing with them. The
voting itself will not be less suspect than that of last May, and if he wins,
his legitimacy will be in question. 



We had been hopeful about the outcome of the Constitutional Court ruling, but the president’s intransigence is reason to fear an increase in risk.

Op-Ed: Malawi – Intransigent Mutharika raises the temperature

Report by Julianna Tatelbaum



Key Points



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The FDA commissioner has confirmed the agency is currently looking at drugs already approved for other diseases.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Biotech giant Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is trialing its drug kevzara for use against COVID-19.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Chloroquine is a generic malaria drug which has shown promise as a treatment against COVID-19.</li></ul>



Scientists around the globe are racing to develop tests, treatments and vaccines to combat the COVID-19 disease.&nbsp;



Near term, tests are the priority. Beyond testing, regulators are trying to get treatments approved as quickly and safely as possible to serve as a bridge to a vaccine, which is likely to take 12 months, according to the U.S. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Health-care experts broadly agree that a treatment is likely to come before a vaccine. “If a good treatment emerges, whatever it is, we expect regulators to prioritize expeditious review,” Laura Sutcliffe, a UBS health-care analyst said in a research note.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Treatments</h2>



U.S. regulators are leaning heavily on previously developed treatments. At a press conference with President Donald Trump, the FDA commissioner confirmed the agency is currently looking at drugs already approved for other diseases. Several therapies have been thrust into the spotlight in recent days for their promise: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=GILD">Gilead</a>’s remdesivir, Regeneron’s kevzara and generic antimalarial drug chloroquine (and an alternative version called hydroxychloroquine).&nbsp;&nbsp;



Remdesivir was developed by U.S. pharma giant Gilead Sciences Inc and was previously tried as a treatment for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), another type of coronavirus, and Ebola. Remdesivir is currently in clinical trials and is also permitted for compassionate use&nbsp; — meaning it can be used to treat a severely ill patient when no other treatments are available. The Credit Suisse pharma team note that this is the most advanced novel therapy, but they have concerns about supply.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Biotech giant <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=REGN">Regeneron Pharmaceuticals</a> is trialing its drug kevzara for use against COVID-19. It is currently used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Regeneron co-developed the drug with French health-care firm <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=SAN-FR">Sanofi</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Chloroquine is a generic malaria drug which has shown promise as a treatment against COVID-19. German biosciences conglomerate, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BAYN-DE">Bayer</a>, announced Tuesday it has donated 3 million tablets of its malaria drug resochin which is made of chloroquine phosphate, to the U.S. government to aid in the fight against the virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The Credit Suisse pharma team see manufacturing and supply as the key challenge for the majority of proposed COVID-19 therapies and, in due course, vaccines: “A global pandemic requires a huge volume of drug in a very short space of time. Stocks of legacy drugs, new drug candidates will take months to build, in our view.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="President Donald Trump directs FDA to fight coronavirus by examining malaria drug" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JKC8gu7UsVo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Vaccines&nbsp;</h2>



Usually vaccine development takes more than five years and requires significant capital investment. This lengthy process has created problems in the past, for example with Ebola.&nbsp;



But the scientific community is better prepared now than it was for Ebola, argues Sutcliff. A body was set up to coordinate developing vaccines for pandemics and researchers can now leverage work done during previous outbreaks to propel them forward.&nbsp;&nbsp;



While meaningful progress has been made in recent weeks, in particular from biotech firms specializing in mRNA molecules (these are used to instruct the body to produce its own response to fight a range of diseases) like Moderna and BioNtech, this approach has been more successful in veterinary medicine than in humans. There is no guarantee they will be successful. In parallel to the work being done by these biotech firms, traditional pharma giants like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=GSK-GB">GlaxoSmithKline</a> and Sanofi are leaning on their experience dealing with seasonal flu to try to come up with an immunization. But even then, there is no guarantee of success.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Testing&nbsp;</h2>



Several countries, in particular the U.S. and the U.K. are facing heavy criticism from health-care experts over testing. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday the U.K. is in negotiations to buy hundreds of thousands of tests which would be able to detect whether someone has had COVID-19 by checking the presence of antibodies. He argued this could turn the tide in the fight against the virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A continuous process&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



Health-care companies and regulators have a fine balancing act to maintain: They must race against the clock to get effective treatments and vaccines to market, but they must also ensure those treatments do not have negative effects on patients.&nbsp;



That requires rigorous and time-intensive clinical trials. This is a continuous process and every aspect of the solution matters — from testing to treatment to immunization.



This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/a-coronavirus-treatment-could-come-much-quicker-than-a-vaccine.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/a-coronavirus-treatment-could-come-much-quicker-than-a-vaccine.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Hopes are high for a coronavirus treatment, which could come much quicker than a vaccine

Report by Elias Biryabarema



KAMPALA (Reuters) &#8211; Uganda will request the World Bank for a loan of $190 million to help cushion its economy from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, its finance minister said.



The government has cut its economic growth forecast this fiscal year to 5.2–5.7% from an initial projection of 6%, the minister, Matia Kasaija, said in a statement late on Thursday. 



The disruption caused by the coronavirus are expected to cut industrial output, tourism earnings and the government’s tax collections. 



The government will seek a $100 million budget support loan for this financial year and a further $90 million for the next financial year , Kasaija said. 



It will also approach the International Monetary Fund for help with a projected decline in foreign exchange reserves from 4.2 months worth of imports to 3.5 months. 



The Ugandan shilling declined sharply this week, prompting the central bank to intervene three times in a row to sell dollars and offer support. 



Kasaija said as a result of the economic upheaval from the outbreak, Uganda’s imports were expected to decline 44% in the four months to June. The expected widespread loss of jobs was likely to push an estimated 780,000 people into poverty, he said. 



Uganda has not reported any cases of the coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year and has been spreading around the world. 



Nevertheless, on Wednesday, the government ordered the closing of schools, bars and it banned public gatherings to prevent any outbreak. 



($1 = 3,835.0000 Ugandan shillings) 



(Editing by Duncan Miriri and Robert Birsel)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN2171ED-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN2171ED-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.

Uganda to seek $190 mln from World Bank to cushion coronavirus blow

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s MTN has agreed to reduce the cost of its monthly data bundles of 1 gigabyte (GB) and below by between 25% and 50% from April, following a finding that the country’s mobile data prices were the highest on the continent, the telecoms firm said on Friday. 



The price of its 1GB monthly data bundle will fall by 33% to 99 rand from 149 rand, it said in a statement. 



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(Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; editing by Jason Neely)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN217151-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN217151-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.

MTN drops prices on monthly data bundles

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Friday that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 52 to 202, with the first cases recorded in the Free State province. 



The virus has multiplied in Africa more slowly than in Asia or Europe, but the number of cases has started to rise more rapidly in South Africa in recent days. Africa’s most industrialised economy has the most cases in sub-Saharan Africa. [nL8N2BC6GN] 



(Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Alexander Winning)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2171D5-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2171D5-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

COVID-19 cases rise to 202 in South Africa

BAMAKO (Reuters) &#8211; Suspected Islamist militants killed 29 Malian soldiers on Thursday in an attack on a base in the country’s northeast, the army said. 



There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in the town of Tarkint, which is about 125 km (78 miles) north of the city of Gao. Mali’s army has repeatedly suffered heavy casualties from jihadist fighters active in the area with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State. 



The army said earlier in the day that just two soldiers had died but tweeted later that the death toll had “heavily evolved” to 29 killed and five wounded. 



Vast swathes of central and northern Mali are effectively lawless, used by the jihadists as a base for attacks in Mali and into neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, where security has deteriorated markedly over the past year. 



Former colonial power France has had thousands of troops across the semi-arid band beneath the Sahara Desert known as the Sahel, but French officials acknowledge they have failed to slow the violence. 



French army chief Francois Lecointre told senators last month that the Malian, Nigerien and Burkinabe armies were losing the equivalent of one battalion per year to the militants’ attacks. 



(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo and Souleymane Ag Anara; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Chris Reese and Marguerita Choy)



This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2170TS-OZATP">https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN2170TS-OZATP</a> and is republished with its permission.

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Kenya to seek IMF help, pay arrears, speed tax refunds over coronavirus, officials say

Nigerian president’s top aide tests positive for coronavirus – source

Op-Ed: Living and working in self-isolation – Seeking the ‘Silver lining’ of the COVID-19 precautions

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FULL ADDRESS: Ramaphosa announces nationwide lockdown from Thursday midnight

Congo imposes 48-hour lockdown on mining province over coronavirus

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South Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases jump by 128 to 402

Nigeria confirms first fatality from coronavirus -NCDC

Alexander Forbes cancels $56 mln plan to buy out shareholder

COVID-19: Rwanda on lockdown

Op-Ed: Malawi – Intransigent Mutharika raises the temperature

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MTN drops prices on monthly data bundles

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Militant attack kills 29 Malian soldiers – army

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