Corona Voice - Angola. The tok show with Sofonie Dala. Don't miss it! Day 32

 Our Corona Voice show is ongoing. Day 32

Covid-19 has been a dramatic global health and economic shock. Although the governments of many nations have taken novel steps to protect workers, unemployment has risen dramatically in many countries; poverty and hunger are on the rise in Angola.

Today we invited Pedro. He will share with us his challenges during the time of Covid-19 pandemic.

Hello guys! My name is Pedro Kungulo, I am a model and musician. Life is not at all easy because we are facing an invisible disease. I will share with you a little about the impact of this disease on my life.

Covid-19 ruined a lot of things in my life, I was unable to finish my studies at the first stage and I also lost my job. But the most important thing is to have health.

How did Covid-19 affect your financial life?

Honestly, the covid-19 blew it. I recently lost my job and it is very difficult to continue with my studies and social projects.

You said that you are a student. How did the pandemic impact your studies?

I stopped studying because of the covid-19.

Now that school has reopened have you noticed any security?

Not 100% but I can manage it.

How have you been preventing yourself from the  covid-19?

By using the face mask always, washing my hands with soap and water and disinfecting them with alcohol gel.

Click here to watch free full webisodes: https://coronavoice-angola.blogspot.com/

'This is the first and the only Coronavirus show in Angola where the most ordinary citizens show their brilliant talents.

The heroes of the program are the most ordinary citizens - they share with the audience their songs, poems and real stories of how the Coronavirus pandemic affected their lives.

We launched the “Corona Voice show” campaign to provide a space for young women and men around Angola to share their views, experiences and initiatives.

FIND SOMEONE TO SPONSOR TODAY

Your sponsorship will help the most affected people by covid-19 to take the first step out of poverty.

Africa Educates Her Campaign - Angola. Season 3. Don't Miss Out! Webisode 18

 Our girls back to school campaign is ongoing. Day 18

Education is a basic human right. But many children still do not have the opportunity to learn, especially if they live in poverty or are girls.

Our today's guest is Isabel, she will share with us her academic experience.

I would like someone to offer me a study opportunity

Hello! My name is Isabel Manuel, I stopped studying in 2018 in the 12th grade. I was studying economic and legal sciences, since then I never went back to school because things are very difficult for me.

What are the challenges that stop you from going back to school?

Lack of possibility, my financial situation prevented me to study in 2019 and 2020.

Would you like to go back to school?

Yes, I would like to continue my studies. I would appreciate it if someone gave me this opportunity that I don't have yet.

What have you been doing this time at home?

Well, I am a motherless, I spend all my time taking care of my brothers and my father. In addition, I am a hairdresser, I do odd jobs and provide home service to my clients.

Isabel in this period that you are at home without financial possibilities to be able to enter the university. have you done anything to continue learning?

Yes, I have done a lot to keep studying. I enrolled in a vocational training center. I was taking a course in informatics and executive secretariat but with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic the training center was closed.

GIRLS ’EDUCATION MATTERS

Girls leave school without having acquired the basics, which greatly impedes the social and economic development of the country. Today, it is girls who have the least access to education. They make up more than 54% of the non-schooled population in the world.

Educating girls has beneficial effects on society which can contribute to the development of entire countries. However, girls are far more likely to remain excluded from school.

Education is every child's right and is key to tackling poverty, climate change and gender equality.

By funding quality education for all children and addressing the barriers preventing equal participation at school, we can enable girls to reach their full potential and take the lead - in school, at home and in their communities.

Click here to watch free full webisodes: https://she-leads.blogspot.com/

We launched this campaign to ensure that every girl is able to learn while schools are closed and return to the classroom when schools safely reopen. Everyone can play a role in supporting girls ’education - whether you’re a teacher, parent, student, journalist, policymaker, or simply a concerned citizen.

Don't miss this opportunity to bring girls back to school. Tell us your story!

Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus would you like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the poverty among women?

FIND SOMEONE TO SPONSOR TODAY

Your sponsorship will help the most vulnerable girls and women to take the first step out of poverty.

Trump calls US COVID-19 numbers exaggerated, “fake news”

 The president, without evidence, accused the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention of exaggerating the numbers.

President Donald Trump on Sunday baselessly accused his own administration of inflating the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S. as the pandemic’s death toll ticked past 350,000 nationwide earlier in the day.

Trump, who has downplayed the threat of the coronavirus from the get-go, attacked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for having a “ridiculous method” for counting the number of infections and deaths.

“When in doubt, call it Covid,’ ”Trump tweeted, appearing to suggest that was the CDC’s stance on recording pandemic-related statistics. "Fake News!"

But some public health experts say the number of COVID-19 cases is actually likely underreported since many people infected with the virus may be asymptomatic or show only mild symptoms and not seek treatment.

A recent study co-authored by nine scientists who work for the CDC found the current number of COVID-19 cases as of late September was likely more than seven times higher than the official U.S. count. (The research was conducted in the scientists ’own personal capacities and was not sanctioned by the CDC.)

The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Asked about Trump’s claim Sunday, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams told CNN that he has “no reason to doubt” the official death toll.

“One of the most challenging things about this entire pandemic… has been trying to get health information to the American people in the midst of politics,” Adams said. "I'm focused on making sure people can get the information they need."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert on the White House’s coronavirus task force, echoed Adams ’affirmation of the federal government’s COVID-19 numbers during an interview with ABC’s“ This Week ”on Sunday.

“The deaths are real deaths,” Fauci said when asked about Trump’s accusation against the CDC. “All you need to do is to go out into the trenches, go to the hospitals, see what the health care workers are dealing with. They are under very stressed situations. ”

“In many areas of the country, the hospital beds are stretched,” he continued. “People are running out of beds, running out of trained personnel. … That’s real. That’s not fake. ”

As the U.S. continues to lead the world in reported coronavirus infections and deaths, the federal government and states are working to distribute millions of doses of the two COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved for emergency use so far by the Food and Drug Administration.

Trump administration officials said in November that they expected to have 20 million Americans vaccinated by the end of December. But they’ve fallen far short of their goal with only about 4.2 million vaccines administered as of Saturday.

Trump's vaccine czar, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, took responsibility for the slow rate of distribution, stating last month that his team made a mistake when initially calculating the shipping timeline.

But Trump has repeatedly pointed the finger at states for the slow distribution.

“The vaccines are being delivered to the states by the Federal Government far faster than they can be administered!” the president tweeted Sunday.

UK’s Johnson warns of more lockdown measures as virus soars

 LONDON (AP) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that more onerous lockdown restrictions in England are likely in the coming weeks as the country reels from a new coronavirus variant that has pushed infection rates to their highest recorded levels.

Johnson, though, insisted he has “no doubt” that schools are safe and urged parents to send their children back into the classroom in areas of England where they can. Unions representing teachers have called for schools to turn to remote learning for at least a couple of weeks more due to the new variant, which scientists have said is up to 70% more contagious.

The U.K. is in the midst of an acute outbreak, recording more than 50,000 new coronavirus infections a day over the past six days. On Sunday, it notched up another 54,990 cases, down slightly from the previous day’s daily record of 57,725. The country also recorded another 454 virus-related deaths to take the total to 75,024. According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the U.K. is alternating with Italy as the worst-hit European nation.

“We are entirely reconciled to do what it takes to get the virus under control, that may involve tougher measures in the weeks ahead,” Johnson said in an interview with the BBC. “Obviously there are a range of tougher measures that we would have to consider.”

Johnson conceded that school closures, curfews and the total banning of household mixing could be on the agenda for areas under the most stress.

London and southeast England are facing extremely high levels of new infections and there is speculation that restrictions there will have to be tightened to bring the virus under control. In some parts of the British capital and its surrounding areas, there are more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 people.

Johnson’s Conservative government is using a tiered coronavirus restrictions system. Most of England is already at the highest Tier 4 level, which involves the closure of shops not selling nonessential items and places like gyms and recreation centers as well as a stay-at-home instruction.

“What we are using now is the tiering system, which is a very tough system, and alas probably about to get tougher to keep things under control,” he said. “We’ll review it and we have the prospect of vaccines coming down the tracks in their tens of millions, offering people literally life and hope.”

Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, urged Johnson to bring in further national restrictions in the next day or so though he stopped short of calling for the closure of schools as he said he didn’t want to “add to the chaos” that is likely to emerge on Monday.

“The virus is clearly out of control,” Starmer said. “”We can’t allow the prime minister to use up the next two or three weeks and then bring in a national lockdown which is inevitable.”

Starmer also said it’s unavoidable that more schools will close and urged the government to come up with a plan both for students and for working parents.

One area the U.K. has moved quickly is on the vaccination front. It was the first to begin vaccinating people over age 80 and health care workers on Dec. 8 with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Last week, regulators approved another vaccine made by Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca that is cheaper and easier to use than the Pfizer vaccine.

Hundreds of new vaccination sites are due to be up and running this week as the National Health Service ramps up its immunization program with the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot. Officials say around 530,000 doses of the new vaccine will be in place Monday as the country moves towards its goal of vaccinating 2 million people a week as soon as possible.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered at a small number of hospitals for the first few days so authorities can be on the lookout for any adverse reactions. Hundreds of new vaccination sites — at both hospitals as well as local doctors’ offices — are due to launch this week, joining the more than 700 already in operation, NHS England said.

In a shift from practices in the U.S. and elsewhere, Britain plans to give people second doses of both vaccines within 12 weeks of the first shot rather than within 21 days, to accelerate immunizations across as many people as quickly as possible.

“My mum, as well as you or your older loved ones, may be affected by this decision, but it is still the right thing to do for the nation as a whole,” the government’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said in an article for the Mail on Sunday newspaper.

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Follow AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Beyoncé to donate $500,000 to people impacted by the eviction crisis

 Beyoncé will offer $ 5,000 grants to help people facing foreclosures or evictions due to the housing crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

People can apply for the grants beginning January 7, 2021, the singer announced on her website Tuesday. Grants will be sent out to the 100 people selected in late January.

“Beyoncé is continuing her heart of support and helping where needed most. Phase Two of the BeyGOOD Impact Fund will now help those impacted by the housing crisis, ”according to a news release.

“The housing moratorium is set to end on December 26th, resulting in mortgage foreclosures and rental evictions. Many families are impacted, due to the pandemic that resulted in job loss, sickness and overall economy downturn, ”the release said.

‘I have $4 to my name.’ An extended eviction ban isn’t enough for some struggling renters

An estimated 9.2 million renters who have lost income during the pandemic are behind on rent, according to an analysis of Census data by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Once the moratoriums are lifted, many of these renters will be expected to pay their entire back rent or come up with some sort of payment plan with their landlord — or they could face losing their homes.

Those who apply for the grants must submit the necessary documentation to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) by the deadline.

This is not Beyoncé’s first effort to help communities hurt by the pandemic.

BeyGOOD has teamed up with the NAACP to support Black-owned small businesses impacted by the pandemic, so far providing 250 businesses with $10,000 grants.

In May, she set up mobile Covid-19 testing sites with her mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson, in their hometown of Houston, Texas. She also donated, in partnership with Jack Dorsey’s Start Small fund, $6 million to coronavirus relief in April.

COVID-19: ANGOLA REPORTS DEATHS AGAIN AFTER A SHORT RESPITE

 After two days straight without Covid-19 death, Angolan health authorities again announced two fatalities in the last 24 hours, as the infections push national tally to 17, 608.

The deaths occurred in the provinces of Luanda and Huambo, involving two Angolan citizens (a man and a woman), aged 68 and 80 respectively.

According to the Secretary of State for Public Health, Franco Mufinda, the country reported in the last 24 hours, 40 new cases.

Of this number, 15 for Luanda, Zaire with 14, Lunda Norte (04) and Huambo (04), while Benguela, Cabinda and Cuanza Norte with one case each, said Franco Mufinda to the Daily Covid-19 update session held on Saturday.

The ages of newly infected people range from 11 to 64 years old, 25 male and 15 female.

He also announced 43 recoveries, 39 in Luanda and four in Moxico, aged between 11 and 73 years old.

AVIATION FUEL PRICES ADJUSTED AS OF JANUARY 01

 JET A1 aviation prices were adjusted, as of January 01, 2021, Angop has learned.

The liter of JET A1 for Platts reference (PRA) is AKz 238.94, with Coastal Base / Ex-Refinery (PBC) adjusted to AKz 273.53, while Ex-Logistics and Distribution Price (PVD) stands at AKz 325.74.

The price of aviation fuel installation, including PVA taxes and duty, is adjusted to AKz 386.80.

In its statement reached ANGOP, the Petroleum Derivatives Regulatory Institute (IRDP) said the move is meant to ensure the automatic adjustment mechanisms of JET A1 prices in the markets.

The IRDP is an institution of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas (Mirempet).

COVID-19: ANGOLA WITH 17,642 INFECTIONS

 Angola has currently 17,642 people with covid-19 infection, since the pandemic emerged in March in the country.

Of this number, 11,223 people have recovered, 6,011 active and 408 deaths.

The health authorities also announced one as being in critical condition, eight serious, 78 moderated, 74 mild and 5,850 asymptomatic.

The country recorded in the last 24 hours 34 new infections, 34 recoveries and 01 death.

The cases were detected in the provinces of Zaire with 13, Luanda (11), Bié (4), Cuanza Sul (4) and Úige (02), with ages ranging from 17 to 74, 25 male and 9 female.