Author: anadmin

Luanda – Angola detected 134 new cases, 12 deaths and 189 recoveries, in the latest 24 hours, according to the Health minister, Sílvia Lutucuta.

Releasing the statistics on Monday, the minister said that 85 new cases emerged in Luanda, 9 in Huíla, 8 in Uíge, 6 in Cuando Cubango, 6 in Namibe, 5 in Bié, 4 in Cabinda, 3 in Huambo, 3 in Zaire, 2 in Cunene, 1 in Malanje, 1 in Lunda Sul and 1 in Moxico.

The list includes 75 male and 59 female patients, featuring patients aged from 11 month to 98 years old.

Deaths were reported in the provinces of Lunda Sul with 3, Namibe 3, Luanda 2, Cuando Cubango 1, Cunene 1, Malanje 1 and Moxico 1.

On the other hand, she said 150 patients recovered in Luanda, 18 in Huambo, 14 in Bié, 3 in Moxico, 2 in Namibe and 2 in Lunda Sul.

There are 221 patients undergoing treatment in the country.

Angola has a total of 48,790 cases, 1,282 deaths, 44,054 recoveries and 3,454 active patients.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Moçâmedes – Angolan minister of Education Luísa Grilo has announced plans for the implementation of national exams this academic year in the country, saying that the process will run on a pilot basis.

She said the preparatory process is in progress, with the creation of the first teams that will work on the preparation for the tests and their implementation in the 6th, 9th and 12th grades.

Luisa Grilo, who was on a three-day visit to the south-west Namibe province, said that the process is being carried out very carefully and with strictness, but she recognised existing several difficulties.

“We should not continue to work based on speculation. We need to know what each province or municipality offers in terms of learning”, said the minister.

She said there are differences in managing the knowledge, but there is a national minimum of training content that is mandatory and which everyone should master.

“The national exam serves to assess this national minimum, as its adaptations must be assessed based on continuous assessment, since the curriculum itself covers 70 percent national and 30 percent local responsibility,” she added.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Angolan government has recommended mandatory vaccine for employees in the civil service and private sector, as well as defence and security bodies.

The move is intended to reinforce actions to prevent and combat the pandemic, preserving the health of public service and private sector users, said Francisco Pereira Furtado.

The Minister of State and Head of Security Affairs Office to the Presidency of Republic, told reporters that the measure covers persons with the legal age traveling between provinces, who will be required to show their vaccine cards as proof that they took one or two doses.

Furtado said that public and private institutions must allow their employees on the day of vaccination.

In order to ensure the well-being of the users and other workers, the public administration and the private sector have been urged to demand the presentation of proof of tests with negative results from the employees who have not taken the vaccines.

Francisco Pereira Furtado explained that the measure (mandatory vaccination) does not cover minors under 18 years of age.

The President’s aide described the current health situation as stable, but added that an all-out effort is required to avoid a third wave.

In turn, the minister of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, who also praised the move, regretted the fact that many people in age group do not show up at the vaccination points set up in the country.

Lutucuta, who acknowledged existing community circulation of the virus throughout the country, considers vaccination as a powerful “weapon” in combat and prevention of pandemic.

The minister said the goal is to vaccinate 60 percent of the Angolan population, out of a total of 15 million citizens.

She put at more than 400,000 the number of citizens who have not yet visited the vaccination sites to take the second dose.

Statistics indicate the vaccination of more than two million citizens, since the beginning of the process in March of this year.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda- Angolan Government Monday announced the institutionalisation of digital certificate of Covid-19 vaccine.

The minister of State and Head of Security Affairs Office to the Presidency, who made the announcement, stressed the importance of the document (digital certificate) at national immigration check points on international trips.

Framcisco Pereira Furtado said that the measure will include the candidates for public tenders in the education, health sectors as well as defence and security bodies.

To issue the certificate, users must access the website www.vacina.gov.ao, but only for those who have already taken the full dose.

As part of update measure to halt the spreading of Covid-19, the Executive recommended vaccine for all professionals in health, education, defence and security bodies, institutions providing public and private services.

The move is intended, according to the official, to reinforce prevention and combat measures, focusing on preventing the spread of positive cases in the country.

Francisco Pereira Furtado stated that the intention is to immunize all professionals who deal with the public on a daily basis.

The official, who ruled out the vaccination for minors under 18, stressed the need for adults to join the campaign, saying that this is the only effective way to prevent and combat the disease.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Ruling MPLA party assessed Monday in Luanda the memorandum on ex-officio electoral registration which emerged from the revised law of the country’s Constitution.

The electoral memorandum includes, among other documents, the Laws on ex-officio electoral registration and general organic elections.

Approved by National Assembly on September 1, the diplomas clarify the electoral matters on the vote, including abroad and the active electoral capacity.

According to the final statement of the meeting, the members of the Politburo Secretariat of the ruling MPLA party also analysed, the political, economic and social matters in the country.

The participants also analysed the plan of activities for the celebration of 100th anniversary of the national hero, António Agostinho Neto, as well as the information on the preparation and arrangement of the 7th Ordinary Congress of MPLA.

The meeting also focused on report on holding of the meeting of the militants, balance and renewal of mandates in grassroots organisations, communal, district and municipal committees of MPLA.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The Angolan Government on Monday condemned the coup attempt in Guinea, carried out Sunday by a group of special forces and which culminated with the detention of President Alpha Condé.

In a statement, the Angolan Foreign Ministry said the action was serious, anti-democratic, unconstitutional and a violation of the principles of the African Union (AU) 1999 and 2000 declarations of Algiers and Lome, on unconstitutional changes.

Under the principles of those declarations, African countries should not recognise governments that result from coups d’état.

The document stresses that Angola supports the joint declaration of the African Union’s President and the chairperson of the AU Commission, as well as the declaration of the chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The Angolan Government expresses its solidarity with the Guinean people and calls on the perpetrators of this act to unconditionally release President Alpha Condé and to preserve his physical integrity.

It also urges a prompt return to constitutional order to safeguard peace and stability in the Republic of Guinea, stressing that it is following “with great concern the events in the Republic of Guinea”.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

WASHINGTON – NASA confirmed Monday that its Perseverance Mars rover succeeded in collecting its first rock sample for scientists to pore over when a future mission eventually brings it back to Earth.

“I’ve got it!” the space agency tweeted, alongside a photograph of a rock core slightly thicker than a pencil inside a sample tube.

The sample was collected on September 1, but NASA was initially unsure whether the rover had successfully held onto its precious cargo, because initial images taken in poor light were unclear.

After taking a new photo so mission control could verify its contents, Perseverance transferred the tube to the rover’s interior for further measurements and imaging, then hermetically sealed the container.

“This is a momentous achievement, and I can’t wait to see the incredible discoveries produced by Perseverance and our team,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science, likened the achievement to the first samples of rock taken from the Moon, which are still invaluable to researchers today.

Perseverance’s sampling and caching system is the most complex mechanism ever sent to space, with more than 3,000 parts.

Its first target was a briefcase-sized rock nicknamed “Rochette” from a ridgeline that is particularly interesting from a geological perspective as it contains ancient layers of exposed bedrock.

Perseverance uses a drill and a hollow coring bit at the end of its 2-meter-long (7-foot-long) robotic arm to extract samples.

Perseverance landed on an ancient lakebed called the Jezero Crater in February, on a mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life using a suite of sophisticated instruments mounted on its turret.

It is also trying to better characterize the red planet’s geology and past climate.

The first part of the rover’s science mission, which will last hundreds of sols or Martian days, will be complete when it returns to its landing site.

By then, it will have traveled somewhere between 2.5 and 5 kilometers (1.6 and 3.1 miles) and may have filled up to eight of its 43 sample tubes.

It will then travel to Jezero Crater’s delta region, which might be rich in clay minerals. On Earth, such minerals can preserve fossilized signs of ancient microscopic life.

Eventually NASA wants to send back the samples taken by the rover in a joint mission with the European Space Agency, sometime in the 2030s.

Its first attempt at taking a sample in August failed after the rock was too crumbly to withstand the robot’s drill.

Source: Voice of America

WASHINGTON – Cuba began inoculating children as young as 2 with vaccines it developed that have not been recognized by the World Health Organization, the country announced Monday.

The goal of the campaign is to vaccinate at least 90% of the population, state-run media said. About half of the population has had one shot, and about one-third has had two shots, according to government data.

Cuba has recorded an average of about 7,000 new cases a day over the past seven days, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. With a population of more than 11 million, it has one of the highest coronavirus rates in the world.

The country is eager to get its children back in the classroom. Most Cuban homes do not have internet access, and with its schools closed since March 2020, most children learn by watching television programs.

WASHINGTON – Cuba began inoculating children as young as 2 with vaccines it developed that have not been recognized by the World Health Organization, the country announced Monday.

The goal of the campaign is to vaccinate at least 90% of the population, state-run media said. About half of the population has had one shot, and about one-third has had two shots, according to government data.

Cuba has recorded an average of about 7,000 new cases a day over the past seven days, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. With a population of more than 11 million, it has one of the highest coronavirus rates in the world.

The country is eager to get its children back in the classroom. Most Cuban homes do not have internet access, and with its schools closed since March 2020, most children learn by watching television programs.

“As the experience with this pandemic shows, no country can let down its guard. Complacency can be as dangerous as the virus itself. We must continue to be vigilant,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, speaking from Rome to a Southeast Asia regional WHO meeting in Nepal.

The WHO chief said several recommendations had aimed to provide a better response to combat the pandemic. However, the most effective step, and what he said could make “the biggest difference” in the future, is to find a solution for all countries equitably: “a treaty or other international agreement on pandemic preparedness and response, which will provide a much-needed foundation for global cooperation, setting the rules of the game for a more coherent and coordinated response to future epidemics and pandemics.”

“I don’t need to tell you that the distribution of vaccines has been terribly unfair,” he said. “We’re all disappointed by the injustice.”

Tedros has recently been asking countries to prioritize vaccination distribution to countries where only 1% or 2% of the population has been inoculated.

“We must never again allow a pandemic on this scale,” he added, in his remarks in Nepal. “We must never again allow an injustice on this scale.”

Source: Voice of America