August 2020 BusinessDaily ; Rural private hospital operators want the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to release Sh5.7 billion in accumulated claims which they say have crippled operations. Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (Rupha) said it had submitted the claims through the national insurer’s online system over a year …

August 2020 Bloomberg ; South Africa’s coronavirus outbreak appears to be slowing, with the latest data showing fewer new infections and a drop in natural excess deaths. Confirmed cases in all of the country’s nine provinces have fallen in recent days, most markedly in Gauteng, the most populous and economically …

August 2020 CNN; You may love smoking weed, but it does not love your heart, according to the American Heart Association’s new scientific statement on marijuana.”The American Heart Association recommends that people not smoke or vape any substance, including cannabis products, because of the potential harm to the heart, lungs …

August 2020 Xinhua; Ethiopia’s confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 20,336 after 459 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed on Wednesday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said. The Ethiopian Ministry of Health in a statement issued on Wednesday revealed that from a total of 7,319 medical tests that were conducted within the …

August 2020 W&M; William & Mary led a collaboration with universities throughout Virginia to develop a virtual tool to support the health and wellness of students, faculty and staff this fall. W&M’s tool, called the Daily Health Check, will be part of its Healthy Together module available via the university’s mobile application …

August 2020 Fiercebiotech; Telehealth giant Teladoc has moved to absorb the digital disease management company Livongo through a deal worth as much as $18.5 billion, reflecting the growing importance of virtual healthcare platforms as the world is caught in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The massive medtech acquisition takes …

August 2020 BBC; More than half a million coronavirus cases have been confirmed in South Africa, according to the country’s health minister. Zweli Mkhize announced 10,107 new cases on Saturday, bringing the tally to 503,290, along with 8,153 deaths. South Africa is the hardest-hit country on the continent and accounts …

August 2020 DailyNation; Government employees and front-line health workers continue to remain exposed during the Covid-19 pandemic period following the expiry of their medical, life and last-expense insurance covers. The contracts for the scheme that caters for civil servants and the National Police Service expired on March 31, but the …

August 2020 BBC; Stella Immanuel, a doctor at the centre of a controversy over unproven and potentially dangerous claims that an anti-malaria drug can treat Covid-19, is no stranger to conspiracy theories. Facebook and Twitter have taken down the viral video in which she appears, saying it violates their policies …

August 2020 OxfordMail; DOZENS of cancer researchers are set to lose their jobs in a ‘devastating’ move described as a ‘kick in the teeth’ to scientists who have dedicated their lives to helping people. Oxford University’s Department of Oncology – based in the same building as its coronavirus vaccine team – is …