Mauritius closes schools amid rise in Covid cases

Mauritius
All schools in Mauritius have been closed

Mauritius has closed all schools as the number of Covid cases continue to rise.

Education Minister Leela Devi Dookhun-Lutchoomun made the announcement in a statement on national television on Tuesday.

She said all classes would be held online from Thursday.

The country has recorded 1,856 cases of Covid in learning institutions since 18 October.

The Indian Ocean island has had a recent surge in the number of Covid deaths, with 42 occurring in the past week and 14 of them aged below 60 years.

About two-thirds of the Mauritian population have been fully vaccinated

The health minister on Tuesday told parliament that 61 fully vaccinated people had died in hospitals across the country since January.

Forty-four of them had received Sinopharm injections, she said.

The government is encouraging citizens to take a third vaccine dose.

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Nigeria separatist Kanu’s trial due to resume

Chris Ewokor

BBC News, Abuja

Nnamdi Kanu was living outside NigeriaImage caption: Nnamdi Kanu was living outside Nigeria

The trial of Nigerian separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu resumes on Wednesday in Abuja.

The charges against Mr Kanu, a British citizen, include calling for secession, knowingly broadcasting falsehoods about President Muhammadu Buhari and being a member of an outlawed group.

During the last hearing in October, Mr Kanu’s lawyers said they had an application opposing the charges, most of which refer to Radio Biafra broadcasts made outside Nigeria.

The military considers Mr Kanu’s Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) a terrorist organisation.

The IPOB wants the south-east part of their country, the homeland of the Igbo ethnic group, to split from Nigeria. An attempt to secede in 1967 as the Republic of Biafra triggered a three-year civil war that killed more than one million people.

Mr Kanu was first arrested in 2015, but jumped bail in April 2017 after accusing the Nigerian army of invading his home and attempting to kill him.

His Radio Biafra broadcasts outraged the government, which said that they encouraged attacks on security forces.

He was rearrested in June after being repatriated from an undisclosed country.

His lawyers and family members alleged he was detained and mistreated in Kenya before being taken to Nigeria, though Kenya has denied involvement.

Source: BBC

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