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When President Uhuru Kenyatta introduced new Covid-19 restrictions on Friday, many Kenyans were got unaware. A number of Kenyans will find themselves in unfamiliar territories, once the sanction comes into effect on Friday midnight. The cessation of movement in and out of Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado, Kiambu and Nakuru has gotten many Kenyans talking as a number of them complain about the timeline given before the sanctions comes into effect. One person who had travelled to Nairobi for treatment and discharged on Friday was planning to travel to his Eldoret home on Saturday, before he received the shocking news. The person complained to NTV reporter that he doesn’t have a house in Nairobi and doesn’t have enough money to sustain him in a Hotel room. Apart from the cessation of movement in and out of the aforementioned Counties, the President also announced the following measures:  There will be no in-person gatherings of any kind in the five counties that have recorde...

When the world was struck with Covid-19 , many Companies and Organizations shifted from office work to homeworking in a bid to curb spread of the virus. The power of tech made it possible for work to continue without the physical presence of employees. Cloud-based services was most sought to support technologies that have made homeworking possible. Applications like Zoom, Slack and Microsoft Teams have been largely deployed to facilitate real-time meetings . Homeworking seemed to have created a distinct line between those who could afford to use the technologies and those who couldn’t afford to access the tech gadgets. Some places suffered from regular network outages making it hard to rely on homeworking. The virtual reality and amplified reality, characteristic with homeworking technologies, failed to bring people together virtually when they were physically distanced.  Some people lacked the access to digital technologies that would facilitate telecommuting. For ...

When the continent was struck with the pandemic, many African countries struggled to adjust to the new norm as their economies were disrupted. Unlike other continents, Africa was less hit by the pandemic. Despite the fewer fatalities, the continent struggled a lot to overcome the effects of the Covid-19 global pandemic. Lockdown sanctions, travel restrictions and home working led to dwindling economies. But thanks to the technological breakthrough that saw the increased overreliance of e-commerce platforms and mobile money transfer. Covid-19 accelerated the rate at which most African countries embraced digital banking. Agency banking significantly increased during Covid-19. Mobile money transfer shot by a marginal magnitude as people avoided using tangible currencies. Bank charges and mobile transfer services cost were scaled down to cushion the less income earners. For example in Kenya , the Central Bank directed all agencies to zero-rate sending money below a thousand ...

The emergency of the global pandemic triggered by the dreaded coronavirus threw the entire globe into a spin. The unprecedented challenges, complicated with dwindling economies , saw the world united than never before. World philanthropies salvaged most developing nations through the provision of personal protective equipment (PPEs) meant for the frontline warriors, who in this case are the healthcare workers. Rich countries and international agencies such as World Bank and the United Nations intervened and offered financial assistance to countries that were almost overwhelmed by the effects of Covid-19. Some countries offered financial assistance and food to their citizens who were greatly impacted by the pandemic. Thanks to scientific breakthrough that brought the Covid-19 vaccine ; but regrettably a new Covid-19 variant emerged from the woods. Scientists argue that the virus is mutating to resist the vaccine and enhance its ability to spread faster. Countries such as...

The year 2020 proved to be one of the most challenging years. But thanks to technology, as tech companies rose against time to provide essential services in the wake of unprecedented global pandemic. 5G telecom technology was unveiled to expedite online services. Covid-19 pandemic set a different trajectory with regard to innovation as scientists, deployed AI systems to hasten the process of vaccine development. The year also witnessed the SpaceX astronaut launch in May and the launch of autonomous self-driving cars. There was a drastic shift of the way people worked as most Companies embraced remote working. Homeworking will likely be rapidly adopted in 2021. Reports indicate that Companies such as Microsoft, Twitter, Dropbox and Facebook have a significant number of their staff telecommuting. The streets of Phoenix, Arizona in the USA reportedly have over 300 cars that are being driven without drivers. The self-driving vehicles collect and drop travellers without a human being on con...

Photo Source: twitter.com The stress of pandemic lockdown was battled with through a number of ways. Other than physical exercises, watching movies, reading novels among other activities; most people spend most of their time online. Limited travels and stay at home protocols saw many people seek help from online support groups and meditation apps. Virtual reality was widely used to fight loneliness and improve mental health. Some individuals who were affected with Covid-19 used to connect with their families, friends and relatives on Zoom calls. Multiple sources indicate that 2020 saw the accelerated use of social media in dissemination of information. Some elites who were in one or the other affected by the pandemic turned to Twitter and Facebook in seeking mental solace. The emergence of the pandemic led to a number of technological breakthroughs. In 2020, there were so many innovations and inventions that were geared to cushion humanity from the impact of the global ...

Photo Source: reuters.com Human life is shaped by many challenges, but 2020 will go down the annals of history as the year that was characterized by so many trials. The effects of this year will be felt for decades. This is due to the global health pandemic, rapid climate changes, multifaceted geopolitics, racial injustice and a divisive US election. There is no other year in the recent past when human resilience has ever been put on test. In the ability to overcome the trials posed by Covid-19, there were accelerated innovations in medicine and science.   The world was on the verge of economic downfall, prompting companies and organizations to stem up their support in aid of the most vulnerable in the society. Alibaba Founder Jack Ma supplied personal protective equipment (PPEs) to help Africa countries in fighting the pandemic. Most employees worked from home, while others were rendered jobless. In order to cushion its citizens, some countries like Kenya introduc...

Climate experts warn that the earth is set to warm above 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the 21st century, despite an immense slowdown in industrial activities. Covid-19 pandemic has created a dip in greenhouse gas emissions. According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the fall of carbon emissions by 7 percent in 2020 might have a negligible impact on global warming if there is no hasty change away from fossil fuels. The Paris agreement requires its signatories to limit warming to 2 degree Celsius. The impact of global warming is nearly felt everywhere with increased droughts, deadly storms, hurricanes, floods, wildfires and the melting of icebergs in both poles. UN warned that the increased fossil fuel production will pose a major threat to global warming . The production of gas, oil and coal must decline by six percent every year so as to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. UN, UK and France convened a virtual ‘Climate Ambition Summit’ on December 12 to ...

The advent of Covid-19 pandemic has led to global unprecedented challenges. The virus has led to economic downfall, many people have lost their jobs, many businesses have been interrupted and schools closed among other adverse effects.  The deadly virus almost brought everything to a standstill as the world grappled with the new reality. However, some of the challenges bred by Covid-19 led to the emergence of innovative ideas to mitigate the negative impact of the virus. Most countries are still battling with the surging numbers of Covid-19 cases. According to International Covid-19 Data Alliance (ICODA), a lot of investment has been geared towards establishing the relevance of information that is shared. Data integrity forms the basis of battling with any form of pandemic. During the nascent stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were many sorts of misinformation and misconception. Most people took it as a joke and continued breaching government sanctioned protocols. The exact cau...

Since the advent of Covid-19 global pandemic, there have been numerous sustainable efforts to mitigate its effects. Various tools have been deployed to help individuals, organizations, institutions, companies and government agencies in overcoming the economic hardship caused by Covid-19. The unprecedented challenges that arose in 2020 led to technological breakthrough that enabled some workers attend to their jobs from the comfort of their homes and learners being able to learn and be examined virtually. Technology was well harnessed in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic as various individuals stayed glued to their mobile and desktop gadgets to enhance ‘working from home’ protocol, attend virtual meetings and to schedule their daily routines using online calendars. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the education sector was the most affected as most learning institutions were shut down to prohibit mass gathering. However, most learning institutions rose to the occasion to embrace online learnin...