Audio By Carbonatix
Thursday 11 March marks one year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic.
Journalists in African countries have been sharing their experiences of covering the disease.
"I would say Covid-19 has taken over my reporting," says Ange Iliza, who writes for The East African newspaper and is based in Rwanda's capital, Kigali.
"It's had a huge impact on me - from the way I work to the way I cover stories, to the way I live," she tells BBC OS on World Service radio.
"I choose to [work from home] because I fear that if I go out I might catch the virus. And although I'm young and I might not get seriously sick, I live with my family."
Iliza says Rwanda has done a "pretty good job" at containing the virus, adding that "there's hope at least now that we've seen people getting vaccinated" and "the government is in negotiations to acquire more".
Tebogo Monama, a senior journalist for News24 in South Africa, says she initially thought the virus would be under control in a few months.
"When I first heard news of a new virus emerging from China I was not worried. I first started worrying when reports emerged from Italy showing high rates of death, overcrowded hospitals and the very sombre funerals. It was heart breaking."
She feels her government responded well, placing South Africa under "a very hard" lockdown.
"At the time, only healthcare workers and other essential workers could go to work. Everyone else was stuck in their houses. You were not allowed to go for a walk, you were not allowed to go to the beach, you were not allowed to buy alcohol or cigarettes. The only things that you could find were essential foods.
"Even though I had a choice, I opted to work from home. Because I live alone I had to adjust to always being by myself. I didn't interact with anyone other than people at supermarkets for about seven months.
"At the same time I was also worrying about my sister who works at a public hospital as a radiographer.
"Public hospitals did not have enough PPE, so I was worried what would happen if she ever contracted the disease. But luckily her and all of my other family members never contracted Covid-19."
Latest Stories
-
BECE to be extended from 5 to 8 days under proposed exam timetable reform – Education Minister
1 minute -
Betway Ghana celebrates its 10th Birthday with “IT’S YOUR TEN” campaign
5 minutes -
Discussions on xenophobia must be based on verified facts, not rumours – Lamola
11 minutes -
Black Stars focused ahead of World Cup campaign – Henry Asante Twum
15 minutes -
Camidoh set to release new single ‘A Thing I Like’ featuring PBee
15 minutes -
Electroland Ghana partners Tribe Culture Fest for World Cup-related activations
17 minutes -
Uzbekistan World Cup 2026 team guide
35 minutes -
Bjorkegren expects few ‘new’ faces in Black Queens squad for WAFCON 2026
38 minutes -
DR Congo World Cup 2026 team guide
41 minutes -
CEO of Medi-Moses Clinic Dr De-Gaulle Moses Dogbatsey recognised among Africa’s most influential health leaders
49 minutes -
Eduwatch calls for stronger school safeguards after alleged assault of student at Nyinahin Catholic SHS
1 hour -
GSS targets mid-2027 rollout of rebased GDP and inflation data
2 hours -
Model who alleges Kanye West choked her tells BBC she felt ‘suffocated and scared’
2 hours -
12 killed in mass shooting in Johannesburg, police say
2 hours -
Letter to President Mahama on stalled Agenda 111 Project in Adaklu
2 hours