Many African Countries Toughen Covid Restrictions as Fourth Wave Spreads

Infections have more than doubled or tripled in many countries, prompting the authorities to reimpose curfews and quarantines and introduce vaccine mandates as the holiday season gets underway.

NAIROBI, Kenya — In just the past three weeks, the percentage of Kenyans who tested positive for the coronavirus jumped from less than 1 percent to more than 30 percent — the country’s highest positivity rate yet.

In Uganda, nearly 50 lawmakers and their staff members, some of them vaccinated, tested positive this week after attending a sports tournament in neighboring Tanzania.

And in Zimbabwe, skyrocketing infections have pushed the government to institute new restrictions on businesses and incoming travelers.