COVID-19 WRAP | SA conducts over five million Covid-19 tests as cases continue to climb & worldwide virus cases cross 50.7 million
Image: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
November 10 2020 - 21:47
SA conducts more than five million Covid-19 tests as cases climb to 740,254
SA on Tuesday reached a remarkable milestone in its efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus: more than five million tests have been done.
Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday night that 17,269 tests had been conducted in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative number of tests done across SA to 5,010,350.
November 10 2020 - 14:31
US denounces terms for WHO-led inquiry into coronavirus origins
The United States said on Tuesday that the terms under which a World Health Organisation-led team of experts is to investigate the origins of the new coronavirus were not transparently negotiated or in line with the mandate agreed by member states.
The Trump administration has accused the UN agency of being "China-centric", which WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has repeatedly denied, and has accused China of having hidden the extent of its initial outbreak.
Garrett Grigsby, head of the global affairs office at the US Department of Health and Human Services, told the WHO's ministerial assembly that member states had been made aware of the investigation's terms of reference only a few days ago.
—Reuters
November 10 2020 - 14:24
Brazil suspends Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine trial due to severe adverse event
Brazil's health regulator has suspended a clinical trial for China's Sinovac coronavirus vaccine citing a severe adverse event, surprising the trial organisers who countered there had been a death but it was unrelated to the vaccine.
The health regulator, Anvisa, said on Monday the event occurred on October 29 but did not specify if it took place in Brazil or in another country.
It also did not give an indication of how long the suspension might last.
—Reuters
November 10 2020 - 13:05
Medicago's Covid-19 vaccine triggers immune response in early-stage trial
Canadian drug developer Medicago said on Tuesday a combination of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine and GlaxoSmithKline's vaccine booster produced virus-neutralising antibodies in all healthy volunteers in an early-stage study.
The company, which is backed by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma and tobacco giant Philip Morris, said it planned to move into mid-to-late-stage trials with a lower dose version of its vaccine, along with the GSK adjuvant.
"What we're most encouraged with is that we are able to go with the lowest dose for our phase 2/3 trials," Medicago's CEO Bruce Clark told Reuters.
—Reuters
November 10 2020 - 10:14
Spain to get first Pfizer vaccines in early 2021, Health Minister says
Spain would get the first vaccines developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in early 2021, Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Tuesday.
The country would initially get 20 million vaccine doses, enough to immunise 10 million people, Illa said in an interview with state broadcaster TVE.The vaccination would be free, Illa added.
—Reuters
November 10 2020 - 09:37
UK orders health service to be ready for vaccine by December
The British government has asked the National Health Service to be ready to deploy any Covid vaccine from the start of December and it will then take some time to roll it out, starting with the most vulnerable, the health minister said on Tuesday.
Matt Hancock told Sky News that there were many hurdles still to clear and the government would not deploy the shot until it was confident in its clinical safety.
—Reuters
November 10 2020 - 08:57
US Covid-19 hospitalisations surge to record of just over 59,000 patients: stats
There were just over 59,000 Covid-19 patients in hospitals across the US on Monday, the country's highest number ever of inpatients being treated for the disease, with new infections at record levels for the sixth consecutive day.
The harsh statistics tallied by Reuters cemented the US's position as the nation worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic, even as drugmaker Pfizer Inc provided some hope with successful late-stage tests of its vaccine.
President-elect Joe Biden hailed Pfizer's progress, but urged Americans to wear masks as he noted a vaccine may not be widely available for many months.
November 10 2020 - 07:29
Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 50.7 million, death toll at 1,260,290
More than 50.7 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,260,290 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
—Reuters
November 10 2020 - 06:45
SA offers yachts in Covid-19 lockdown safe passage ahead of cyclone season
SA has offered visiting yachts a temporary reprieve from stringent Covid-19 lockdown regulations that had prevented port entry and left many stranded at various Indian Ocean locations ahead of the cyclone season.
Yachts will be allowed a “safe corridor” and access to services at three South African ports — Richards Bay, Durban and Cape Town — between November 9 and December 15, the South African Maritime Safety Authority confirmed in a notice last week.