COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 63 new Covid-19 deaths as minister warns of 'worrying trend' in virus cases

May 06 2021 - 21:58

Mkhize sounds third-wave warning as 'worrying trend' in Covid-19 cases emerges

There is a “worrying trend” emerging across SA, with increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases in multiple parts of the country.

This comes as more than 2,000 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in a 24-hour period for the second day in a row. There were 2,149 new infections recorded on Thursday, up from the 2,073 cases reported on Wednesday.

This hasn't happened since mid-February.

The new infections came from 32,577 tests, at a positivity rate of 6.59%.

May 06 2021 - 17:43

'It was beyond our control': Ramaphosa defends vaccines delay in heated parly debate

President Cyril Ramaphosa's attempt to allay fears on the country's Covid-19 vaccination plan was met with mixed reaction from MPs on Thursday.

This as he defended the delays in the procurement of vaccines, saying the government could not entirely be held accountable for the mishaps.

“We are not the only country that has been shortchanged when it comes to vaccines. We stored a lot of reliance on Johnson & Johnson [J&J], and the mishaps that we have suffered have been completely out of our hands.

“The deaths of six people in the US that got our own authority to say stop the vaccination process was completely unforeseen. There are some people who say well, we should have just forged ahead, it didn’t really matter. But we have tended to listen to our experts [and] scientists, and take advice from them,” he said. 

May 06 2021 - 14:13

EXPLAINER | Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver talks could still take months

US President Joe Biden threw his support behind waiving intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines in a sharp US reversal, but it could take months for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to hammer out any deal.

Before Biden's announcement on Wednesday, India and SA confirmed their intention to draft a new waiver proposal at a WTO General Council meeting, prompting the body's new director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to express hope for “a pragmatic solution”.

The two countries want to ease rules of the WTO's Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (Trips) agreement. WTO decisions are based on consensus, so all 164 members must agree.

May 06 2021 - 13:52

Western Cape 'on alert' as affluent areas see rise in positive tests

The Western Cape department of health has put itself on alert over Covid-19.

Dr Keith Cloete, who heads the department, said markers like hospitalisations, deaths and oxygen use are “stable”, but the average proportion of positive cases has gone up.

Of particular concern are upticks in affluent areas.

May 06 2021 - 13:51

Pfizer, BioNTech to provide Covid-19 vaccine to Olympic athletes

Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE said on Thursday they would donate doses of their Covid-19 vaccine to help vaccinate athletes and their delegations participating in the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The companies said initial doses are expected to be delivered to participating delegations at the end of May, with the goal of ensuring the delegations receive second doses before their arrivals in Tokyo.

The plan was put into effect after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had a meeting with the Japanese government following Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla's offer to donate vaccines to athletes and their delegations.

May 06 2021 - 09:09

EFF joins calls for a travel ban on India amid growing concerns over new Covid-19 variant

The EFF has joined calls for the government to implement a travel ban on India amid concerns over the new Covid-19 variant circulating in that country and other parts of the world.

Over the last few days, there have been growing concerns over the new Covid-19 variant, B.1.617, which was first detected in India.

Fears that the variant may have spread to SA, after a person who recently travelled from India to SA was being treated for Covid-19 in a KwaZulu-Natal hospital and 14 crew members of a cargo bulk carrier that sailed to Durban from India tested positive for Covid-19.

May 06 2021 - 09:00

Biden says he plans to back WTO IP waiver for Covid-19 vaccines

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday threw his support behind waiving intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, bowing to mounting pressure from Democratic lawmakers and more than 100 other countries, but angering pharmaceutical companies.

Biden voiced his support for a temporary waiver — a sharp reversal of the previous US position — after a speech at the White House, followed swiftly by an official statement from his chief trade negotiator, Katherine Tai.

“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” Tai said in a statement, hours after telling an event hosted by the Financial Times: “Time is of the essence.”

May 06 2021 - 08:59

Novavax vaccine shows 51% efficacy against SA variant of Covid-19, study finds

Novavax Inc's Covid-19 vaccine had efficacy of 51% against infections caused by the SA variant among people who were HIV negative, and 43% in a group that included people who were HIV positive, according to a new analysis.

The variant, known as B.1.351, carries mutations that threaten the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines, several studies have shown. Most vaccine makers, including Novavax, are testing versions of their vaccines to protect against emerging variants.

The Novavax post-hoc analysis was published in the New England Journal of Medicine along with full data from the company's trial in SA, which included nearly 2,700 volunteers who had not been previously infected with the coronavirus.

May 06 2021 - 08:58

Covid-19 spreading in rural India; record daily rises in infections, deaths

India reported a record 412,262 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday and a record 3,980 daily death toll, as a second wave of infections swamps the health system and spreads from cities into the vast countryside.

Covid-19 infections in the world's second most populous nation have surged past 21 million, with a death toll of 230,168, health ministry data show.

Government modelling had forecast a peak in second wave infections by Wednesday.

May 06 2021 - 08:56

Kenya reports Covid-19 variant detected in India - health ministry

A variant of Covid-19 first diagnosed in India has been detected in Kenya, the health ministry said on Wednesday, days after the same variant was detected in neighbouring Uganda.

The health ministry last week said Kenya was suspending flights to and from India.

Tanzania announced on Tuesday that it would suspend flights to and from India amid the Covid-19 surge in the Southeast Asian nation, the country's health ministry said.

May 06 2021 - 07:05

SA records more than 2,000 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours

SA on Wednesday recorded more than 2,000 new Covid-19 cases in a single day for the first time since mid-February.

Health minister Zweli Mkhize said 2,073 new infections were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases recorded across SA to 1,588,221.

The new cases came from 33,414 tests, at a positivity rate of 6.5%.

Mkhize also said on Wednesday that 46 Covid-19 related deaths were recorded in 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 54,557.