COVID-19 WRAP | 553 new Covid-19 deaths and 10,685 more cases recorded in 24 hours
Image: REUTERS/Stephen Zenner
August 17 2021 - 21:02
Activists criticise J&J as SA-made vaccines end up in Europe
Activists have criticised Johnson & Johnson after it emerged that vaccines produced at the Aspen plant in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape were destined for European countries and were not benefiting SA and other African countries.
This follows an expose by the New York Times, which reported that thousands of vaccine doses have been sent to European countries while SA was still waiting for its order from J&J. The publication said the confidential contract that SA signed with J&J waived its right to impose export restrictions on the vaccines produced in the country.
On Tuesday afternoon, Fatima Hassan of the Health Justice Initiative said secrecy had no place in a pandemic. Hassan said their organisation would be launching an application to get full disclosure of the contract between the government and J&J.
August 17 2021 - 20:19
553 new Covid-19 deaths and 10,685 more cases recorded in 24 hours
SA recorded 553 new Covid-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to date to just under 78,000.
There were also 10,685 new infections recorded, according to the latest figures from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
This means that there have been 2,624,254 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 77,993 deaths recorded across SA to date.
August 17 2021 - 18:27
LISTEN | Young & white South Africans 'less accepting' of vaccines: survey
A recent survey by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in collaboration with the Developmental, Ethical and Capable State research division of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) suggests that vaccine acceptance across SA has picked up, but that young and white South African remain hesitant about Covid-19 vaccines.
In conversation with TimesLIVE podcaster Prof Carin Runciman, director at the Centre for Social Change at UJ, unpacks some of the major findings from the most recent round of surveying conducted for the UJ/HSRC Covid-19 Democracy Survey.
August 17 2021 - 18:20
Health department criticised over Covid-19 communication strategy
The national health department's communication strategy took centre stage during a National Council of Provinces (NCOP) sitting on Tuesday, with MPs telling the government that it was not speaking effectively on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier, in its presentation to the NCOP’s select committee on health and social services, the department painted a bleak picture of how, due to vaccine hesitancy, it was struggling to use up all the vaccines that the country had secured.
The first to fire off questions to the department was the EFF’s S'lindile Luthuli, who asked: “What is the department doing about the fake news that is being spread? Because people are scared of dying.”
August 17 2021 - 14:30
SA vaccination programme has lost momentum, says health department
The national department of health on Tuesday conceded that its Covid-19 vaccination programme has lost momentum due to vaccine hesitancy.
“The president made a pronouncement a few weeks ago that he would want to see us vaccinating up to 300,000 South Africans per day.
“We were excited when we were sitting at about 275,000 on July 21, but we are now down to about 175,000 vaccinations per day. That is a red light that tells you something should be happening that is not happening,” said newly appointed deputy minister of health Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo.
August 17 2021 - 14:18
POLL | Should TV shows carry messages about Covid-19 and vaccines?
TV script writer and producer Phathutshedzo “Phathu” Makwarela says the government and the entertainment industry should collaborate to educate television audiences about Covid-19 and the importance of vaccination.
This as SA sees a slump in daily vaccinations and the health department laments budget shortages for mass communication.
“I wish the department of health had partnered with the SABC, e.tv and MultiChoice soap operas to drive home key messages regarding the vaccine rollout.
August 17 2021 - 11:00
Five reactions to over-18s possibly getting Covid-19 vaccines from this week
There has been strong reaction from politicians and the public to health minister Dr Joe Phaahla suggesting Covid-19 vaccinations could be open to everyone over the age of 18 before the end of the week.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last month that those 18 and older would be able to register for the vaccine from September 1.
However, on Monday Phaahla told Radio 702 he was in consultations with the cabinet to bring that deadline forward.
August 17 2021 - 10:35
Russia reports 20,958 new Covid-19 cases, 805 deaths
Russia reported 805 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, close to a record high, amid a surge in cases that authorities blame on the infectious Delta variant.
The government coronavirus taskforce also reported 20,958 new cases in the last 24 hours, including 2,006 in Moscow, pushing the infection tally in Russia to 6,642,559 since the pandemic began.
-Reuters
August 17 2021 - 10:00
New Zealand's Ardern orders nationwide lockdown over one COVID-19 case
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a nationwide lockdown on Tuesday after a new case of COVID-19 was discovered in the biggest city of Auckland.
The lockdown will run seven days in Auckland, but three days elsewhere.
Ardern said authorities were assuming the new case was a Delta variant although this has not been confirmed.
-Reuters
August 17 2021 - 09:10
Some tenants are six months behind on rent due to Covid-19
Some tenants are more than six months behind on their rent, with the residential rental market’s recovery after the hard lockdown in the second quarter of 2020 taking a knock.
Many tenants were struggling to catch up on rent arrears despite being employed when the restriction on movement was lifted in May 2020, TPN Credit Bureau CEO Michelle Dickens said.
“The rental relief provided by residential landlords in 2020 is reflected in the declining number of tenants that are more than three months in arrears. However, rental relief was a short-term solution to assist tenants who had lost some, or all, of their income.
August 17 2021 - 08:00
Blade Nzimade welcomes Sahpra approval of locally produced Covid-19 rapid-test kits
Higher education and training minister Blade Nzimande has welcomed the SA Health Product Regulatory Authority's (Sahpra) approval for Covid-19 rapid-test kits to be produced locally.
On Monday the minister said the production of these tests by biotechnology company CapeBio and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will reduce SA's and the continent's reliance on imports from other countries, and curb the further spread of Covid-19 which is driven by the dominant and highly infectious Delta variant.
August 17 2021 - 07:51
New Zealand reports first coronavirus case in community since Feb
New Zealand on Tuesday reported its first case of COVID-19 in the community in six months after a person tested positive in its largest city of Auckland.
The link between the case and the border or managed isolation is yet to be established, the Health Ministry said in a statement, adding the case is now being investigated.
The last reported community case of COVID-19 in New Zealand was in February.
August 17 2021 - 06:15
Berber villages self-organize to fight Covid-19
As the Delta variant rages through Algeria, some Berber villages are under a self-imposed lockdown in an effort to control Covid-19 infections
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August 17 2021 - 06:10
Vax versus fiction: to beat anti-vaxxers, take the fight to them
Last week I met somebody sitting on a terrible secret. His partner knew, but not his friends. What would happen if they found out? He shook his head, unable even to imagine such shame.
His terrible secret? He’d been vaccinated.
Since his bizarre confession, I’ve ventured into parts of social media I usually avoid to try to understand (or at least explore) the world in which being a responsible adult can get you ostracised. And I must report that I’ve found a world of startling diversity.
To float through the Facebook and Twitter feeds of the vaccine-resistant or passionately anti-vax is to encounter wealthy white men who want the Cape to be independent and young black women who are passionate supporters of Radical Economic Transformation (RET).
August 17 2021 - 06:04
Troops enforce Covid-19 lockdown in Sydney amid wave
The Australian city of Sydney recorded its deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic, while residents in Melbourne face a nightly curfew and a further two weeks of lockdown amid a surge in infections.
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August 17 2021 - 06:00
SA company gets the green light to manufacture Covid-19 rapid test kits
SA has recorded another milestone in the fight against Covid-19, as a local company has been given the green light to manufacture rapid test kits for the virus.
Science, technology and innovation minister Blade Nzimande made the announcement on Monday, in confirming that the South African Health Product Regulatory Association (Sahpra) had authorised a local biotechnology company, CapeBio, to manufacture the test kits.
In a statement, Nzimande said the test kits, co-developed by CapeBio and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), will help to reduce SA's reliance on imports, making it easier for the country and the rest of the continent to gain speedy access to test kits.