COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 10,748 Covid-19 cases in 24 hours
Image: REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
August 22 2021 - 20:54
Israel finds Covid-19 vaccine booster significantly lowers infection risk
A third dose of Pfizer 's Covid-19 vaccine has significantly improved protection from infection and serious illness among people aged 60 and older in Israel compared with those who received two shots, findings published by the Health Ministry showed on Sunday.
The data were presented at a meeting of a ministry panel of vaccination experts on Thursday and uploaded to its website on Sunday, though the full details of the study were not released.
The findings were on par with separate statistics reported last week by Israel's Maccabi healthcare provider, one of several organisations administering booster shots to try to curb the Delta coronavirus variant.
-Reuters
August 22 2021 - 19:25
SA recorded 10,748 new confirmed cases on Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the national cumulative cases of the virus to 2,690,973 since the start of the pandemic.
The national death toll of Covid-19 related causes is 79,421 after an increase of 170 daily deaths since Saturday.
The number of vaccines administered since the start of the vaccine rollout stands at 10,527,363 with 2,444,409 recoveries.
August 22 2021 - 15:08
'Covid-19 fatigue' a real threat as the number of infections soar, warns KZN health MEC
As new Covid-19 infections soar across the province, KwaZulu-Natal health MEC Nomagugu Simelane sounded the alarm bells over what she termed “Covid-19 fatigue”.
Simelane expressed concern that many people appeared to be disregarding regulations and precautions to prevent infection.
“We know that, perhaps because we talk about Covid-19 on a daily basis, people may feel like they’re growing ‘tired’ of consuming this information. But the truth is that things are really getting bad.
August 22 2021 - 14:06
South Korea to get more Moderna Covid shots in boost to vaccination effort
South Korea's health ministry said on Sunday that Moderna Inc will supply the country with 7.01 million doses of coronavirus vaccines by the first week of September, following a government request to speed up delivery.
Some 1.01 million doses are expected to arrive on Monday, the ministry said, with another 6 million to be supplied sequentially.
Moderna delivered 1.3 million doses earlier this month.
-Reuters
August 22 2021 - 11:57
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson hospitalised with Covid-19
Civil rights leader and former Democratic politician Jesse Jackson and his wife have both been hospitalised after testing positive for Covid-19, the group he founded said in a statement on Saturday.
Jackson, 79 and his wife Jacqueline, 77, were admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the statement issued by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said.
"There are no further updates at this time. We will provide updates as they become available," the statement added, noting that anyone who was in the vicinity of the couple in recent days should follow public health guidance.
August 22 2021 - 11:50
Northern Cape schools hit by high Covid-19 infection rate as matrics set to start prelim exams
The Northern Cape has recorded 526 new Covid-19 infections in schools over the past week, compared with 213 in total over the previous three weeks.
This comes as matrics start writing their preliminary exams from Monday.
Northern Cape education department spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe confirmed on Sunday that the new cases included 54 teachers, 439 pupils and 33 support staff.
August 22 2021 - 10:59
What you said: Dumping my bae for not getting the jab is the worst idea ever!
As vaccine hesitancy threatens to bring the Covid-19 vaccine rollout to a halt, some have suggested withdrawing privileges or dumping your partner to convince them to get the jab.
The idea for “personal intervention” came after poet Lebo Mashile suggested women normalise withholding sex from partners who refuse to get vaccinated against the virus.
“For our own sake, women need to normalise making pumpum access conditional on getting a vaccine and general Covid-19 regulation adherence,” she tweeted.
August 22 2021 - 10:56
City of Joburg health worker arrested for selling Covid-19 negative certificates
A City of Joburg health worker was arrested on Saturday night for allegedly selling fake Covid-19 negative test certificates to travellers for R500.
He allegedly sold the certificates to people who required them for travelling to other countries without conducting the actual test or taking blood samples.
“All you need to do is send him your identity number. After a day or two, you will receive a message from the laboratory indicating that you tested negative for Covid-19. He will then give you the certificate for which he charges R500,” said Lucky Sindane, spokesperson for the City of Johannesburg’s forensic and investigation services unit.
August 22 2021 - 09:03
Protesters in France demonstrate against Covid-19 pass for sixth weekend
Thousands demonstrated across France for a sixth consecutive weekend on Saturday against a Covid-19 health pass required for daily activities, highlighting a simmering political risk for President Emmanuel Macron.
The Interior Ministry said around 175,500 people in total demonstrated on Saturday - down from roughly 215,000 last weekend although numbers could increase as people return from summer holidays.
The health pass is official documentation, with a QR scan code, that proves a person has had the Covid-19 vaccine. Many French bars, restaurants, museums and sports venues will not allow people inside unless they can show the health pass.