COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 453 new Covid-19 cases
Image: REUTERS/Loren Elliott
October 19 2021 — 20:22
Children can choose to vaccinate or not, 'but should chat to an adult first'
The health department has urged parents to discuss the benefits of Covid-19 vaccination with their children.
This comes as the department prepares to roll out its programme for vaccination of children aged 12-17.
In a statement on Tuesday, the department said it would commence with the registration and vaccination of “young people” with the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday. The department said this was in line with the recommendations of the ministerial advisory committee on vaccines.
October 19 2021 — 19:45
Covid-19: 453 new cases, 50 deaths recorded in SA in 24 hours
There were 453 new Covid-19 cases reported in the past 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Tuesday.
This means that there have been 2,917,255 confirmed cases to date across the country.
There were also 50 newly recorded Covid-19 related deaths in the past day, taking the death toll to 88,674
October 19 2021 — 16:25
Trolley wipes no longer wasted after Covid-19 pushed demand by 500%
Huge quantities of discarded trolley wipes are being recycled into plastic crates.
A plastic product may be recyclable, but if it’s not making its way in significant numbers to a recycling plant, it’s destined to become litter or end up in a landfill.
That’s been the case with trolley wipes, which have been supplied to supermarket shoppers free of charge for the past 15 years. It took Covid-19 to increase demand by 500% overnight last March.
October 19 2021 — 15:16
AU to establish a response authority and fund to address Covid-19 on the continent
In a bid to secure regional capacity to respond to subsequent waves of Covid-19 and future pandemics, a panel of health experts has decided to establish an African Pandemic Preparedness and Response Authority (APPRA) and Fund.
This was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday in his capacity as the AU Covid-19 champion.
“Having recognised the difficulties that Africa faced in a multilateral context, the experts introduced a bold plan to establish an African Pandemic Preparedness and Response Authority (APPRA) and Fund to secure the region’s capacity to respond to subsequent waves of Covid-19 and future pandemics,” Ramaphosa said.
October 19 2021 — 13:45
Many Indians skipping second Covid shot despite record vaccine stocks
A "sizeable number" of people in India have not taken their second Covid-19 vaccine dose by the due date despite adequate supplies, the health ministry said on Tuesday, as new infections fell to their lowest since early March.
Daily shots have averaged 5 million this month, a fifth of September's peak, though states are sitting on record stocks of more than 100 million as domestic output of the AstraZeneca vaccine soars.
Despite the low number of infections, ministry officials have been urging people to get vaccinated fast, especially as the ongoing festival season means family gatherings and mass shopping, raising the risk of infection.
Nearly three-quarters of India's 944 million adults have received at least one dose but only 31% have been fully inoculated, mainly due to a longer-than-usual gap between AstraZeneca doses but also because people are skipping their second shots.
"A sizeable number of beneficiaries who are eligible have not received their second dose," the health ministry said in a statement."
It was pointed out that many states have adequate doses to vaccinate those people who are awaiting their second dose. Government of India is in a position to provide additional vaccine doses ... so that they can complete the aforesaid task."
More than 242 million Indian adults have yet to get a shot, while vaccination has not started for those under 18.India reported 13,058 new infections on Tuesday, the lowest since early March and taking the total to 34.1 million. Deaths rose by 164 to 452,454.
Reuters
October 19 2021 — 13:41
Devastating impact of Covid-19 shows on Airports Company SA's books
Airports Company SA's (Acsa) annual results reflect the devastating impact on aviation and tourism of the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Revenue was R2.2bn for the year to end-March, less than a third of the R7.1bn generated in the previous financial year, Acsa reported on Tuesday.
While the company produced a profit of R1.4bn in 2019/20, the result for 2020/21 was a loss of R2.6bn.
This was only the second loss in the company’s 28-year history.
October 19 2021 — 13:40
UK keeping a very close eye on rising Covid-19 infections - PM spokesperson
Britain's government is keeping a "very close eye" on rising level of Covid-19 infections, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesperson said, after infections rose to the highest level since lockdown restrictions were eased in the summer.
The number of cases in Britain are currently much higher than in other western European countries and have risen by more 60% in the last month.
The spokesperson said Johnson told his cabinet that the government has a plan in place to deal with Covid and deaths from the disease are broadly flat."
Clearly, we are keeping a very close eye on rising case rates," the spokesperson said.
Reuters
October 19 2021 — 13:20
Russia plans non-working days to curb spread of Covid-19
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova urged the cabinet to introduce non-working days October 30 to November 7 in order to curb the spread of Covid-19, amid record rates of infections and deaths.
Russia on Tuesday reported 1,015 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest single-day toll since the start of the pandemic, as well as 33,740 new infections in the past 24 hours.
Reuters
October 19 2021 — 11:39
Children fuel Covid-19 case rise in England after slow vaccine start
The spread of Covid-19 among children in England is fuelling a recent rise in cases and causing concern among some scientists that vaccines are being rolled out in schools too slowly, risking the welfare of children and adults alike.
Covid-19 cases in Britain as a whole are much higher than in other European countries and are rising. On Friday one survey suggested prevalence was at its highest level since January, with 8% of secondary schoolchildren infected.
October 19 2021 — 11:10
Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine fails to get the green light in SA - five things you need to know about the vaccine
The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) on Monday announced its decision to reject the emergency use of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, citing concerns it might lead to higher HIV infection rates among vaccinated males.
The vaccine is manufactured by the Gamaleya Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Russia.
The regulator said it has been engaged in a rolling review of the data for the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine since the application was submitted on February 23, 2021 by locally licensed Lamar International.
October 19 2021 — 11:05
Russia reports record daily Covid-19 death toll
Russia reported a record daily number of coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday amid a surge in Covid-19 cases.
Russia's Covid-19 task force reported 1,015 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest single-day toll since the start of the pandemic, as well as 33,740 new infections in the past 24 hours.
Reuters
October 19 2021 — 09:01
Here's when we can expect the Covid-19 fourth wave to hit Gauteng
Gauteng premier David Makhura has raised concerns about a possible fourth wave of Covid-19 , saying it is expected to hit the province between November and January 2022.
Makhura was addressing media with the Gauteng Covid-19 command council on Monday at the Itireleng Community Healthcare Centre in Soweto.
The command council predicts that the fourth wave is likely to happen sometime between November and January as it expects quite a number of superspreader events to follow in a row.
“The fourth wave is something we are still worried about,” said Makhura.
“If we had more vaccinations we wouldn’t be as worried but the rate of vaccination we have so far ... we are not at 50% with regards to the single doses. Here in Gauteng, we are at 32% single doses for both Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. We would be happier if we were at least 60%.”
October 19 2021 — 08:00
WHO-led programme aims to buy antiviral Covid-19 pills for $10 -document
A World Health Organisation-led programme to ensure poorer countries get fair access to Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments aims to secure antiviral drugs for patients with mild symptoms for as little as $10 per course, a draft document seen by Reuters says.
Merck & Co's experimental pill molnupiravir is likely to be one of the drugs, and other drugs to treat mild patients are being developed.
The document, which outlines the goals of the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) until September next year, says that the programme wants to deliver about 1 billion Covid-19 tests to poorer nations, and procure drugs to treat up to 120 million patients globally, out of about 200 million new cases it estimates in the next 12 months.
The plans highlight how the WHO wants to shore up supplies of drugs and tests at a relatively low price after losing the vaccine race to wealthy nations which scooped up a huge share of the world's supplies, leaving the world's poorest countries with few shots.
A spokesperson for the ACT-A said the document, dated October 13, was still a draft under consultation and declined to comment on its content before it is finalised. The document will also be sent to global leaders ahead of a G20 summit in Rome at the end of this month.
Reuters
October 19 2021 — 07:16
Why will children between 12 and 17 only be given one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine?
As children between the ages of 12 and 17 gear up to join the Covid-19 vaccine queue from Wednesday, some have questioned why they will only be given a single dose of the vaccine.
Citizens who are 18 or older have a choice of getting the Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccine or the double-dose Pfizer vaccine. Health minister Joe Phaahla said young people aged 12-17 years will get one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
October 19 2021 — 06:30
Australia's Covid-19 cases remain subdued as vaccinations rise
Australia's Covid-19 cases remained subdued on Tuesday as its largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, gradually move towards normality amid a surge in vaccinations, after being rocked by a third wave of infections from the Delta variant.
Sydney and the national capital Canberra exited a months-long lockdown last week after racing through its inoculation targets while Melbourne is on track to lift its strict stay-home orders later this week as double-dose rates in the adult population pass 70%, 80% and 90%.
Authorities in Queensland, which on Monday became the first Covid-19-Free State to outline its reopening plans, urged the state's 5 million residents to get vaccinated ahead of opening its state borders a week before Christmas — when its double-dose vaccination rate is expected to reach 80%.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the opening of borders should act as an “incentive” for residents to get inoculated.
Queensland has so far only fully vaccinated 57% of its population above 16, well below the national average of 68%.
Some states and territories have mandated inoculation of frontline workers with offenders facing up to A$5,000 ($3,718) fine in the remote Northern Territory.
Michael Gunner, the territory's chief minister, on Monday blasted Texas Senator Ted Cruz who labelled the territory's vaccine mandate as “Covid-19 tyranny"."We don't need your lectures, thanks mate. You know nothing about us.
And if you stand against a life-saving vaccine, then you sure as hell don't stand with Australia,” Gunner said in a tweet.
Texas has seen nearly 70,000 deaths from the virus, compared with just 1,558 in Australia and none in the remote Northern Territory.
A total of 1,749 new cases were reported in Victoria, the majority in Melbourne, down from 1,903 on Monday.
Daily infections in New South Wales, home to Sydney, rose slightly to 273, still well down from its pandemic high in early September.
Reuters
October 19 2021 — 06:15
Chinese northern city in soft lockdown amid latest Covid-19 outbreak
China reported nine new domestically transmitted Covid-19 cases for October 18, the highest daily tally since the end of September, with a northern border city enforcing a soft lockdown to contain infections.
Out of the nine local cases, four were found in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, data from the National Health Commission (NHC) showed on Tuesday.
Erenhot city in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, adjacent to Mongolia, advised its 76,000 residents on Monday not to step out of their residential compounds unless for necessary matters. It has reported a total of four local cases as of Tuesday morning since October 13.
Vehicles were banned from leaving or entering the city, except for essential cars with official clearance, the Erenhot health authority said in a statement on Monday.
The city also closed indoor public venues such as cinemas, internet cafes and gyms, and suspended tourist sites as well as places for religious activities.
The northwestern city of Xian in Shaanxi province reported five local cases for October 18. The city has suspended some tourist sites to carry out disinfection, and require those arriving in the city from outside Shaanxi province to show proof of negative test results within 48 hours before they can visit tourist sites or stay at hotels.
The southern city of Changsha in Hunan province and northwestern Yinchuan in the Ningxia autonomous region also reported one case each for October 18, according to the NHC data.
Yinchuan has advised residents not to leave town for unnecessary trips, and closed public venues such as bars and cinemas in two districts with higher virus risk.
Officials have not provided details on how the people were infected, or whether they had contracted any variants of concern.
Including infected travellers who arrived in China from abroad, there were 25 cases in total, compared with 24 a day earlier, for October 18.
The country also detected 19 new asymptomatic patients for October 18, which it classifies separately from confirmed cases. No new deaths were reported, leaving the death toll unchanged at 4,636.
Mainland China has so far reported 96,571 confirmed coronavirus cases since the outbreak began in late 2019.
Reuters
October 19 2021 — 06:00
Mix-and-matching vaccines is a life-saving cocktail, says new report
The ghost of the AstraZeneca controversy will haunt SA for some time, and it’s become more relevant as research suggests one dose of AZ followed by a second dose of an mRNA vaccine such as Pfizer is even more potent than two doses of AZ.
The research paper, just published in The Lancet Regional Health — Europe, has major implications for vaccine policies around the world.
It tells us, with hindsight, if SA had rolled out the first doses of AstraZeneca instead of selling them, and had then switched to the Pfizer vaccine which is now so readily available, thousands of lives could have been saved.