COVID-19 WRAP: SA Covid-19 cases climb over 10,000 as death toll nears 200

May 10 2020 - 20:41

SA Covid-19 cases climb over 10,000 as death toll nears 200

More than 10,000 South Africans have tested positive for Covid-19, a 595 increase in the last 24 hours.

There were also eight more deaths recorded from Saturday, taking the total to 194.

May 10 2020 - 20:20

‘It’s as if floodgates have opened’ since level 4 was announced: KZN premier

KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala has lamented that his province’s people have seemingly not adhered to level 4 lockdown regulations.

Nearly 1,200 people were arrested in just four days in KwaZulu-Natal for breaching lockdown rules, he said on Sunday.

May 10 2020 - 17:56

Principals and other officials will not be at school from Monday: union

It's official: principals and other members of school management teams (SMTs) will not be reporting for duty on Monday.

At least, so says teachers' union Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie (SAOU).

May 10 2020 - 15:44

Zimbabwe printing new notes as inflation nears 1,000%

Zimbabwe has begun printing new notes in $10 and $20 denominations at a time when annual inflation stands at 926%, according to a state media report.

Citing Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) monetary policy committee member Eddie Cross, the Sunday Mail report said the decision was “imminent” to increase liquidity in the market.

May 10 2020 - 14:50

Don't come to school on Monday, Limpopo department says

With the phased reopening of schools in the country set to commence on Monday, Limpopo's education department has urged school management teams not to report for duty.

The phased reopening was announced by basic education minister Angie Motshekga, who proposed the return of grade 7s and 12s on June 1 — but management teams were expected to return on Monday to prepare for the return of pupils.

May 10 2020 - 13:59

Iran warns of virus resurgence after 51 new deaths

Iran warned on Sunday of a resurgence of the novel coronavirus as it reported 51 new deaths, almost a month after it started to relax a nationwide lockdown.

Authorities reimposed more stringent measures in the southwestern Khuzestan province, reversing a phased return to work meant to revitalise the battered economy.

"The situation should in no way be considered normal" in Iran, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in televised remarks. "This virus will be present" for the time being, he added, in the country that has suffered the most deadly outbreak in the Middle East.

The new fatalities raised the overall confirmed death toll to 6,640 since the country reported its first cases in February 19.

- AFP

May 10 2020 - 13:48

Nearly 1,300 people have recovered from Covid-19 in Gauteng - but 18 have died

Gauteng province has recorded 1,910 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 1,293 recoveries and the death toll at 18.

This is according to statistics provided per district by the department of health on Sunday.

Spokesperson for the department Kwara Kekana said a total of 9,440 people who came into contact with those who tested positive had been cleared of the virus, after a 14-day monitoring period with no symptoms reported.

May 10 2020 - 12:37

Russia's confirmed coronavirus cases top 200,000

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia has gone over 200,000, data posted on an official website set up by health authorities showed on Sunday.

The total number of positive cases increased to 209,688 after another 11,012 tests came back positive in the last 24 hours, it showed, with the number of fatalities remaining relatively low at 1,915.

- AFP

May 10 2020 - 12:04

'They can’t survive if I die': Stalwart gogos fear for their families

The fear that if she does not survive her Covid-19 infection her family will starve weighs heavily on an elderly Gauteng domestic worker.

“I don’t understand how I got sick. It must have been from someone on the taxi. Maybe while I was at the shop getting my pension,” said the 68-year-old grandmother.

Like nearly 2-million of SA’s 3.6-million old-age pensioners, she is her household’s primary provider.

Nongovernmental organisations and academics fear that the more than 12-million South Africans who depend on elderly relatives face dire consequences, including starvation, as the aged succumb to Covid-19.

May 10 2020 - 11:46

Spain's coronavirus daily death tolls falls again

Spain's daily death toll from the coronavirus fell to 143 on Sunday, down from 179 the previous day, the health ministry reported.

It marks the lowest daily death toll since mid-March.

Overall deaths rose to 26,621 from 26,478 on Saturday and the number of diagnosed cases rose to 224,390 from 223,578 the day before, the ministry said. 

- Reuters

May 10 2020 - 11:23

Western Cape to Eastern Cape cross-border Covid-19 infections up to 137

The number of people who travelled from the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape that have tested positive for Covid-19 now stands at 137, HeraldLIVE reported.

This represents 57 more cases of people who have tested positive after entering the province through the Tsitsikamma and Aberdeen provincial borders during the grace period of inter-provincial travelling.

The majority of the new positive cases are in OR Tambo, Buffalo City Metro, Amathole and Graaff-Reinet.

May 10 2020 - 11:02

Sassa ready to roll out R350 grants to millions of unemployed during lockdown

The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) in Gauteng is expected to start with applications for the R350 social relief distress grant for the unemployed on Monday.

This is as the agency and the social development department announced their readiness for the implementation, which Sassa said had passed the final stage of development on Sunday.

The grant forms part of the R500bn economic and social relief measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa to support the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Qualifying applicants were expected to receive R350 a month over the next six months, from May until October.

May 10 2020 - 10:32

Worldwide coronavirus cases pass 4-million, death toll over 276,000

More than 4.02-million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 276,894 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

May 10 2020 - 10:26

Arrests, conspiracy theories at Australia anti-lockdown protest

Ten people were arrested and a police officer injured on Sunday at an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne, where demonstrators claimed coronavirus was a government-engineered conspiracy designed to control the population.

About 150 protesters rallied outside Victoria's state parliament to protest against a shutdown aimed at stemming the spread of Covid-19, while also peddling conspiracy theories about the virus.

Most Australian states and territories have begun easing restrictions, but Victoria has delayed relaxing its measures amid an outbreak at a Melbourne slaughterhouse that caused a spike in new cases.

In scenes reminiscent of anti-lockdown protests in the US, demonstrators carried placards reading "fight for your freedom and rights", and directed their ire at the founder of Microsoft, chanting "arrest Bill Gates". 

- AFP

May 10 2020 - 10:17

Covid-19 exposes inequalities between blacks and whites, experts say

The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown has exposed inequalities between black and white South Africans, say experts.

They spoke of how the pandemic revealed socio-economic inequalities.

“The experience of lockdown is starkly different for most white people who are locked down in comfortable spaces, with full fridges, Wi-Fi and space; while the majority of black South Africans, many of whom are unemployed, live in crowded spaces, and have no food or running water,” said Teresa Oakley-Smith, founder and MD of Diversi-T, an organisation specialising in transformation and diversity.

May 10 2020 - 9:46

'No need to panic,' says government as 198 test positive in correctional services

An additional 21 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the department of correctional services across the country, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 198.

This is according to spokesperson for the department, Singabakho Nxumalo, who said the increase came from a facility in the Eastern Cape on Sunday.

May 10 2020 - 9:19

SABC blames Covid-19 coverage for R2bn loss in revenue

The SABC projects a revenue shortfall of R2bn after being forced to direct more money to Covid-19 educational programmes and live ministerial briefings on the pandemic.

It said the shortfall was the result of cancelling programmes that bring in millions of advertising money.

May 10 2020 - 9:14

May 10 2020 - 9:01

Seoul closes bars and clubs over fears of second virus wave

South Korea's capital has ordered the closure of all clubs and bars after a burst of new cases sparked fears of a second coronavirus wave as President Moon Jae-in urged the public to remain vigilant.

The nation has been held up as a global model in how to curb the virus, but the order from the Seoul mayor on Saturday followed the new infection cluster in Itaewon, one of the city's busiest nightlife districts.

More than two dozen cases were linked to a 29-year-old man who tested positive after spending time at five clubs and bars in Itaewon last weekend.

May 10 2020 - 8:48

Fauci among three members of US virus task force to quarantine

Top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci is among three members of the White House's coronavirus task force who will self-isolate after potential exposure to the pathogen, US media reported on Saturday.

On Friday, reports that vice-president Mike Pence's press secretary had tested positive heightened fears about senior administration officials catching the virus.

Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, will self-isolate, CNN said.

May 10 2020 - 8:34

China reports first coronavirus case in Wuhan since April 3 among 14 new infections

China's National Health Commission reported 14 new confirmed coronavirus cases on May 9, the highest number since April 28, including the first for more than a month in the city of Wuhan where the outbreak was first detected late last year.

While China had officially designated all areas of the country as low-risk last Thursday, the new cases according to data published on Sunday represent a jump from the single case reported for the day before.

May 10 2020 - 8:20

Amid lockdown dispute, Elon Musk says he'll move Tesla out of California

Tesla Inc's chief executive Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that Tesla will move its headquarters and future programmes to Texas or Nevada from California immediately.

"If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependent on how Tesla is treated in the future," he wrote on Twitter, referring to the facility in the San Francisco Bay area that is Tesla's only US vehicle factory.

Musk also tweeted about suing Alameda County, California, after its health department said the electric carmaker must not reopen the Fremont factory as local lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus remain in effect.

May 10 2020 - 7:26

Doubt swirls over Covid-19 lockdown efficacy

One week into level 4 lockdown an alarming spike in Covid-19 infections in two provinces has prompted calls for increased restrictions in hotbed areas.

The department said it was too early to judge the effects of the lockdown and its slight easing on the spread of the virus or on getting people back to work. But economists have called for areas where the case load is low to be reopened further.

Health department spokesperson Popo Maja said it was still too early to say if the easing of lockdown restrictions this week had prompted an upswing in infection numbers.

May 10 2020 - 7:18

Overdose risk looms for addicts freed from Covid-19 lockdown

Drug experts have warned that when the Covid-19 storm is over and the lockdown is lifted, SA may have to deal with a spike in potentially fatal overdoses by users of hard drugs such as heroin.

MJ Stowe, national advocacy co-ordinator for the South African Network of People Who Use Drugs, said the disruption in access to these drugs means many addicts will be at risk of overdosing when they are released from controlled facilities such as shelters.

May 10 2020 - 7:06

Government keeping information on virus under wraps to 'avoid Covid-19 panic'

The government has admitted to holding back information from the public on the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it is doing so to avoid panic.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Khusela Diko, conceded this yesterday on inquiries by the Sunday Times, after leading experts questioned why Covid-19 modelling data is being kept under wraps.

The move to keep the data out of the public eye comes after an earlier model on which the strict lockdown was based was heavily criticised.

May 10 2020 - 7:00

Ramaphosa 'swayed' on extension of cigarette ban at heated NCC meeting

President Cyril Ramaphosa was swayed at a heated meeting of the national command council on Covid-19 to support the reversal of an earlier decision to allow tobacco products to be sold at level 4 of the national lockdown.

An intense argument ensued at that meeting over the sale of tobacco products and possibly alcohol - albeit under strict rules - at level 4.

While the president did not initially oppose the idea of tobacco products being sold at level 4, it was the vociferous protests from police minister Bheki Cele, home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi and health minister Zweli Mkhize that eventually won the day.