COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 35,008 recoveries as cases increase to 61,927

June 12 2020 - 22:19

Covid-19 deaths in SA climb to 1,354

SA's Covid-19 death toll had climbed to 1,354 with a mortality rate of 2.2%, health minister Zweli Mkhize said in an update on Friday evening.

“Regrettably, we report a further 70 Covid-19 related deaths: 39 from Western Cape, 30 from the Eastern Cape and 1 from Limpopo,” he said in a statement.

The cumulative number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in SA on Friday was 61,927.

June 12 2020 - 20:19

Gauteng to decide 'in next few days' on call to reinstate alcohol ban

Gauteng premier David Makhura says a decision will be taken “in the next few days” on whether the province will lobby the national government to consider reinstating a ban on the sale of alcohol.

“The impact of it [alcohol] is something we can see. Some of the wards, especially in the trauma units that were empty ... are filling up,” he said during a briefing on the pandemic on Friday.

“When the discussion takes place at the national command council, there is no doubt we will share the experience of the Eastern Cape. We will say we are deeply concerned about this,” he said.

June 12 2020 - 17:32

Your face mask is hazardous waste and should not be thrown in the bin

As South Africans come to terms with their new accessory, the face mask industry is churning out an assortment of colours and shapes to keep Mzansi both safe and fashionable.

But as the months wear on and we update our masks the health department has warned that we can't just throw them away. Face masks are considered to be hazardous waste and should be treated as such.

June 12 2020 - 17:04

Zimparks wants Victoria Falls reopened to domestic tourists

Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls was opened to a limited number of visitors on Monday as the country prepares to market its prime tourist destination again.

The falls were opened to tourism operators for the purposes of marketing domestic tourism after the Covid-19 lockdown halted international travel.

June 12 2020 - 16:38

Ukraine's first lady tests positive for Covid-19

Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska said on Friday she had tested positive for Covid-19 amid a rise in infections.

Zelenska, 42, added that her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky, and their two children tested negative."

Today I've received a positive Covid-19 test result," she said on Facebook.

On Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said there had been an "alarming" rise in coronavirus cases as the country eases lockdown restrictions. On Friday, the ex-Soviet country reported 29,753 cases and 870 fatalities.

The first lady said said the positive test was a surprise as she and her husband have sought to follow social distancing rules and protected themselves.

But the 42-year-old leader came under fire last week when he appeared without a mask in a cafe during a visit to the city of Khmelnytsky in central Ukraine.

- AFP

June 12 2020 - 16:04

Diabetes the leading risk factor for Covid-19 deaths

People with diabetes are more likely to die from Covid-19 than any other high-risk group while those with HIV appear to be at less risk, the latest Covid-19 mortality data from the Western Cape has revealed.

The provincial health department said that, based on current data, it estimates that out of every 100 people within the public health-care sector who died from Covid-19, 52 had diabetes, followed by 19 with hypertension and 12 with HIV.

June 12 2020 - 15:34

Stop socialising: plea by member of trust for newborns to take Covid-19 seriously

A member of the board of Newborns Trust at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town wishes people would take the coronavirus more seriously.

In a Twitter thread on Thursday evening, Rachelle Bricou said she wasn't giving medical advice but wanted to speak directly to people who were carrying on normally with their lives.

June 12 2020 - 13:51

Kimberley wholesaler admits to excessive pricing of hand sanitisers

A wholesaler based in Kimberley, Northern Cape, which admitted to charging excessive prices for hand sanitisers has agreed to donate hand sanitisers valued at R4,000 to four identified non-profit organisations in the area.

The admission and the donation of the sanitisers by Samys Wholesalers CC forms part of a consent agreement that the wholesaler entered into with the Competition Commission.

June 12 2020 - 12:34

Hairdressers' court challenge stymied, for now, DA blames Dlamini-Zuma for delay

The much awaited legal showdown between the DA and co-operative governance & traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma over the closure of hair and beauty salons was off to a false start on Friday.

Lawyers for the parties thrashed out the logistics for the better part of the morning.

MP Dean Macpherson, the DA’s spokesperson for trade and industry, said the matter had been postponed to June 22 before a full bench of the high court in Cape Town.

June 12 2020 - 12:34

2,280 prisoners have been released on parole, 19,000 more in coming month

Over a period of 30 days, 2,280 prisoners were released on parole across SA, and the correctional services department hopes about 19,000 more will be released in the next month.

None of these who were released had reoffended.

Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told TimesLIVE on Friday morning that the process to release inmates on parole — in line with plans to reduce overcrowding in prisons as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in SA — started on May 20.

June 12 2020 - 12:29

Twitter takes down Beijing-backed coronavirus influence operation

Twitter on Thursday said it removed more than 170,000 accounts tied to a Beijing-backed influence operation that deceptively spread messages favourable to the Chinese government, including some about the coronavirus.

The company suspended a core network of 23,750 highly active accounts, as well as a larger network of about 150,000 "amplifier" accounts used to boost the core accounts’ content.

- Reuters

June 12 2020 - 11:23

It could get ugly: lockdown ban on hairdressers, beauticians in court today

The DA and co-operative governance & traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma are set to butt heads in the high court in Cape Town on Friday over hair and beauty.

The opposition party has hauled Dlamini-Zuma before court over what it has termed the  “irrational and unconstitutional ban on personal care services”.

June 12 2020 - 11:11

Children tell us which apps are best for lockdown learning

When it comes to online platforms, children prefer YouTube and Netflix - but nothing compares to old-fashioned playing outside.

So says Elaine Wang, cloud and software solutions director for the Mustek Group. She reached out to 12-year-old pupils in commemoration of Youth Day on June 16 next week to find out which online platforms get their vote. 

June 12 2020 - 11:00

Space so tight at clinic that nurses delivered twins in room where they eat lunch

Nurses at the Malabar Clinic in Port Elizabeth had to deliver premature twins on a consultation bed in the room in which they eat their lunch because of an acute shortage of space at the facility.

The situation is so bad that a passageway is being used as an observation room, and a boardroom the clinic shares with Ward 12 councillor Sharlene Davids is being used as an additional consultation room, reports HeraldLIVE.

- HeraldLIVE

June 12 2020 - 10:16

Birthday conference call in hospital a special memory as family man becomes Covid-19 fatality

When Maryna Verster’s father went to the hospital for his routine prostate cancer treatment, his family did not anticipate he would become a statistic of Covid-19.

Last Thursday Dirkie Kotze, 79, from Bellville in Cape Town, died two days after his birthday after he had contracted Covid-19.

June 12 2020 - 9:43

Here's what employees want: Back to work after Covid-19 lockdown

The highs and lows of working from home during the Covid-19 lockdown have also thrown up a challenge to bosses: to review how they treat employees.

Recruitment consultancy Robert Walters says it surveyed professionals across 31 countries to find out their experiences of working from home during the pandemic.

June 12 2020 - 9:13

Global stocks dive as some US states see spike in Covid-19 cases

After a rally lasting more than two months, Wall Street hit a stumbling block Thursday as spiking coronavirus cases in several US states helped spur the worst sell-off since March, when market turmoil over Covid-19 was at its peak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 6.9 percent, a loss of more than 1,850 points, to 25,128.17, also weighed down by worries over excess valuations and another massive number of US jobless claims.

- AFP 

June 12 2020 - 9:09

Trump asks supporters not to sue if they catch Covid-19 at his rally

Donald Trump supporters who attend the US president's upcoming election rally must sign a waiver promising not to sue if they catch Covid-19 at the event, according to his campaign website.

The Republican billionaire announced on Wednesday that he would resume his campaign rallies in four states – Oklahoma, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina – despite the coronavirus pandemic that continues to rage in the US.

- AFP 

June 12 2020 - 8:27

Debt shuts Anglican school - unless 'angel investor' can help

An Anglican co-ed day and boarding school, catering for children from creche to matric in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, has shut down with immediate effect, due to crippling debt.

This was announced by the Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg, the Rt Revd Dr Steve Moreo.

June 12 2020 - 8:05

Graves dug on Copacabana Beach to symbolize Brazil's coronavirus dead

Volunteers dug 100 graves on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro Thursday as a symbolic reminder of the thousands of Brazilians who have died from COVID-19, and also to denounce what they called the "incompetence" of public authorities handling the pandemic.

Ten rows of holes were dug in the sand in front of the iconic Copacabana Palace hotel, and dotted with black crosses decorated with small Brazilian flags.

June 12 2020 - 08:00

UCT biomedical engineers create Covid-19 shields from household items

A University of Cape Town (UCT) professor and his team of biomedical engineers have created face shields made from household items to help prevent Covid-19.

“The ViZAR is among the first of the team’s Covid-19 solutions to have been approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority,” said the university in a statement.

“It acts as a first line of defence between the user and any infectious, airborne particles, offers protection against harmful aerosols, and prevents possible cross-contamination from users touching their faces.”

June 12  2020 - 07:57

More than 900 die in US of Covid-19 in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins

The United States has recorded another 941 coronavirus-related fatalities in the last 24 hours, bringing the country's death toll so far to 113,774, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The world's top economy is the most affected by the pandemic in absolute terms, with both the highest number of deaths and the largest number of infections – 2,021,990 at 20:30 Thursday, a tracker maintained by the Baltimore-based university showed.

The US continues to register around 20,000 new cases of coronavirus each day, and is struggling to come down from that plateau as infection rates wax and wane around the country.

In some more sparsely populated rural regions, the number of hospitalisations is climbing compared to a month ago.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday there will be no more shutdowns, even as the outbreak flares in some states.

"We can't shut down the economy. I think we've learned that if you shut down the economy, you're going to create more damage," Mnuchin said in an interview on CNBC.

AFP 

June 12 - 2020 - 06:30

Many children better off at school than at home, says child expert

Children are probably safer from contracting Covid-19 at school than in their communities, according to a child health expert.

Prof Mignon McCulloch, head of paediatrics at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, says with many parents going back to work under level 3 of the lockdown, many children could face safety issues at home and are therefore better off at school.