COVID-19 WRAP | 1,991 deaths in SA as Covid-19 cases surpass 100,000

June 22 2020 - 22:07

SA hits 101,000 Covid-19 cases as deaths approach 2,000

South Africa passed another grim Covid-19 milestone on Monday, as it surpassed the 100,000 mark for confirmed infections. This is less than three months since the first recorded death.

There were also a further 61 Covid-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total deaths to 1,991.

However, according to Prof Salim Abdool Karim, a leading clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist and government adviser, this was “more or less” where experts predicted it would be in its fight against the pandemic.

June 22 2020 - 21:31

New rules for prisoners as Covid-19 cases climb behind bars

All inmates who enter a correctional facility must be screened and quarantined for 14 days before being housed with other prisoners.

This is according to directives published by justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola on Monday.

According to the latest figures, provided to media on Sunday, there were 737 correctional service officials and 1,156 inmates who had contracted Covid-19.

June 22 2020 - 17:51

Portugal PM reimposes some Covid-19 curbs in capital Lisbon

Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Monday some coronavirus restrictions would be reimposed in the capital Lisbon to help control outbreaks from the pandemic.

Costa said measures to be introduced from Tuesday included a restriction on gatherings of more than 10 people and orders for cafes and shops to close at 8pm in the capital.

According to official data compiled by local media, between May 21 and June 21, Portugal recorded 9,221 new cases of Covid-19 with most cases detected in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley regions. About half of the new cases have been reported in the municipalities of Lisbon, Sintra, Odivelas, Loures and Amadora.

"These are fires and as with all fires, they must be responded to with the necessary means to prevent their spread," State Secretary of Health Antonio Lacerda Sales said.

Portugal took restrictive measures fairly early in the pandemic and has a total of 1,534 deaths and 39,392 cases. 

- AFP

June 22 2020 - 17:47

Zimbabwe's hospitals 'overwhelmed' as health workers' strike enters second week

The strike by doctors and nurses in Zimbabwe - now entering its second week - is crippling the country's fight against Covid-19.

There are 489 positive cases, as health minister Obadiah Moyo faces allegations of abusing his office.

An outfit calling itself the Zimbabwe Young Nurses Association (ZYNA) on Monday pleaded with health workers to return to work because “lives matter more than money".

June 22 2020 - 17:23

Liberia toughens coronavirus curfew

Liberia on Monday said it would extend anti-coronavirus measures and immediately toughen a nightly curfew after recording a rise of infections.

President George Weah has decided to extend a state of emergency, announced on April 8 and due to expire on Monday, for another 30 days until July 21, his office said in a statement.

The extension must be approved by parliament but in an immediate step, the government announced that a 9pm curfew would henceforth start at 6pm, ending as before at 6am.

"The general public no longer seem to comply with the health protocols which have up to this point helped prevent a much wider transmission of the disease in the country," the authorities said in a statement.

- AFP

June 22 2020 - 16:53

eNCA news anchor Shahan Ramkissoon tests positive for Covid-19

eNCA has confirmed that news anchor Shahan Ramkissoon has tested positive for Covid-19.

“Shahan started feeling ill last week and was advised to go for testing on Friday. His results came back on Monday,” the broadcaster said in a statement on Monday.

It said Ramkissoon would be off air and in self-isolation until the end of the stipulated 14-day period.

June 22 2020 - 16:46

Cape Town company agrees to pay R600,000 for over-charging for sanitisers

Caprichem, a Cape Town-based company, has agreed to pay a R500,000 penalty and R100,000 contribution to the Solidarity Fund for charging excessive prices for sanitisers.

The Competition Commission said it had applied to the Competition Tribunal for an order confirming the settlement agreement the commission had reached with the company.

June 22 2020 - 16:04

Eastern Cape stepping up efforts to contain Covid-19, says premier

As the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise across the Eastern Cape, the office of premier Oscar Mabuyane says it is intensifying efforts to contain the virus through mass screening and targeted testing of significant contacts, HeraldLIVE reported.

A media statement released on Monday by the premier’s office confirmed that 15,751 people in the province had been infected with Covid-19, with 8,035 recoveries and 285 fatalities as of June 21.

June 22 2020 - 15:59

DA to appeal judgment that race, gender can be used as criteria for Covid-19 small business funding

The DA says it has decided to file an appeal against a judgment on Friday which dismissed its application against the government applying race and gender among the criteria for Covid-19 relief funding for small businesses.

The DA went to court to seek an order declaring that the minister be interdicted from using broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) status, race, gender, ability or disability as criteria for determining who would receive funds from the scheme and the fund.

A judgment by the full bench of the high court ruled against the DA's application.

June 22 2020 - 15:47

Government cannot offer more than R1bn relief to taxi industry: Mbalula

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula says the government is not able to provide more than the R1bn relief it is offering the taxi industry.

On Monday, commuters were left stranded across Gauteng when the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) took to the streets in protest over the relief.

Speaking during a media briefing in Soshanguve, east of Pretoria, Mbalula said the strike was “counterproductive”.

June 22 2020 - 15:05

End lockdown now to save the economy, DA tells Tito Mboweni

The official opposition has advised finance minister Tito Mboweni to resist looking for "shortcuts" on Wednesday when he tables the emergency budget brought about by Covid-19.

In fact, the DA has suggested that the lockdown in its current form must be abandoned completely to reboot the economy and save livelihoods.

June 22 2020 - 14:35

Mbalula's meeting with taxi drivers in Tshwane heats up

June 22 2020 - 14:07

Mbalula in Tshwane to address taxi drivers

June 22 2020 - 

Creche staff can return to work but not care for children - yet

Early childhood development educators and staff can return to work but have a series of hurdles to overcome before children are allowed back into their care.

The department of social development said in a circular dated June 21 that children would not be allowed back at creche or partial care facilities until the minister had gazetted the final date and conditions under which they could reopen.

Christien Lottering from the Little One's Kingdom day care in Randburg said the lockdown had left staff without salaries. “The lockdown affected us ... None of the staff got salaries because the parents didn’t pay ... We have the necessary material to clean and get the school ready.

June 22 2020 - 12:56

IN PICTURES | Cape Town taxi ranks open while Gauteng strike shuts down routes

Cape Town commuters were able to swiftly get to work while it was a vastly different scenario in Gauteng, as day one of a taxi strike got under way in the province.

The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) and the transport department reached a stalemate last week when the industry was offered R1.135bn in assistance after it took a financial knock from the lockdown.

June 22 2020 - 12:54

EXPLAINED | This is how personal care services must operate under advanced level 3 lockdown

Rules have been put in place for the reopening of personal care services, including hair and nail salons, after businesses have been closed for more than two months.

From Friday, all salons and tattoo and massage parlours got the green light to reopen for business.

While many gear up to fill in their seats with clients, for some it may take time to get back on their feet.

June 22 2020 - 12:53

24 pupils test positive at Eastern Cape boarding school

A KwaBhaca secondary school in the Alfred Nzo district has reported 24 Covid-19 cases after tests were done on some of the pupils last week, education superintendent-general Themba Kojana has confirmed.

On Friday, 24 Makaula Secondary School pupils tested positive and after these results, a further 253 pupils and 47 support staff were tested. Their results are still outstanding. Teachers are expected to be tested on Monday.

Kojana said the positive results had caused panic among parents and pupils, prompting some parents to take their children out of the school.

June 22 2020 - 12:04

Mixed responses flood social media as scores respond to taxi strike

The taxi strike has received a mixed bag of reactions on social media as some say the government has done its best to support the industry, while other accuse the operators of “bullying” commuters.

The SA National Taxi Association (Santaco) in Gauteng decided to shut down in protest against the government’s R1.135bn relief fund.

June 22 2020 - 12:01

'We lost our salaries today': taxi strike hits commuters hard

The only thing stranded commuters could do on Monday was hope they could find alternative transport to get to work on time and avoid the prospect of “no work, no pay”.

“We have been told to come to work because they said either you come or you don't get paid,” a commuter at the Phumulong taxi rank in Atteridgeville told TimesLIVE.

“We don't know what taxi drivers are protesting for. When we use buses they remove us. Why are they disrupting us? We have lost our salaries for today. If they continue tomorrow it means we will be losing more,” she said.

June 22 2020 - 11:58

SA's front-line doctors at risk of burnout, say their mental health has deteriorated

SA's front-line doctors say their mental health has deteriorated in recent weeks, prompting a medical defence body to warn about the risk of burnout.

As Covid-19 tightens its grip on the country, a survey conducted by the Medical Protection Society (MPS), which represents 32,000 health-care professionals in SA, has surveyed doctors' psychological wellbeing.

A total of 346 doctors took part in the survey, which found that a third of them felt their mental health was worse compared with two weeks ago.

WATCH | Continued Covid-19 lockdown sees rampant smuggling & desperation at border with Zimbabwe

June 22 2020 - 11:00

Covid-19 closes Pietermaritzburg's city hall

Pietermaritzburg's city hall was closed on Monday after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19.

"A notice is hereby given that the city hall building will be closed on Monday.

"This is to allow for the process of disinfection to take place as a result of a staff member having tested positive for Covid-19," Msunduzi Municipality said in a statement.

June 22 2020 - 10:57

R500 Bushiri hand sanitiser is 'fake', says church

Sheperd Bushiri’s Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church has denied that it is selling hand sanitiser for R500.

The leader of the ECG church made the top trending list after a post of hand sanitisers with his image was circulated on social media.

The post claimed the sanitiser was “very effective” and contained “80% Holy Spirit and 20% alcohol”.

June 22 2020 - 10:54

UKZN ready to start phasing in return of students and staff

The University of KwaZulu-Natal will begin the first phase of opening its doors to a select cohort of students from June 29.

UKZN spokesperson Normah Zondo said the logistics and planning for the return of students and staff “are complex and has to be undertaken both carefully and systematically”.

Zondo said the university would stagger the return of students.

June 22 2020 - 08:47

‘It’s a cover-up’: Collins Khosa witnesses tell us what they saw

Almost 10 weeks after the deadly beating of Collins Khosa, witnesses say they are yet to be interviewed by the defence force.

One of them, his brother-in-law, recounts the horrific incident.

June 22 2020 - 10:53

UKZN ready to start phasing in return of students and staff

June 22 2020 - 08:32

IN HIS OWN WORDS | The lockdown tale of an enterprising recycler and vegan

My name is Thulani Maxwell Msibande. I am 36 years old and I am from Mutale in Limpopo, but have spent most of my life in Johannesburg. I came to the city in the early 21st century.

We all travel to secure a better life or in search of knowledge and wisdom, and it was the pursuit of entrepreneurship that brought me here.

Folovhodwe, the community in Mutale, was doing nothing to try to combat unemployment and corrupt government. I was 16 but I had big dreams and big goals with no support structure.

June 22 2020 - 08:31

Taxi strike leaves commuters stranded across Gauteng

Commuters were left stranded across Gauteng and some roads were barricaded as the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) embarked on a strike on Monday to protest against a R1bn government relief package for the industry.

The council said in a letter “we were expecting at least R20,000 per vehicle” but would receive significantly less out of the package announced by transport minister Fikile Mbalula.

Police and soldiers were deployed to clear some blocked roads, leading to an early morning gridlock, while frustrated commuters faced being crammed together in whatever transport they could find.

June 22 2020 - 08:29

Shut all Eastern Cape schools, says Sadtu

The SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) has asked the provincial education department to shut all Eastern Cape schools because of “perpetual challenges”.

In a move to find common ground with the union, provincial education superintendent-general Themba Kojana asked at the weekend to meet the union’s leaders on Tuesday.

The union’s provincial executive committee convened last Wednesday and wrote to Kojana on Thursday evening, asking him to close schools because they face a multilayered crisis.

June 22 2020 - 07:31

Mbalula on taxi shutdown: 'It will worsen the economic devastation of the industry'

22 June 2020 - 06:30

Medic shares woes of it not being illegal to not wear a mask in SA

Medics who have spent their last few weeks dealing with gravely ill patients suffering from Covid-19 have expressed their desire to make it a criminal offence for any person to be caught in public without a mask.

22 June 2020 - 06:00

Food prices will fall as country's economy recovers from Covid-19, says Competition Commission

The Competition Commission says it expects food prices to fall and has vowed to monitor retailers to make sure savings are passed on to consumers.

The commission’s acting spokesperson, Siyabulela Makunga, said the commission had been vigilant in responding to consumer complaints of price increases for essential food products.

Makunga said market factors, including the rand’s 25% depreciation in March, initially pushed food prices up during the lockdown, but these were now being reversed.

22 June 2020 - 05:00

Five stories you must read on dexamethasone, the Covid-19 'miracle drug'

Dexamethasone, a steroid drug manufactured in SA, has been dominating news headlines after a UK study revealed its effects in reducing deaths among critically ill Covid-19 patients.