COVID-19 WRAP | Another day of low Covid-19 infections & KZN man dies in makeshift ward in hospital parking lot

August 4 2020 - 22:09

Another day of low infections as new Covid-19 cases in SA drop below 4,500

Just a day after posting the lowest number of new Covid-19 infections in 41 days, health minister Zweli Mkhize revealed on Wednesday night that the number of cases had dropped even further.

August 4 2020 - 18:02

IN PICTURES | Hair scavenged from Nairobi dump ends up in salon amid Covid-19 scare

Stylist Julia Wanja picks her way delicately through piles of food waste, discarded masks, rubber gloves and other rubbish at Nairobi's Dandora dumpsite, looking for used hair extensions she can clean and resell to customers.

The pandemic means fewer clients with less money and she is cutting down on costs by cleaning and reselling hair from the dumpsite.

August 4 2020 - 18:01

Soldiers confiscated millions in illicit cigarettes, booze and dagga in July

Soldiers have confiscated R10m worth of illegal cigarettes, alcohol worth R180,000, counterfeit clothing worth R579,000 and other contraband worth R4.8m — and all this just during July.

The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) said this more than R15.5m haul made significant strides in ensuring law and order since the start of the lockdown in March.

“The confiscated goods are in total defiance of lockdown restrictions and deprive the country’s revenue services, needed for government programmes,” said SANDF spokesperson Lt Col Connie Silwer.

August 4 2020 - 18:00

KZN food store told to donate essential goods for hiking price of maize meal

Cambridge Food in Jozini, northern KwaZulu-Natal, has been ordered to donate to a charity organisation for charging excessive prices for maize meal.

The Competition Tribunal has confirmed as an order a consent agreement between the Competition Commission and the company.

In terms of the order, Cambridge Food Jozini has agreed to reduce its gross profit margin on the 25kg Top White maize meal for the duration of the state of the national disaster, the commission said.

August 4 2020 - 17:37

Taiwan provisionally approves dexamethasone as coronavirus treatment

Taiwan provisionally approved the use of dexamethasone, a cheap and widely-used steroid, to treat the new coronavirus, as the island faces a shortfall of the antiviral drug remdesivir after the United States bought nearly all global supplies.

Taiwan Centres for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang told reporters on Tuesday that medical experts had decided to provisionally allow dexamethasone to be listed as a Covid-19 treatment but that procedures still needed to be completed before it could be given to any patients.

August 4 2020 - 17:36

Kaizer Chiefs suspends club boss Bobby Motaung for allegedly partying during national lockdown

In a shock move Kaizer Chiefs have suspended Bobby Motaung following a series of incriminating videos that went viral in the past week allegedly showing the club's football manager partying during the national lockdown.

This was announced by Chiefs on their social media platforms and official website on Tuesday afternoon.

The move comes as a huge surprise.

August 4 2020 - 17:30

WATCH | KZN man dies in makeshift ward in hospital parking lot

The KwaZulu-Natal health department has launched an investigation into the death of a man at Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg after a video of the state of one its makeshift wards went viral.

The investigation comes after radio personality Hlengiwe Khumalo took to Twitter on Monday to share a video of the shocking state of the ward in what appears to be the hospital’s parking lot, where her father, Sibusiso Khumalo, 67, died from a lack of oxygen on Saturday.

August 04 2020 - 15:52

ANC apologises for lockdown law breaches at Andrew Mlangeni funeral

The ANC has apologised for a lack of social distancing at the funeral of party stalwart and Rivonia trialist Andrew Mlangeni in Soweto last week.

Visuals of the event outside Mlangeni's home showed dozens of people in attendance — some estimates said about 200 people were present — in clear breach of lockdown laws.

According to Disaster Management Act regulations, a maximum of 50 people are allowed to attend a funeral.

August 04 2020 - 15:51

ANC wants agency set up to deal with white-collar crime and corruption

The ANC NEC wants its deployees in the government to urgently establish a multidisciplinary agency to deal with white-collar crime and corruption.

This is one of the resolutions of this past weekend’s three-day sitting of the national executive committee (NEC).

“The NEC declared its full support for the decision, announced by President [Cyril] Ramaphosa, to refer all allegations of corruption in the procurement for Covid-19 goods and services to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and for the establishment of a multidisciplinary law enforcement team to investigate Covid-19 corruption. It urges this team to move with speed to bring those responsible to book,” the party said in a statement.

August 04 2020 - 15:50

Pick n Pay warns of 50% earnings drop due to booze and cigarette ban

South African supermarket chain Pick n Pay flagged a more than 50% fall in first-half earnings on Tuesday, weighed down by constraints on alcohol, tobacco and clothing sales during the lockdown, and by voluntary severance payments.

President Cyril Ramaphosa imposed a nationwide lockdown from the end of March to curb the spread of coronavirus, banning retailers from selling non-essential items.

These account for about 20% of Pick n Pay's group revenue, with higher gross profit margins relative to basic food and grocery lines.

—Reuters

August 04 2020 - 15:18

WATCH | What lockdown? Joburg partygoers openly flout laws

“They'll never take my power,” chanted a grinning young man as he took a swig from a bottle at a get-together where revellers blatantly flouted lockdown rules in Johannesburg.

These were the scenes captured in photos and videos at a gathering in the city, apparently at the weekend, which are now the subject of an urgent police investigation.

There was little evidence of social distancing and face masks in the footage as hundreds of people flocked to Kwai Mai Mai in Jeppestown. Some revellers appeared to be openly drinking alcohol. 

August 04 2020 - 15:15

A data-loving public that wears masks: 'much to learn' from Covid-19 for HIV and TB

While the coronavirus pandemic has caused major disruptions in HIV and TB services in the country, something positive has emerged from the Covid-19 response that we can take forward in our battle against these other major diseases.

The mainstreaming of masks and public interest in health data are two of the big lessons.

That is according to Dr Zameer Brey, who was speaking on Tuesday morning at a webinar hosted by the SA National Aids Council (Sanac). Brey heads the TB programme in SA for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

August 04 2020 - 14:56

ANC 'dips head in shame' over Covid-19 feeding frenzy, vows to take action

The ANC national executive committee (NEC) has given the party's top six one month to identify a list of cases of those facing allegations of corruption along with recommendations on how they should be dealt with.

This is contained in a post-NEC statement after a tense sitting of the party’s highest decision-making structure in between conferences which dealt, in the main, with what action the party should take regarding those within its ranks accused of — among other things — looting state funds.

“Pursuant to the resolution that those accused of corruption and other serious crimes against the people, including those charged in courts, may be expected to step aside from their positions or responsibilities, the national officials be requested immediately to prepare an audited list of cases and submit this list within one month to the NWC [national working committee] and the NEC, with recommendations for action,” the statement read.

August 04 2020 - 12:53

Treasury grants alcohol industry request for excise tax suspension

The National Treasury has granted a request by the alcohol industry for a deferment of excise tax on liquor.

Alcohol industry spokesperson Sibani Mngadi said in a statement on Tuesday that the Treasury had proposed a 90-day suspension for the payment of excise tax on alcohol.

The proposed deferral will be for August and September.

August 04 2020 - 12:39

WATCH | Illegal beachgoers make a run for it from law-enforcement officials

eThekwini municipality has issued a stern warning to residents that they face the full might of the law if they continue to flock to the city's beaches during lockdown.

This comes after a video of beachgoers scurrying away from law-enforcement officials with their possessions, including surf boards and picnic ware, went viral on Monday.

It is understood  the incident took place at a beach north of Durban.

August 04 2020 - 12:27

POLL | Do you think officials found guilty of pocketing Covid-19 funds will be held accountable?

In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa has again reiterated government is determined to root out corruption related to Covid-19 funds.

Ramaphosa described companies and individuals implicated in pocketing funds and food parcels as people with “no conscience”.

Investigations into the mismanagement of Covid-19 funds are being conducted, and the president will receive interim reports every six weeks. He said where criminality has been found, cases will be referred for prosecution.

August 04 2020 - 12:09

DA-run Cape Town soars above every other metro, says ratings company

Cape Town is the only South African city with the capacity to successfully weather the Covid-19 storm, a survey of the financial sustainability of metros has found.

Ratings Afrika gave the Mother City a score of 74 out of 100 on its sustainability index. The average was 48.

The index looked at operating performance, liquidity management, debt governance, budget practices, affordability and infrastructure development.

August 04 2020 - 09:57

WATCH | There's no vaccine for Covid-19 but TB Joshua 'healed' patients through virtual prayer

A video of Nigerian prophet TB Joshua virtually “healing” congregants with Covid-19 from an isolation centre in Honduras, Central America, has gone viral online, despite the World Health Organisation (WHO) saying there is no cure for the virus.

One of the patients gave their testimony about the “miracle”, saying: “I passed out a lot of foul substances — that was the power of prayer.” 

The prayer was themed “Distance is not a barrier interactive sessions”. Before the prayer, a health-care worker can be seen in the video asking patients to describe their conditions and the “miracles” they expect.

August 04 2020 - 09:54

WATCH | Emotional scenes as nurses honour one of their own who died of Covid-19

SA's front-line health-care workers are dying as they help save thousands of lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hospitals are overwhelmed, health-care workers lack personal protective equipment (PPE), and some staff suffer from underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to this deadly virus.

A recent video shared by Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union touched many as the organisation honoured one of the nurses from Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom, Free State, who died from Covid-19 complications.

August 04 2020 - 09:52

Four-year-old and three-month-old baby die from Covid-19 in KZN

Two KwaZulu-Natal children have succumbed to Covid-19.

The provincial health department on Tuesday morning said a four-year-old boy and three-month-old girl had died from the virus.

The department said the province had recorded 93 more deaths.

August 04 2020 - 09:51

Germany already dealing with second coronavirus wave - doctors' union

Germany is already contending with a second wave of the coronavirus and risks squandering its early success by flouting social distancing rules, the head of the German doctors' union said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.

The number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases has ticked up steadily in recent weeks, with health experts warning lax adherence to hygiene and distancing rules among some of the public is spreading the virus across communities.

"We are already in a second, shallow upswing," Susanne Johna, president of Marburger Bund, which represents doctors in Germany, told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

—Reuters

August 04 2020 - 08:02

Criminal case opened over R30m PPE procurement, KZN social development officials suspended

The KwaZulu-Natal department of social development says it has opened a criminal case and suspended a number of officials over the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as blankets.

This follows a “damning forensic” investigation report conducted into the procurement of the goods, MEC for social development Nonhlanhla Khoza said in a statement.

August 04 2020 - 06:00