COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES | Medical association warns against do-it-yourself Covid-19 home care

August 06 2020 - 20:00

Don't wait — lift tobacco ban now, Tax Justice SA tells Ramaphosa

Tax Justice SA (TJSA) has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to lift the tobacco ban, saying it was causing “misery” to smokers and robbing the country of millions of rand.

“President Ramaphosa should do the right thing and immediately lift the tobacco ban after the [Western Cape] High Court reserved judgment following the government’s laboured defence of the sales prohibition today,” Tax Justice SA said in a statement on Thursday.

British American Tobacco SA (Batsa) and other litigants — including farmers, processors, manufactures, retailers and consumers — took the government to court over co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s decision to ban the sale of tobacco and vaping products during the lockdown.

August 06 2020 - 19:31

New Covid-19 tender task team won't usurp powers of law enforcement: Lamola

Justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola has moved to allay fears that the new interministerial task team probing Covid-19 related corruption could hinder the work of law enforcement.

Lamola, who is the convener of that task team, was delivering a post-cabinet statement on Thursday evening.

He defended the establishment of the committee, set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa to delve into Covid-19 procurement across all government departments.

August 06 2020 - 18:13

My family did not get any Covid-19 tenders: Zweli Mkhize

Health minister Zweli Mkhize on Thursday denied that he or his family were awarded Covid-19 related tenders.

Responding to a question by the media regarding the National Treasury investigating government officials for corruption around the emergency Covid-19 tenders, Mkhize said: “I am not aware of anyone or any family getting government tenders for PPEs. I am not aware, I have never heard of it.”

Mkhize who visited Edendale and Richmond hospitals earlier in the day, was addressing the media during a briefing at Clairwood Hospital, west of Durban.

August 06 2020 - 17:42

Bad news for smokers and drinkers: Mkhize says bans to stay in place

National health minister Zweli Mkhize was the bearer of bad news for smokers and drinkers on Thursday when he said the country was not ready to lift the bans on alcohol and cigarettes.

Mkhize was touring various hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, which has seen a sharp incline in the number of positive Covid-19 infections in the past two weeks.

In response to a question about why the ban on cigarette and alcohol sales was still in place, despite a promising recovery rate of about 70% and research showing that the ban had achieved its purpose, Mkhize said the threat to the nation's health was not over.

PODCAST | Trouble brews over the latest alcohol sales ban

iono.fm | Spotify | Player.fm | Pocket Casts.

August 06 2020 - 16:09

President Cyril Ramaphosa to name all companies involved in PPE tenders

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed an interministerial committee to “deal with alleged corruption” linked to the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE).

The appointment follows a sitting of cabinet on Wednesday.

Justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola will announce the outcomes of the cabinet meeting on Thursday at a press briefing scheduled for 5pm.

August 06 2020 - 16:04

Breast is still best, even in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic

Misinformation and fear of transmitting Covid-19 to their infants is pushing new mothers to avoid breastfeeding.

In World Breastfeeding Week, which ends on Friday, the Association for Dietetics in SA (Adsa) has declared that breast milk is the “safest and most nutritious food for babies and Covid-19 does not change that”.

Adsa’s stance is supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which recently recommended that “mothers with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 should be encouraged to initiate or continue to breastfeed”.

August 06 2020 - 15:24

Medical association warns against do-it-yourself Covid-19 home care

The Islamic Medical Association of SA — which is driving Covid-19 home care — has issued a warning to the public not to take over the management of infected patients without consulting doctors.

Imasa has been steering the Oxygen Support Group, which provides oxygen concentrators to infected patients in cities such as Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

Home care for Covid-19 patients has been growing in a bid to minimise the strain on hospitals.

August 06 2020 - 15:18

Tobacco ban is to protect health-care system, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma tells judges

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma came out guns blazing on Thursday in her legal attempt to keep cigarettes out of public reach during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The co-operative governance minister and President Cyril Ramaphosa are opposing a lawsuit brought by British American Tobacco SA (Batsa) and nine other litigants — including farmers, consumers and processors — over the cigarette sales ban.

During the second day of the hearing before a full bench of three Cape Town high court judges, Dlamini-Zuma revealed a list of experts and medical literature upon which she based her decision.

August 06 2020 - 15:07

'Lift booze ban in September, not now': DA's Makashule Gana

Some DA members are singing a different tune regarding lifting the ban on the sale of alcohol.  

While some of the party's leaders have called for the ban to be lifted immediately, the DA's Gauteng MPL Makashule Gana expressed different views on the matter.

In a conversation with DA leadership hopeful Mbali Ntuli on his podcast Makashule Unscripted on Facebook, Gana said the ban should not be lifted until the dire situation in hospitals is stabilised.

August 06 2020 - 15:02

WATCH | 'You are a liar': President Cyril Ramaphosa can't be trusted, says activist body

Civil society organisation the Activists Movement of South Africa (Amsa) says President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government cannot be trusted, nor can he, and they have labelled those who “steal” Covid-19 funds “thieves and murderers”.

“You are a liar and you together with your MPs are thieves and murderers. We are in the middle of a global pandemic ... every day we hear of someone we know who are dying of this virus ... all this while our politicians, officials, their friends and families are making their bonuses of the century,” said Amsa leader Veronica Ncube in a video.

August 06 2020 - 14:08

Health minister Zweli Mkhize justifies unused beds in KZN as 'investment' for province

While KwaZulu-Natal prepares for a peak in Covid-19 infections, being tipped as the next epicentre in the country, health minister Zweli Mkhize has justified the number of unused beds in the province.

Mkhize, who is in the province for the next two days, conducted a doorstop visit to Richmond Hospital in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Thursday.

What was previously solely a TB facility, the hospital was entirely restructured and now has 95 beds, including quarantine and isolation wards.

August 06 2020 - 12:18

Firm claiming it can kill Covid-19 not that fogging good, says ad watchdog

A hygiene company that says it is “fogging good” at killing the coronavirus in buildings has been ordered to withdraw the claim.

The ad watchdog said Coronafog's boasts that it can kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, and that its product and process are effective against the coronavirus, “are currently unsubstantiated”.

August 06 2020 - 11:19

'I just pray that I don't have Covid-19': five-week wait for some test results

Some people in the Eastern Cape have waited more than a month for their Covid-19 test results, with some even returning to work without knowing their status.

This has raised concerns about whether they are in good enough health to be around others, as they could infect them.

August 06 2020 - 10:48

Basic education links schools with clinics 

The department of basic education said it has linked all schools to a clinic with an aim to assist the learning institutions when children or teachers show symptoms of Covid-19.

August 06 2020 - 09:30

Trump social media post removed

Facebook Inc on Wednesday took down a post by U.S. President Donald Trump, which the company said violated its rules against sharing misinformation about the coronavirus. The post contained a video clip, from an interview with Fox & Friends earlier in the day, in which Trump claimed that children are "almost immune" to COVID-19.

"This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19, which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation," a Facebook spokesman said.

A tweet containing the video that was posted by the Trump campaign's @TeamTrump account and shared by the president was also later hidden by Twitter Inc for breaking its COVID-19 misinformation rules. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. During a briefing at the White House, Trump repeated his claim that the virus had little impact on children.

-REUTERS

August 06 2020 - 09:05

Can Covid-19 be passed through breastfeeding?

August 06 2020 - 06:19

Lockdown be damned! If you’re in rehab, you can have a fag

The Gauteng health department shipped cigarettes to a rehabilitation centre in the midst of the smoking ban, the high court has heard​​.

It also heard from a recovering drug addict, to illustrate the “unjustifiable and unlawful” ban.

August 06 2020 - 06:10

By wearing a mask, you are sending a message of solidarity and protecting people, especially those most vulnerable, from Covid-19.

August 06 2020 - 06:00

No need for total alcohol ban, farming organisation to argue in court

In banning the sale of alcohol, the government has failed to strike a balance between ensuring the survival of the wine industry and the goal of protecting the country's health system.

There was also no need to impose a blanket ban on alcohol because the government only wanted to reduce alcohol usage and thereby reduce trauma cases which placed a burden on hospitals.