COVID-19 WRAP | 6,670 new Covid-19 cases identified

August 09 2020 - 21:13

559,858 confirmed Covid-19 cases have been recorded with 6,670 new cases identified

The total number of tests conducted to date is 3 250 583 with 30,318 new tests conducted since the last report.

198 new Covid-19 related deaths: 80 from Eastern Cape, 32 from Gauteng, 63 from KwaZulu Natal and 23 from Western Cape.

The cumulative total of reported Covid-19 related deaths to 10,408.

The number of recoveries currently stands at 411 147 which translates to a recovery rate of 73%.

August 9 2020 - 21:11

August 9 2020 - 21:00

US CDC reports 4,974,959 coronavirus cases

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 4,974,959 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 54,590 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,064 to 161,284.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as Covid-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Aug. 8 versus its previous report a day earlier.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states. 

- Reuters

August 9 2020 - 20:30

Greece registers highest daily tally of Covid-19 cases

Greece reported 203 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, its highest daily tally since the start of the outbreak in the country, a government official said.

The latest jump in cases brings the total number of infections in the country to 5,623 since its first infection surfaced in late February.

- Reuters

August 9 2020 - 20:15

August 9 2020 - 20:00

Britain's Covid-19 daily infections rise to highest level since June

Britain reported 1,062 new positive tests for coronavirus on Sunday, the highest daily rise in new Covid-19 infections since late June, at a time of new local lockdowns in some areas and worries over a second wave of infections.

Official data showed 1,062 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, going over the 1,000 new daily cases mark for the first time since June, and 304 higher than the 758 new cases reported on Saturday.

- Reuters

August 9 2020 - 13:46

Magashule's 'associates', shisa nyama score lucrative PPE tenders: report

Allies of ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and an unregistered local car wash and shisa nyama have landed lucrative personal protective equipment tenders in the Free State, reports City Press.

The publication reported on Sunday that it had seen a tender bulletin from last month, listing the companies and their owners.

One company owned by Magashule’s “long-time associates” was awarded contracts for cloth masks, latex gloves and shoe covers worth, combined, more than R7m. The company said the tenders were acquired ethically.

August 9 2020 - 12:38

'This pandemic has made us more than nurses': On the front line with Thembisa Lote

The coronavirus pandemic has proven to be a roller coaster few months for Thembisa Lote, operational manager of the Princess Clinic in Roodepoort, Gauteng.

Lote, 53, with a nursing career spanning more than three decades, is among the many women on the front line fighting Covid-19 in SA.

Since the outbreak of the virus in the country and the subsequent lockdown, she had to think on her feet about how to turn around the way things are done at the clinic.

August 9 2020 - 11:00

Condolences for family of renowned paediatric cardiologist who died from Covid-19

Higher education, science and innovation minister Blade Nzimande has sent condolences to the family of seasoned doctor and academic Prof Lungile Pepeta who died due to Covid-19 related complications at a hospital in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

At the time of his death, he was serving as the executive dean in the faculty of health sciences at Nelson Mandela University.

“Prof Pepeta was a renowned paediatric cardiologist and his death is a great loss to the Nelson Mandela University, the medical and health fraternity and SA in general,” Nzimande said in a statement.

August 9 2020 - 10:33

New Zealand records 100 days without domestic transmission of Covid-19

New Zealand marked 100 days without a domestic transmission of the coronavirus on Sunday, but warned against complacency as countries like Vietnam and Australia which once had the virus under control now battle a resurgence in infections.

New Zealand's successful fight against Covid-19 has made the Pacific island nation of five million one of the safest places in the world right now.

New Zealanders have returned to normal life, but authorities are concerned that people were now refusing testing, not using the government contact tracing apps, and even ignoring basic hygiene rules.

—Reuters

August 9 2020 - 8:54

Trump signs coronavirus relief orders after talks with Congress break down

President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Saturday providing additional financial support to Americans hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, after his negotiators failed to reach a deal with Congress.

Trump said the orders would provide an extra $400 (about R7,000) per week to the tens of millions thrown out of work during a health crisis that has killed more than 160,000 Americans, less than the $600 (over R10,000) per week level passed earlier in the year.

Some of the measures were likely to face legal challenges, as the US Constitution gives Congress authority over federal spending.

—Reuters

August 9 2020 - 7:45

'Your time is up': Thousands protest against Netanyahu over Covid-19 and alleged corruption

Thousands of Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on Saturday as anger mounted over corruption allegations and his handling of the coronavirus crisis.

"Your time is up", read the giant letters projected on to a building at the protest site, as demonstrators waved Israeli flags and called on Netanyahu to resign over what they say is his failure to protect jobs and businesses affected by the pandemic.

The protest movement has intensified in recent weeks, with critics accusing Netanyahu of being distracted by a corruption case against him. He denies wrongdoing.

—Reuters

August 9 2020 - 6:41

US sets record as coronavirus cases top 5 million

The US set a record for coronavirus cases on Saturday, with more than 5 million people now infected, according to a Reuters tally, as the country's top infectious diseases official offered hope earlier this week that an effective vaccine might be available by year-end.

With one out of every 66 residents infected, the US leads the world in Covid-19 cases, according to a Reuters analysis. The country has recorded more than 160,000 deaths, nearly a quarter of the world's total.

The grim milestone comes as President Donald Trump signed executive orders intended to provide economic relief to Americans hurt by the coronavirus pandemic after the White House failed to reach a deal with Congress.

—Reuters

August 9 2020 - 6:31

'It has been a challenging time': Women working on Covid-19 frontline

Candice Sehoma negotiates with officials, meets pharmaceutical bigwigs, discusses making medicines affordable, then mobilises people and pickets for broader access to life-saving drugs.

A co-ordinator for Doctors Without Borders, she has campaigned to reduce the prices of new tuberculosis drugs and has turned her attention to Covid-19 and to campaigning against profiteering in medicines and vaccines.

Sehoma says SA’s patent system is weak and should “allow more manufacturers to produce ... to respond to Covid-19”.

August 9 2020 - 6:29

Mangosuthu Buthelezi 'self-isolating at home' after contracting Covid-19

IFP founder and former leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi has become the latest political figure to test positive for the coronavirus.

His family made the announcement in a statement yesterday, saying that the 91-year-old went for a test after being notified that he had come into contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case.

Buthelezi undertook the test despite the absence of symptoms at the time.

August 9 2020 - 6:28

Gauteng suspends official involved in irregular awarding of PPE contracts

The net is closing on crooked officials and companies suspected of defrauding the Gauteng health department of hundreds of millions of rands by inflating the prices of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other Covid-19-related goods.

The Sunday Times can today reveal that provincial health authorities this week suspended a procurement executive after slapping her with a raft of financial misconduct charges. This comes as the Hawks in Gauteng launch a fraud investigation into the supply of PPE to the department.

Thandi Pino, the health department's supply chain chief director, was suspended on Friday morning. Pino's suspension - the first in the province in connection with Covid-19 procurement irregularities - was on the recommendation of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), asked by premier David Makhura in May to investigate any corruption in the awarding of PPE contracts.

August 9 2020 - 6:27

'We have reason to be optimistic': How SA is taming Covid-19 storm

SA is finally seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel.

A steady decline in the infection rate and other critical indicators have raised hopes that the worst of the pandemic's first wave is over and that a relaxation of lockdown regulations could come as early as this week, after Tuesday's meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC).

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation no later than Saturday, when the state of disaster he declared in March is due to expire.