COVID-19 WRAP | Gauteng officially passes 200,000 Covid-19 cases

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize released the latest Covid-19 statistics on Monday night, showing that Gauteng has 200,237 confirmed cases to date. There were 2,541 new cases in the past 24 hours.

18 August 2020 - 06:24 By TimesLIVE
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A woman puts a face mask on an idol of Hindu god Ganesh at her workshop ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Ahmedabad, India on August 18 2020.
A woman puts a face mask on an idol of Hindu god Ganesh at her workshop ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Ahmedabad, India on August 18 2020.
Image: REUTERS/Amit Dave

August 18 2020 - 17:28

Nurses 'forced to reuse' disposable PPE at Gauteng hospital: union

Nurses allegedly being bullied and made to wash and reuse disposable personal protective equipment (PPE), plus Covid-19 positive and negative patients being placed together in hospital wards, have been flagged by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa).

Denosa Gauteng chairperson Simphiwe Gada said on Tuesday they had visited hospitals in the province to check on working conditions.

The facilities they visited included Tembisa Hospital, Tshwane District Hospital, Sebokeng Hospital and Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital (DGMH). They also visited a Roodepoort warehouse.

August 18 2020 - 16:07

How Covid-19 funeral rules caused disruption, anxiety in Eastern Cape

Lockdown restrictions and regulations on how funerals must be conducted have caused considerable disruption, anxiety and misunderstandings around funeral practices in parts of the Eastern Cape. 

That's according to research by Walter Sisulu University and the Human Sciences  Research Council (HSRC). 

The research was commissioned by Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane through the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council after an increase in Covid-19 infections during funerals. 

August 18 2020 - 15:35

'I will open my bank accounts': Patricia de Lille on R40m border fence wrangle

Public works minister Patricia de Lille has pledged to allow MPs to study her personal bank accounts to prove she is not corrupt and did not benefit from tender irregularities related to the controversial R40m Beitbridge border fence.

De Lille made the undertaking on Tuesday during a joint meeting with parliament's public works committees from the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces.

During the meeting, a number of MPs told De Lille “the buck stops with you, minister” after her acting director-general Imtiaz Fazel presented a report in which De Lille was cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to irregularities in the project.

August 18 2020 - 15:10

Shisanyama employees grateful to be back at work in lockdown level 2

The Covid-19 lockdown wiped out their income in one go, leaving them without wages for five months. Now staff at a Pretoria shisanyama are preparing to balance hygiene protocols and a night-time curfew as they prepare to reopen under level 2.

Staff were mopping floors and stacking chairs in preparation of their return to trade, while devising a shift roster, when TimesLIVE visited.

“Today we are just busy cleaning. We are preparing to open — we might open on Thursday,” said manager Eric Sibande.

August 18 2020 - 14:36

'We're done smoking horrible brands': SA on cigarette, booze sales

“This is my favourite brand. This is what we have been waiting for,” said a Cape Town resident who was the first customer to buy two boxes of cigarettes.

From Tuesday, the tobacco and liquor industries breathed sighs of relief as South Africans were allowed to buy their favourite alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.

It was a good day for the tobacco industry as the lifting of a five-month ban on sales put an end to the surge in the black market trade in cigarettes.

August 18 2020 - 14:24

Durban prepares to reopen its beaches

Durban will welcome back beachgoers to its shores as soon as it gets the green light.

The city is waiting for the department of sports, arts and culture to promulgate regulations that will allow it to reopen its beaches.

Under level 2 of the lockdown beaches are allowed to reopen.

August 18 2020 - 13:23

KZN schools in crisis as most teachers stay at home during lockdown

KwaZulu-Natal is facing a “serious” education crisis as most teachers are absent from schools during the lockdown, the DA says.

The DA said a written parliamentary reply to its question revealed that about 6,000 teachers remained absent from schools as a result of having been deemed “vulnerable” during the Covid-19 pandemic due to age and comorbidities.

August 18 2020 - 12:12

Shop until you drop: Pick n Pay not limiting booze, cigarette purchases

Supermarket chain Pick n Pay said there will be no limit on how much liquor and tobacco customers can buy.

On Tuesday, SA moved to lockdown level 2 and the bans on alcohol and tobacco product sales were lifted.

August 18 2020 - 12:05

Customer and friends shell out R20,000 on alcohol - just to be safe

“I feel great today now that the ban has been lifted,” Gordan Human told TimesLIVE at Makro in Strubens Valley on a cloudy Tuesday morning.

Human’s trolley was packed with bottles of Bell's whisky and Red Heart rum, his favourite brands.

August 18 2020 - 11:22

Half of university students don't have resources such as laptops and data to study from home

A new study has revealed that the majority of university students lack “critical” resources such as data and laptops to study from home during the lockdown.

August 18 2020 - 11:21

Increase in Covid-19 infections will start to show around August 28, Prof Abdool Karim

SA will see a slight increase in Covid-19 infections in the next 10 days, according to the chair of the Covid-19 ministerial advisory committee, Prof Salim Abdool Karim.

August 18 2020 - 11:20

Illicit cigarette seller says business was good while it lasted

Not everyone  is celebrating the reopening of cigarettes sales.

*Sabelo Radebe said for him it means the end of a thriving business selling loose cigarettes for ballooned prices.

“I was selling loose cigarettes for R5 each and it was going well,” he told TimesLIVE.

“I was going through a few boxes every day, but now things will definitely slow down. It hasn't been that busy this morning,” he said.

August 18 2020 - 7:43

Pandemic now driven by 20s, 30s, 40s group, many asymptomatic - WHO

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it was concerned that the novel coronavirus spread was being driven by people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, many of which were unaware they were infected, posing a danger to vulnerable groups.

August 18 2020 - 7:14

Herd immunity & a second wave: Here's what you need to know, SA

As SA sees a decline in daily Covid-19 infections, health experts have warned against complacency, arguing relaxed attitudes could result in a resurgence of transmissions and a“second wave” of the pandemic.

August 18 2020 - 7:10

New Zealand's Ardern hits back at Trump over coronavirus 'surge'

Trump sparked uproar in New Zealand when he told a crowd in Minnesota that the South Pacific country of 5 million people was in the grip of a "terrible" upsurge in Covid-19 cases, having earlier succeeded in eliminating the disease.

August 18 2020 - 7:00

In SA, you can't afford to die — literally

International research says SA is fourth most expensive country to die in

August 18 2020 - 7:00

WATCH | Social visits, gyms and tobacco: All you need to know about lockdown level 2

Many restrictions will be lifted, including bans on alcohol and tobacco sales, while family visits and interprovincial travel will also be permitted.

August 18 2020 - 6:38

Dry Dock Liquor co-owner Martin Pienaar told TimesLIVE that orders have been steadily increasing on their site since Saturday evening as many customers tried to secure a place in the delivery queue. He said the average basket was R2,500.

August 18 2020 - 6:30

Taverns ready to sell booze after months of no income

Local taverns and bottle stores are preparing to open their doors under eased level 2 lockdown laws — and they say they are ready. 

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