COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 2,336 new infections | Government employees applied for R350 Covid-19 relief grant: minister

September 2 2020 - 21:21

SA passes 630,000 Covid-19 cases

South Africa passed 630,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases on Wednesday night.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced that 2,336 infections were reported in the past 24 hours, taking the national tally to 630,595.

He also confirmed 126 deaths in the past 24 hours.

September 2 2020 - 21:04

Beer makers vow to cut off outlets who break level 2 lockdown laws

The Beer Association of SA has vowed to stop supplying alcohol to establishments found to be breaching level 2 lockdown regulations.

The association said it had been alerted to reports of alcohol outlets breaking lockdown rules related to the sale of alcohol.

“While the majority of outlets and restaurants are complying with the lockdown regulations, we have been receiving reports of businesses that are selling and serving alcohol outside of the legal trading hours,” the association said in a statement.

September 2 2020 - 21:03

Government employees applied for R350 Covid-19 relief grant: minister

Social development minister Lindiwe Zulu has told parliament that some government employees may have applied for the special Covid-19 social relief of distress grant meant for the poor and unemployed.

Zulu revealed this while issuing a warning that the government was coming for its employees who benefited from the scheme, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa to bring relief to the poor whose poverty was amplified by the lockdown.

“The message to those people is that we will do everything to make sure that we get that money back,” she said on Wednesday.

September 2 2020 - 19:00

France's new COVID-19 infections again above 7,000

French health authorities reported 7,017 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, sharply up from Tuesday's 4,982 figure, and the third time since the beginning of the outbreak that the daily tally has stood above 7,000.

The number of people hospitalised for the disease, while still well below its April 14 peak of 32,292, has gone up for the fifth day running, at 4,632.The number of people in France who have died from COVID-19 infections increased by 25 to 30,686, and the cumulative number of cases now totals 293,024.

-REUTERS

September 2 2020 - 16:13

Six key points from Nehawu's commemoration of front-line workers

Nehawu says its demands for salary increments and improved working conditions for health-care workers have fallen on deaf ears.

Members of the federation gathered at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto on Tuesday for a national day of prayer to honour health-care workers who have died from Covid-19 related conditions.

September 2 2020 - 16:06

How the new Covid Alert SA smartphone app works

The national health department launched a cellphone application on Wednesday to bolster the country's management of the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid Alert SA will be used for digital contact tracing using Bluetooth technology.

It effectively allows mobile phone users to update their Covid-19 statuses and alert each other anonymously if they encounter a positive case.

September 2 2020 - 15:44

Covid-19 cases in Europe back to March level, EU health body says

Covid-19 infections in Europe are back to levels seen in March when the outbreak began its peak phase there, the head of the European Union's public health agency said on Wednesday, noting however school reopenings did not necessarily pose new risks.

"The virus has not been sleeping over the summer. It did not take vacation," Andrea Ammon, head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), told EU lawmakers in a regular hearing.

She said this week's data showed that across Europe there were 46 cases per 100,000 people. "We are almost back to numbers that we have seen in March," Ammon said.

Infections in March in Europe began growing steadily to about 40 per 100,000 people at the end of the month, according to ECDC data, and kept increasing to around 70 per 100,000 by the end of April.

The current increase of cases was due in part to more testing.

New cases also concern largely younger people, she said, a new pattern that had resulted in stable hospitalisation numbers, as the illness is more serious for older people who were hit hard in March and April.

However, Ammon said hospitalisations were now growing again, signalling spikes in cases also among the elderly.

Ammon added that the reopening of schools in September did not necessarily pose higher risks of transmissions, as countries in Europe that had already reopened them in the spring did not experience spikes in cases.

- Reuters

September 2 2020 - 14:21

Judgment reserved in Santam vs Ma-Afrika Hotels matter over Covid-19 insurance

Insurance giant Santam argued in the high court in Cape Town on Tuesday why it should not have to pay its client Ma-Afrika Hotels for losses incurred during the coronavirus lockdown.

Ma-Afrika Hotels sought a declaratory order to compel its insurance broker to pay for the interruption of its business during the lockdown.

Santam argued before a full bench that the case revolved around the wording of its policy, which it claimed did not provide cover for a global or national pandemic, but instead was “limited to causative events that are local to the insured’s premises”.

September 2 2020 - 14:02

Auditor-general reveals how few field hospitals and quarantine sites are in use

The construction of field hospitals and provision of quarantine sites to combat Covid-19 are riddled with weaknesses, irregularities and overpayments, says auditor-general Kimi Makwetu.

Delivering his maiden audit report on Wednesday on the procurement of goods, services and infrastructure to fight the coronavirus, Makwetu identified the construction of field hospitals, isolation centres and quarantine sites as problem areas.

September 2 2020 - 13:55

Deaths slightly up in latest report from MRC team tracking impact of Covid-19

After falling for four weeks, the number of deaths in SA has increased again - albeit slightly - the Medical Research Council (MRC) said on Wednesday.

A team at the MRC's burden of disease research unit, which has been estimating excess deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic, said there were 11,792 deaths from all causes in the week ending August 24.

This is 27% higher than the predicted number of deaths based on data for the past two years, and an adjustment for the lower number of deaths reported during the hard lockdown.

September 2 2020 - 13:45

Covid antibodies may still be present four months after recovery: study

Antibody levels against the novel coronavirus rose and then held steady for up to four months in more than 90% of recovered Covid-19 patients in Iceland, according to a study published on Tuesday.

In previous studies, antibody levels dropped sharply within a few months after Covid-19, raising questions about the duration of immunity that infection may provide.

The new finding may have implications for reinfection risks and vaccine durability, said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCode Genetics, which conducted the study.

September 2 2020 - 13:40

SANParks postpones annual free access week to November due to Covid-19 restrictions

SA National Parks (SANParks) has postponed its annual free access week, usually held in September, to November due to Covid-19 and level 2 regulations. 

This is the first time since the programme was introduced 14 years ago that it will not take place in September.

The free access week was introduced in 2006, and more than 500,000 people have participated.

September 2 2020 - 13:30

Overseas travel might be back ‘sooner than expected’: Tourism minister

Tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said international tourism might return sooner than expected as she encouraged South Africans to get out and explore their own country.

Speaking in Cullinan, Gauteng, on Monday at the official launch of Tourism Month, an annual celebration highlighting the importance of domestic tourism, Kubayi-Ngubane  acknowledged the rough times the sector had been through these past few months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but added that “by all indications, the worst is behind us”.

September 2 2020 - 13:21

'Some items more than double, even five times the price': auditor-general on PPE scandal

The national and provincial departments of health and education have paid up to five times more than they should have for personal protective equipment (PPE) to fight the spread of the coronavirus, says auditor-general Kimi Makwetu.

Makwetu said in Pretoria on Wednesday that when buying PPE, the departments did not stick to prices prescribed by the National Treasury and in many cases paid more than five times the Treasury’s recommended prices.

After the outbreak commenced in March, the Treasury issued guidelines on maximum prices that government departments and companies should pay for goods such as masks, gloves, hand sanitisers, thermometers, medical waste bags, disposable plastic aprons and coveralls.

September 2 2020 - 11:36

RECORDED | AG Kimi Makwetu releases Covid-19 relief fund audit findings

Auditor general Kimi Makwetu will on Wednesday release Covid-19 relief fund audit findings. 

September 2 2020 - 09:33

Pharmacy team preparing flu packs as part of the Covid-19 response in Gauteng

September 2 2020 - 09:29

WATCH LIVE | Health department launches new Covid-19 app to make contact tracing easier

September 2 2020 - 07:35

New Covid-19 app could prevent hospital admissions and save lives

The national health department will on Wednesday launch a life-saving mobile application, Covid Alert SA, to strengthen South Africa’s digital contact tracing efforts.

As of Monday night, the country has a cumulative total of 627,041 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 540,823 recoveries and 14,192 deaths.

It is estimated that if 100 infections were reported using the app it could prevent as many as 15 to 20 hospital admissions and save two lives.

September 2 2020 - 07:27

SA records just under 2,000 Covid-19 cases