COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES | Long queues are spreading the virus, warn health officials

November 26 2020 - 21:55

Refusal to sanitise leaves former ANC KZN leader in custody after shooting

A former leader of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is in police custody after a shooting and assault over refusal to sanitise at a hardware store.

Police spokesperson Brig Jay Naicker told TimesLIVE that three men, one the former ANC leader, arrived at the hardware shop in Newcastle. There, a security guard at the gate requested that they sanitise as per Covid-19 legislation. However, they were allegedly unco-operative and refused to do so.

November 26 2020 - 21:23

Wear your masks, keep your distance and sanitise, Mkhize says as shoppers hit Black Friday queues

Long queues and crowds are a common feature of Black Friday as consumers hunt down the best deals — and health minister Zweli Mkhize has cautioned shoppers to be careful to avoid any chance of contracting Covid-19.

Mkhize said consumers should make sure their Black Friday shopping includes sanitising, social distancing and wearing face masks at all times.

National police spokesperson Col Brenda Muridili could not immediately be reached to comment on the consequences for those found not to be complying with Covid-19 legislation.

November 26 2020 - 18:38

AFU freezes R111m from businessman who claimed TERS for 6,600 people ... when he's the only worker

In October, Thabo Abel Simbini, through his business Impossible Services (Pty) Ltd, made the devastating revelation that he had to lay off 6,647 employees because of the coronavirus.

As a result, he claimed — and was paid — R111m from the UIF's TERS scheme set up to help individuals and businesses hardest hit by Covid-19.

However, it turns out that Simbini didn't terminate anyone. In fact, he was Impossible Services's only employee.

November 26 2020 - 18:30

Zimbabwe tables US$5bn budget, with focus on post-Covid tourism, mining, agriculture

Zimbabwe has hinged its budget on a good agricultural season, increased mining revenue and a stable currency.

The country's finance and economic development minister Prof Mthuli Ncube on Thursday presented his 2021 national budget, which he believes will work if these criteria are met.

He is also pinning hopes on a tourism recovery, which will depend on the Covid-19 pandemic not worsening.

November 26 2020 - 16:21

Special team set up as Covid-19 spreads at SA universities

The higher education department has been forced into action as increasing numbers of university students are contracting Covid-19.

Minister Blade Nzimade and health department officials have set up a multidisciplinary investigation team to deal with Covid-19 outbreaks at institutions of higher learning after more than 600 students and staff tested positive for the virus.

Nzimande made the revelation during a media briefing on Thursday.

November 26 2020 - 14:46

Second wave incoming? What you need to know about Eastern & Western Cape Covid-19 'resurgence'

The Western Cape on Wednesday warned its residents about a “resurgence” in Covid-19 cases.

Premier Alan Winde said infections in the province increased by 52.1% over the past week.

Winde said the spike is a cause for concern and urged residents to play their part in preventing the further spread of the virus.

Also in the spotlight is the Eastern Cape which  had 121,329 positive cases by Thursday.

November 26 2020 - 13:36

Zweli Mkhize hints at tightened Covid-19 lockdown in Eastern Cape

Health minister Zweli Mkhize says local lockdown restrictions will be discussed for Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape - a province that accounts for about 50% of SA’s daily Covid-19 cases.

He was speaking during a visit to the province on Thursday, where he said urgent decisions were needed to contain the spread of the virus.

“We are here because there is clearly a resurgence in the Nelson Mandela Bay. Indeed, it is a concern that we are seeing in a few other areas. The whole country has got bubbles of small cluster outbreaks which we are seeing, but they are transient. Nelson Mandela Bay has continued to fester and in effect our concern is that something has to be done,” he told a delegation at Nelson Mandela University.

November 26 2020 - 13:05

Fat Cactus pierces insurer's defences in another Covid-19 case

The insurer that was the first to lose a Covid-19 business interruption case in the Cape Town high court has lost another.

Guardrisk was taken to court by Fat Cactus after the insurer rejected claims under the business interruption policy covering the company's restaurants in Gardens, Mowbray and Woodstock.

As it has done in all similar cases, the court ordered Guardrisk to cover the restaurants' losses sustained as a result of “interruption of or interference with their business caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the South African government’s response to it”.

November 26 2020 - 12:47

Over-60s in Johannesburg wanted for Covid-19 vaccine trials

With more than half of SA's Covid-19 deaths being people older than 60, scientists are asking Johannesburg residents in this age group to volunteer to test a possible vaccine.

The Covid-19 investigational vaccine clinical trial is being conducted at the Clinical HIV Research Unit’s Helen Joseph Hospital clinical research site in Johannesburg. The unit is a division of the Wits Health Consortium, which is part of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Witwatersrand.

This is a testing site for the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson’s Phase 3 clinical research study, the Ensemble trial, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Janssen’s investigational Covid-19 vaccine candidate, says the unit.

November 26 2020 - 11:52

Sixty km queues as Covid turns Kenyan border crossing into lorry park

The queue of lorries snakes down the narrow tarmac road, stretching back as far as the eye can see on both sides of a sign that reads: "Welcome to Busia, the gateway to east and central Africa".

Before Covid-19, Kenyan driver Joseph Kimani used to reckon with a five-hour wait to cross from there into Uganda with his cargo of diesel.

Now the queue on the Kenyan side, which he and other drivers say extends for upwards of 60 km (37 miles), take five days to clear and, for them, life on the road has become literally that.

—Reuters

November 26 2020 - 11:22

Out of Covid isolation, British PM to give news conference

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a news conference on Thursday to explain local Covid-19 restrictions, emerging from self isolation two weeks after attending meeting with a lawmaker infected with the novel coronavirus.

Downing Street announced on November 15 that Johnson, who was admitted to intensive care in a London hospital earlier this year with the coronavirus, was self isolating.

Johnson on Thursday will chair a cabinet meeting and later give a news conference to explain which areas in England will continue to local restrictions after the end of the monthlong national lockdown next month, finance minister Rishi Sunak said.

—Reuters

November 26 2020 - 10:52

Covid-19 restrictions possible until March — German official

Germany might have to extend measures to dampen the coronavirus pandemic into March, Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff said on Thursday after officials agreed tighter rules at least until December 20 on Wednesday.

"We have difficult winter months ahead of us. This will continue until March," Helge Braun told RTL television.

"After March, I am very optimistic because we will probably be able to vaccinate more and more people and it will be easier to keep infection rates low with the spring."

—Reuters

November 26 2020 - 10:51

Sudan's former PM Sadiq al-Mahdi dies from coronavirus in UAE

Leading Sudanese politician and former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi died from a coronavirus infection three weeks after being hospitalised in the United Arab Emirates, according to family sources and a party statement early on Thursday.

Mahdi, 84, was Sudan's last democratically elected prime minister and was overthrown in 1989 in the military coup that brought former president Omar al-Bashir to power.

The moderate Umma Party was one of the largest opposition parties under Bashir, and Mahdi remained an influential figure even after Bashir was toppled in April 2019.

—Reuters

November 26 2020 - 10:04

Covid-19: Long queues are spreading the disease, warn health officials

People are still having to queue for hours, and sometimes all night, for social grants or documents from the department of home affairs, in spite of warnings by health officials that this is contributing to the spread of Covid-19 in the Eastern Cape.

In their epidemiological report for November 12, the Eastern Cape health department and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases warned that “self-defeating tendencies or practices by government departments, including long queues with no social distancing during the payment of social grants, at the department of home affairs and full-load taxis are all contributing to the fast spread of the virus”.

GroundUp reporters found long queues at SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) pay points and home affairs offices in Port Elizabeth and East London.

November 26 2020 - 08:57

US Supreme Court backs religious groups over New York virus curbs

The US Supreme Court late on Wednesday backed Christian and Jewish houses of worship challenging New York state's latest restrictions in novel coronavirus hot spots.

The court on a 5-4 vote granted requests made by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and two Orthodox Jewish congregations.

The order marked one of the first consequential actions on the court of President Donald Trump's new appointee, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who cast a deciding vote in favour of the religious groups. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts dissented along with the court's three liberals.

—Reuters

November 26 2020 - 07:30

One initiate has died and 38 were rescued from illegal circumcision schools

The impasse between traditional leaders and government over reopening initiation schools nationally ramped up on Wednesday as the national working committee (NWC) of Contralesa told traditional leaders and parents to start preparing for the summer circumcision season.

Speaking after a NWC meeting on Wednesday, Contralesa general secretary and ANC MP Zolani Mkiva said traditional leaders still held the view that the summer initiation season should be allowed, under strict guidelines and regulations.

“We cannot allow a situation wherein initiation rites are singled out under alert level 1 as the only ritual that must not happen. If we continue with the suspension of initiation rites, we believe that it will cause more harm than solve the challenges caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19,” Mkiva said.

November 26 2020 - 06:16

India records 44,489 new coronavirus cases

India recorded 44,489 new coronavirus infections, data from the health ministry showed on Thursday, the 19th straight day that single-day cases have stayed below the 50,000 mark.

India's coronavirus tally now stands at 9.27 million, the second-highest in the world, after the United States. Deaths rose by 524, taking the total to 135,223. 

—Reuters

November 26 2020 - 06:06

Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 60.05 million, death toll at 1,415,428

More than 60.05 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,415,428​ have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.