COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 3,198 new confirmed Covid-19 cases

November 28 2020 - 21:46

SA records 3,198 new confirmed Covid-19 cases

Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed on Saturday evening that SA recorded 3,198 Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours. 

The national death toll stands at 21,439 with 61 new deaths recorded. 

This brings SA to a total of 785,139 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

November 28 2020 - 19:02

Perhaps we were lonely? Covid has made us kinder to call centre agents

Perhaps we were lonely and felt like a chat? Apparently our unspoken irritation with call centres softened during hard lockdown.

According to contact centre security provider Pindrop, call volumes climbed 300% in the early days of the pandemic, eventually climbing more than 800% above normal levels.

Now, a survey by business process outsourcing company Merchants has found the Covid-19 pandemic has given South African customers a new appreciation for the role of the call centre agent.

November 28 2020 - 13:04

UK testing error wrongly tells 1,300 people they have coronavirus

Over 1,300 people in Britain were inaccurately informed they were infected with coronavirus after a laboratory error at the government's NHS Test and Trace system, the Department of Health and Social Care told Reuters on Saturday.

November 28 2020 - 11:49

German minister says partial lockdown could last until Spring 2021

Germany's partial lockdown measures could be extended until early Spring if infections are not brought under control, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday.

November 28 2020 - 11:46

Pandemic hospital duty tests Swiss civil defence

Sent by the government to support the hard-pressed Swiss healthcare system, members of the civil defence corps are on the frontline of the battle against Covid-19, helping out in emergency rooms and handling bodies.

Civil defence workers are part of the Swiss system of compulsory national service for all able-bodied men."

I volunteered for these missions because I wanted to help people, to do my part in this crisis," said 32-year-old Mehdi Ben Khaelifa from Geneva, who joined the corps a decade ago.

November 28 2020 - 10:25

England's hospitals could be overwhelmed without new tier system - minister

Hospitals in England risk being overwhelmed if lawmakers do not support the government's new plan for restrictions, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said on Saturday.

More than 20 million people across large swathes of England will be forced to live under the toughest category of Covid-19 restrictions when a national lockdown ends on December 2. 

Reuters 

November 28 2020 - 9:25

Russia reports 27,100 new coronavirus cases, 510 deaths

Russia reported 27,100 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, including 7,320 in Moscow, taking the national total to 2,242,633 since the pandemic began.

Authorities also confirmed 510 deaths related to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, pushing the official national death toll to 39,068.

Reuters

November 28 2020 - 9:00

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 21,695 - RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 21,695 to 1,028,089, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday. The reported death toll rose by 379 to 15,965, the tally showed. 

Reuters