COVID-19 WRAP | 1 325 659 cumulative Covid-19 cases identified

January 16 2021 - 21:28

1 325 659 cumulative Covid-19 cases identified  

The cumulative total of tests conducted to date is 7 558 774 with 59 994 new tests conducted since the last report.

A further 384 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported:

• Eastern Cape 39,
• Free State 12,
• Gauteng 68,
• Kwa-Zulu Natal 125,
• Limpopo 26,
• Mpumalanga 7,
• Northern Cape 12 and
• Western Cape 95.

This brings the total to 36 851 deaths.

We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the health care workers who treated these patients.

Our recoveries now stand at 1 083 978, representing a recovery rate of 81,7%

January 16 2021 - 12:27

Trump administration accused of deception in pledging release of vaccine stockpile

The governors of several states accused the Trump administration on Friday of deception in pledging to immediately distribute millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses from a stockpile that the US health secretary has since acknowledged does not exist.

Confusion over a vaccine supply windfall that was promised to governors but failed to materialize arose as scattered shortages emerged on the frontlines of the most ambitious and complex immunization campaign in US history, prompting at least one large New York healthcare system to cancel a slew of inoculation appointments.

Just 10.6 million Americans have received a shot since federal regulators last month granted emergency approval to two vaccines, one from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech and a second from Moderna Inc, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported.

January 16 2021 - 12:04

Lab group ordered to stop offering Covid tests in row over accreditation

The health department has stopped a national private laboratory service conducting unaccredited Covid-19 screening tests.

Hamadi Clinical Laboratories has had to halt all testing for SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes Covid-19, after intervention from director-general Sandile Buthelezi.

The company says it is guilty of nothing more than an administrative delay, and has appealed to the department to fast-track the accreditation process so it can help to meet the demand for testing.

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January 16 2021 - 09:40

'When a person gets vaccinated against a disease, their risk of infection is reduced': Mkhize