COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 555 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours

January 28  2021 - 21:35

SA records 555 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours, and 7,150 new infections

SA recorded 555 new Covid-19 related deaths, with nearly three-quarters of them in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday night that 249 deaths were recorded in KZN in the past 24 hours, and 150 in the Eastern Cape. There were also 70 new deaths in Gauteng, 45 in the Western Cape, 21 in Mpumalanga, 10 in the Free State, seven in Limpopo and three in the Northern Cape.

This means that 43,105 deaths have now been recorded since the outbreak of Covid-19 in SA.

January 28  2021 - 21:11

New UK Covid-19 variant discovered in SA: here's what you need to know

A Covid-19 variant initially discovered in the UK in December has officially found its way to SA, scientists revealed on Thursday.

The UK variant — named 501Y.V1 — was the first mutated Covid-19 variant discovered in the world, and is believed to increase the transmissibility of the virus by at least 50%.

Soon after, SA reported that it had too discovered a new variant — 501Y.V2 — which has widely been attributed, because of its transmissibility, as being behind the high number of reported cases during the second wave of infections.

January 28  2021 - 20:21

Former deputy SCA president 'KK' Mthiyane dies of Covid-19

Former deputy president of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Khayelihle Kenneth “KK” Mthiyane, died on Thursday — succumbing to Covid-19 just days after his wife, S’thandiwe.

Mthiyane was deputy president of the appeal court from 2012 to 2014, and acted on the Constitutional Court in 2011.

Once described by former chief justice Pius Langa as “a gentleman”, Mthiyane was a well-loved leader of the legal fraternity. At a time when the transformation of the judiciary was putting a strain on collegiality, he was a unifying figure.

January 28  2021 - 20:00

South Carolina reports two South African variant Covid-19 cases, first in US

State health officials in South Carolina on Thursday said they found two cases of Covid-19 linked to a more transmissible coronavirus variant first detected in SA, the first cases of the mutated virus discovered in the US.

Viruses are constantly changing, but the presence of the South African variant in the US is especially concerning because several laboratory studies have shown that it reduces vaccine effectiveness.

So far, vaccines made by Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc/BioNTech still appear protective against this variant of the coronavirus, but the companies this week said they are considering making new versions of their shots just in case. 

Reuters

January 28  2021 - 17:42

EU now advises 3-week interval between Pfizer vaccine doses

The European Medicines Agency is now recommending that a second dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine be given three weeks after the first, as many countries consider ways to stretch scarce supplies of shots.

The labelling of the vaccine, developed along with Germany's BioNTech and branded Comirnaty in Europe, before the latest change stated that the interval between the two doses should be "at least 21 days", the EMA said on Thursday.

Faced with a resurgence in infections and new, highly transmissible variants of the virus, some countries are hoping to broaden immunisation by giving some protection to as many people as possible with a first dose, and delaying subsequent doses.

Reuters

January 28  2021 - 16:50

More than 125,000 excess deaths in SA during Covid-19 pandemic

SA has recorded more than 125,000 excess deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic, a report by the SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) revealed on Thursday.

According to the report, during December last year and January this year, the numbers of excess deaths increased relentlessly as the second Covid-19 wave hit SA.

The Report on Weekly Deaths in SA showed that the cumulative number of excess deaths from natural causes since May 2020 had reached more than 125,000 by January 23 2021.

January 28  2021 - 15:08

Fix Tembisa hospital now: More families give accounts of negligent care

Incorrectly allocated to Covid-19 wards, left in a wheelchair for three days without food: Five families have presented harrowing statements about their experiences at the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital, citing inadequate care experienced by their loved ones in recent months.

January 28  2021 - 14:57

WHO says vaccine makers working non-stop to plug supply gap, urges patience

The World Health Organisation's Europe director Hans Kluge said on Thursday vaccine manufacturers were working non-stop to plug shortfalls in supplies to countries struggling to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and urged them not to jostle for deliveries.

“Solidarity does not necessarily mean that each country in the world starts (vaccinating) at exactly the same moment ... The good understanding is that no-one is safe before everyone is safe,” Kluge told an online news briefing.

January 28  2021 - 14:56

Western Cape's second-wave Covid-19 tsunami dries up to a trickle

Two-and-a-half months after the second wave of Covid-19 started to take off in the Western Cape, a host of statistics on Thursday suggested it is rapidly receding.

A one-day 10% increase in active cases on November 12 signalled the beginning of the second wave, after active cases reached a low of 2,115 on October 1.

By November 30, active cases exceeded 10,000, and they soared above the first-wave high of 17,612 on December 10.

January 28  2021 - 14:00

Senegal confirms presence of UK variant of coronavirus

A more contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain has now been detected in Senegal, its health institute said on Thursday, just as measures to contain the spread of the virus appeared to have stalled a recent surge.

British scientists say the UK variant may be up to 70% more transmissible and also more lethal — with a mortality risk about 30% higher.

January 28  2021 - 13:44

SACP in KZN says vaccine rollout is shrouded in 'secrecy and uncertainty'

The Moses Mabhida branch of the SA Communist Party in KwaZulu-Natal has chastised  the government for what it calls “secrecy and uncertainty” on the Covid-19 vaccine rollout strategy and plan. 

The party's provincial secretary Themba Mthembu was addressing the media on Thursday during a briefing on a host of issues, including the pandemic and the imminent vaccine rollout.

January 28  2021 - 13:14

Budget woes mean SA doctors are jobless while hospitals battle Covid-19

While Michelle Cerfontyne was completing her medical training last year, the Covid-19 pandemic overwhelmed SA's understaffed public hospitals, so the young doctor thought she would get a job easily.

But when she started applying for posts prospectively in September, there seemed to be no vacancies.

Since then, a second wave of the coronavirus in Africa's most industrialised country has far outstripped the first, hitting 20,000 daily cases earlier this month and bringing hospitals closer to breaking point.

January 28  2021 - 12:15

Tembisa hospital contests Shonisani Lethole report, but not Gauteng health

The Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital says it will review the health ombud's damning report on the care and death of Shonisani Lethole, 34.

Dr. Lekopane Mogaladi, Tembisa Hospital CEO, told TimesLIVE on Thursday that the report contained false and misleading information. He claims the hospital was not afforded an opportunity to cross-examine the evidence contained in the report.

“Not all staff members were interviewed for the report and they rejected affidavits of patients who were witnesses. The ones they went with for the report, it's one-sided,” Mogaladi said.

January 28  2021 - 12:06

Time to lift booze ban, liquor industry pleads as Covid-19 cases decline

This is an opportune time for the government to roll back the prohibition on alcohol sales to limit further losses of jobs and revenue, the liquor sector says.

The SA Liquor Brand owners Association (Salba) cited the National Institute for Communicable Diseases' (NICD’s) Daily Hospital Surveillance Report, showing the number of active Covid-19 cases across the country has dropped over the past two weeks, in some cases by more than 50%.

January 28  2021 - 10:36

Wrapping coffins in plastic, full PPE unnecessary, says health department

The national health department says wrapping coffins of Covid-19 victims in plastic and attaching biohazard stickers are unnecessary.

Health department spokesperson Popo Maja said they have received reports that the coffins of Covid-19 victims, including the human remains, are being wrapped in plastic and marked with biohazard stickers before burials.  

January 28  2021 - 10:30

SA remains pegged below 50 points in Corruption Perception Index

Failure to move above the mark for nearly 10 years is a damning indictment of the extent of corruption and its damage: Corruption Watch

January 28  2021 - 10:21

The amount of ivermectin needed to kill Covid-19 is toxic to humans, says Prof Salim Abdool Karim

The evidence on ivermectin is flimsy and there is no compelling case for it to be used in the fight against Covid-19.

This is according to the co-chairperson of the ministerial advisory committee (MAC) Prof Salim Abdool Karim, who was speaking on Jacaranda FM on Wednesday.

Abdool Karim said research on whether ivermectin can cure Covid-19 was currently flawed due to the small sample size and a lack of clear recommended dosages.

January 28  2021 - 09:41

English variant in 10% of French Covid-19 cases 

The variant of Covid-19 first discovered in England, which is said to have a higher rate of transmission, has been found in 10% of the Covid-19 cases in France, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.

Attal reiterated in an interview with France Inter radio on Thursday that the option of a stricter lockdown remained open to President Emmanuel Macron's government, but he did not provide more specific detail.

France reported nearly 27,000 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, its biggest one-day jump since mid-November when France was in its second full lockdown, indicating current curfew measures are not containing the virus. 

Reuters

January 28  2021 - 09:33

WHO-led team in Wuhan probing Covid origins leaves quarantine hotel

A World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic left its quarantine hotel on Thursday to begin fieldwork, two weeks after arriving in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged in late 2019.

The team boarded a bus and departed the hotel shortly after 3 p.m. local time (0700 GMT) without speaking to journalists. 

January 28  2021 - 09:31

Germany prepares border entry restrictions over virus variant fear

Germany is preparing entry restrictions for travellers from Britain, Brazil and South Africa, the interior ministry said on Thursday, as concerns of more contagious coronavirus variants are rising.

The new rules are being discussed with the German government, the spokesman added. 

Reuters

January 28  2021 - 07:23

Probe into fake Covid-19 test result claims launched in Zimbabwe

Staff at laboratory testing centres in Zimbabwe have been implicated in issuing fake Covid-19 test results. 

Working at both public health institutions and private laboratories, they are accused of issuing falsified test results in return for bribes.

January 28  2021 - 07:10

SA has been on alert level 3 for exactly one month — the Western Cape wants these 6 restrictions eased

The Western Cape government has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa asking him to convene a president's co-ordinating council meeting and consider easing some of the lockdown restrictions.

January 28  2021 - 07:00

Pfizer vaccine only slightly less effective against key South African mutations -study

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine appeared to lose only a small bit of effectiveness against an engineered virus with three key mutations from the new coronavirus variant found in South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the US drugmaker.

The study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), which has not yet been peer-reviewed, showed a less than two-fold reduction in antibody titer levels, indicating the vaccine would likely be effective in neutralizing a virus with the so-called E484K and N501Y mutations found in the South African variant.

Reuters

January 28  2021 - 06:45

Vietnam reports first 2 locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 in 55 days

Vietnam's health ministry on Thursday confirmed its first two locally transmitted Covid-19 cases in nearly two months, just weeks before the country's Lunar New Year holiday period, when big gatherings indoors are expected.

Though a tiny number compared with new coronavirus infections in many countries, the two cases are a jolt for Vietnam. Thanks to strict quarantine, testing and tracing measures, it has reported only 1,551 cases and 35 Covid-19 deaths before Thursday, earning it a top three spot in a survey of how well countries have handled the pandemic.

On Thursday Vietnam's health ministry ordered provinces and state agencies to tighten screening and controls.

Contact tracing efforts were launched in two northern provinces Hai Duong and Quang Ninh, where the two new infections were detected - one of which was linked to the new UK variant of the virus - and a village in Hai Duong was locked down, according to state media.

The UK variant has been determined to be much more easily transmissible."We have to make all efforts to locate the infected areas within 10 days to put down the outbreak," Vu Duc Dam, head of the national Covid-19 task force said in a health ministry statement.

In awkward timing for the country's government, the two new cases also came as the ruling Communist Party gathers in Hanoi for its five-yearly congress to pick new leadership, with 1,600 delegates from across Vietnam in attendance.

Reuters

January 28  2021 - 06:30

Mexican president progressing well with minor symptoms after Covid-19 diagnosis, minister says

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was progressing well with minimal symptoms of Covid-19, a senior health official said on Wednesday.

Lopez Obrador, 67, was experiencing brief episodes of fever and a minor headache, but "virtually no other discomfort," Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said during a regular government news conference.

"He is still very active, not only with minimal symptoms, but he continues to carry out his functions," Lopez-Gatell said.Interior Minister Olga Sanchez said earlier on Wednesday that the president was "stable and well."

Lopez Obrador announced he tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday after returning to the capital on a commercial flight from an event in central Mexico.

Mexican health officials have said they were working to identify people who may have had close contact to the president while he was contagious.

Reuters

January 28  2021 - 06:00

AstraZeneca to produce 90m Covid-19 vaccine shots in Japan - govt spokesman

AstraZeneca Plc has told Japan's health ministry it would produce more than 90 million coronavirus vaccine shots in the country, Japan's top government spokesman said on Thursday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters it is very important for Covid-19 vaccines to be produced domestically. AstraZeneca is working with Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd and other Japanese partners to deliver a total of 120 million doses to the nation.

Reuters