COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 5,297 Covid-19 cases

January 30 2021 - 22:03

SA records 5,297 Covid-19 cases

January 30 2021 - 17:28

Foreign nationals nabbed at OR Tambo with ivermectin worth R6m

In a space of two weeks, six foreign nationals gave been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg for being in possession of suspected ivermectin tablets worth millions.

Police spokesperson Col Athlenda Mathe said the latest arrests were on Thursday when three people were found with ivermectin worth R5m.

Mathe said the first suspect, a woman, had 178,200 tablets of the drug while the second suspect, also a woman, had 66,400 tablets. The man had 49,200 tablets.

January 30 2021 - 13:08

January 30 2021 - 11:47

January 30 2021 - 11:44

January 30 2021 - 11:24

WHO team, on tightly controlled China mission, visits hospital

The World Health Organisation-led team investigating the origins of Covid-19 during a mission that has been tightly controlled by its Chinese hosts visited a hospital on Saturday in the central city of Wuhan that treated early coronavirus patients.

On its second day after two weeks in quarantine, the team went to Jinyintan Hospital, where doctors had collected samples from patients suffering from an unidentified pneumonia in late 2019.

January 30 2021 - 11:17

January 30 2021 - 10:09

Russia reports 19,032 new Covid-19 cases, 512 deaths

Russia on Saturday reported 19,032 new Covid-19 cases, taking its official national tally to 3,832,080.

Authorities also confirmed 512 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 72,697. 

Reuters

January 30 2021 - 10:09

Taiwan reports first Covid-19 death in 8 months, from local cluster

Taiwan's government on Saturday reported the island's first death from Covid-19 since May, as it battles a small and unusual outbreak of locally transmitted cases.

A woman in her 80s with underlying health conditions died after being infected with the coronavirus as part of a domestic cluster connected to a hospital, said Health Minister Chen Shih-chung.

January 30 2021 - 09:49

10 facts about the most dangerous diseases you've never heard of

As the world battles the Covid-19 pandemic, resources are being sucked away from the fight against a host of debilitating diseases that affect 1.7 billion of the poorest people on the planet, medical experts have warned.

On Saturday, charities will mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, seeking to draw attention to a diverse group of communicable diseases that still cause immense suffering around the world, even though they can be prevented or cured.

January 30 2021 - 09:34

Pfizer tells Panama vaccine shipments to resume mid-Feb, minister says

Pfizer has informed Panama that shipments of its Covid-19 vaccine will resume to the Central American country the week of Feb. 15, the Panamanian foreign minister said on Friday.

Pfizer will deliver 450,000 doses in the first quarter of the year, said Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes.

Panama's first batch of Pfizer vaccines on Jan. 20 was fewer than expected due to global delays by the company.

Reuters

January 30 2021 - 09:30

Vietnam approves AstraZeneca vaccine after new virus outbreak

Vietnam's health ministry approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for domestic inoculation, the first coronavirus vaccine to be approved in the country, the government said on Saturday as it battles its biggest outbreak yet.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had said Vietnam must try to obtain the vaccine in the first quarter to ensure people's health.

Vietnam has kept its tally to a low 1,739 infections and 35 deaths.

Reuters

January 30 2021 - 09:00

Mainland China reports 52 new Covid-19 cases, unchanged from a day earlier

Mainland China reported 52 new coronavirus cases on Jan. 29, unchanged from a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Saturday.

The National Health Commission said in a statement 36 of the new cases were local infections and 16 infections originated overseas.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 16 from 42 a day earlier.

Total confirmed Covid-19 cases in Mainland China now stand at 89,430, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636.

Reuters