COVID-19 WRAP | GP records 166 deaths & Covid-19 may increase chances of developing a psychiatric disorder

February 12 2021 - 21:25

Gauteng records 166 Covid-19 deaths in latest update

The cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in SA has reached 1,487,681, the health ministry said on Friday evening.

There have been 288 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, of which 166 were attributed to Gauteng.

The Eastern Cape accounted for 26 of the deaths, Free State 24, KwaZulu-Natal 23, Limpopo four, Mpumalanga 16, Northern Cape seven and the Western Cape 22 — raising the total number of recorded deaths to 47,670.

February 12 2021 - 19:56

'Don't open border with SA': Doctors fear impact of Covid-19 variant in Zim

Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights (ZDHR) have advised the government not to open land borders with SA when it reviews the current lockdown.

The end of the extended lockdown coincides with SA’s resolution to open its borders on February 15.

Despite recording an average of 83 new cases and around 11 deaths per day — a huge improvement from January — ZDHR fears the new variant found in SA could reverse the gains made if human traffic between the countries is allowed.

February 12 2021 - 17:04

Black Sash calls for increase of ‘inadequate’ R350 Covid-19 relief grant

The Black Sash says the three-month extension of the R350 Covid-19 social relief of distress grant (SRD) announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday is inadequate.

The human rights organisation has demanded the grant be aligned with the upper-bound poverty line of R1,268.

It said in the interim, an adjustment to the food poverty line, now at R585, would be adequate.

The Black Sash said the Covid-19 pandemic continued to be an immediate threat and until there were large scale vaccinations, everyone remained at risk.

February 12 2021 - 15:34

Gauteng ready for 2021 academic year as pupils prepare to go back to class

Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi says his department is ready to commence with the 2021 academic year as more than 1.5 million pupils prepare to return to class on a rotational basis on Monday. 

The reopening of schools on an earlier date was stalled by the resurgence of Covid-19 infections.

Gauteng had recorded 396,560 cumulative cases and 8,949 fatalities by Friday.

February 12 2021 - 15:09

Car insurance firms smiling as claims drop during lockdown

Most South African insurers gave their clients discounts on their car premiums during the first months of hard lockdown, but claims statistics show the industry is continuing to benefit from significantly reduced claims as work-from-home has become the new normal for many.

The industry’s motor claims ratio for January to September 2020 was an average 51%, dramatically lower than the 63% for the same period in 2019.

This is revealed by claims statistics submitted by the insurers to the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA).

February 12 2021 - 14:19

US schools, pressured to reopen in pandemic, to get new CDC guidance

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday will issue new Covid-19 guidelines for schools as the Biden administration seeks to fulfill its promise to send most students back to the classroom within its first 100 days.

The top US health safety agency was expected to provide guidance on several measures to mitigate the spread of the virus in the nation's 130,000 elementary and secondary schools, such as hand washing, masking, social distancing and cleaning, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The guidance is also expected to cover ventilation in classrooms, contact tracing and quarantine protocols. A CDC spokeswoman did not confirm the specifics of the guidance on Thursday.

Reuters

February 12 2021 - 13:04

Special Covid-19 grant: Recipients need not reapply if they are on system

Officials are ready to execute the extension of the special R350 Covid-19 grant by another three months.

The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) said from May last year to January 2021, it had processed more than 9.6 million applications and has paid more than 6.5 million grants each month.

Sassa said there was no need for applicants to visit their offices as the application process is done online.

February 12 2021 - 12:00

POLL | It's back to school on Monday - is your child ready?

The basic education department says it's all systems go for the reopening of schools on Monday.

The date was pushed back from January 27 to February 15 due to the impact of the Covid-19 second wave.

“We look forward to welcoming back all our learners and the resumption of the academic year next Monday. We trust that all parents are ready, learners have school uniforms and stationery,” said basic education deputy minister Makgabo Reginah Mhaule on Thursday.

February 12 2021 - 11:19

Science to the fore in the Covid-19 vaccine programme

Covid-19 is a new pandemic for humankind with much still unknown.

As the pandemic evolves, we must continue to base our prevention and treatment strategies on current and forthcoming knowledge.

Vaccine development and rollout is a hot topic. Transparency about the science, including research and development, that have to date gone into the Covid-19 vaccines, their efficacy and adverse effects is what takes us forward and how science and societies advance.

February 12 2021 - 11:00

Covid worsened Eastern Cape school dropout rate in 2020, says MEC

More than 130,000 Eastern Cape pupils are believed to have dropped out in the 2020 academic year.

Education MEC Fundile Gade says given the effects of Covid-19 on the province, it could be assumed that many pupils left school for economic and social reasons, as well as school transfers and loss of interest in schooling.

Gade was addressing the national education portfolio committee on Thursday afternoon.

February 12 2021 - 09:44

Britain to set out roadmap for easing lockdown on February 22

Britain will set out its roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions on Feb. 22, junior home office minister Victoria Atkins said on Friday.

"We're expecting to make the statement on Monday 22 February," she told Sky News.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said on Thursday that the roadmap will come in the week of February 22.

Reuters

February 12 2021 - 08:44

Pandemic woes seen swelling global ranks of child soldiers

More children could be pushed into joining armed groups in conflict zones as families face increasing poverty due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a top UN official warned on Friday.

The exact number of child soldiers is unknown, but in 2019 alone about 7,740 children — some as young as six — were recruited and used as fighters or in other roles by mostly non-state armed groups, according to United Nations data.

Speaking on International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers — or Red Hand Day — the UN  Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba said that number was likely to rise as a result of coronavirus-related hardship.

February 12 2021 - 08:22

Cartoon dog pitches Covid-19 vaccines to sceptical Japanese public

As Japan gears up for a Covid-19 vaccination drive, a cheerful cartoon dog chatbot is doing its bit to reassure a notoriously vaccine-sceptical population and answer any questions they might have.

Trust in vaccines in Japan is among the lowest in the world, a study by the Lancet medical journal showed. Only half the population want to take a Covid-19 vaccine, a poll by national broadcaster NHK found last month.

It is among the last major economies to begin its Covid-19 vaccination campaign, which is seen as vital for preparations for the Olympic Games, due to open in fewer than 200 days, after being postponed in 2020 as the coronavirus spread.

February 12 2021 - 07:00

Melbourne enters new lockdown, barring Australian Open

Australia's second-most populous city will enter a five-day snap coronavirus lockdown, authorities said on Friday, barring spectators for much of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

A fresh Covid-19 cluster linked to a quarantine hotel in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, reached 13 cases as of Thursday midnight, as authorities rushed to quash the spread of the virus. 

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews announced the lockdown for the state, starting at midnight on Friday, calling it a “short, sharp circuit breaker” banning public gatherings, home auctions, weddings and religious gatherings.

February 12 2021 - 06:30

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 9,860 

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 9,860 to 2,320,093, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.

The reported death toll rose by 556 to 64,191, the tally showed.

Reuters

February 12 2021 - 06:00

New research suggests Covid-19 may cause depression

Psychiatrist says doctors have suspected a link between the novel coronavirus and mental health problems, and the latest studies “appear to be confirming it”.

This is according to psychiatrist Dr Marshinee Naidoo, who practises at the Akeso Alberton mental health facility in Johannesburg.

Naidoo said on Thursday that mental health practitioners long suspected that there may be a link between the novel coronavirus and the development of mental health problems in individuals — but the “latest medical studies now appear to be confirming it”.

February 12 2021 - 06:00

‘Lack of trust in SA’s Covid response has pushed people into using ivermectin’

Frontline doctors say the government needs to adopt a less elitist approach to medicines in a time of pandemic

That’s the word from public health and communication specialist Dr Warren Parker, who was a panellist on a University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) webinar on Thursday that delved into “What the ivermectin debate has revealed to us in a time of pandemic”.

The discussion comes in the week a group of South African medical practitioners launched an urgent court application seeking wide-ranging orders to enable them to personally use and prescribe ivermectin.

February 12 2021 - 06:00

Vaccines vs variants: the race to immunise the developing world

On a balmy day in January on the outskirts of Pune, a city of three million people in Maharashtra state, women in saris are sitting on plastic chairs under a humming fan waiting for their first shot of Covishield as the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is known in India.

Wearing a white doctor’s coat, Dr Varsha Gaekwad, who is overseeing the first immunisations of frontline healthcare workers in the country of nearly 1.4 billion people, says it will take time for the general public to gain confidence in the vaccine. “Once the health workers are going ahead with it, that means it’s 100% safe,” she says. “That is what the community will see.”

Little in the peaceful and orderly scene in Pune hints at the historic significance of what is, in its small way, the start of the biggest vaccination campaign in human history. As rich countries sprint to immunise their populations and squabble over supplies, a second, equally vital, effort is getting under way: the race to vaccinate billions of people in the developing world.