COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES | SA recorded 510 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hour

March 24 2021 - 18:30

No cover up, says Prof Glenda Gray as she defends distribution of J&J vaccine

Medical Research Council president Prof Glenda Gray told parliament on Wednesday that South Africans were well aware that the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine to health workers was being done as part of a study and was not the actual rollout.

“I do not think we are covering up for anything. We held press conferences, we went on television with the minister. If you go on to our website,  to the Electronic Vaccine Date System, you will see the consent forms. It is very clear and public that this is a phase 3B open-label study,” said Gray, who is also the co-principal investigator of the J&J implementation study.

March 24 2021 - 16:36

'It would be irresponsible to speculate': SAA on Covid-19 vaccine flight incident

SAA has downplayed an incident during takeoff involving the airline’s controversial flight to Brussels to collect Covid-19 vaccines for the country, saying an “investigation is under way”.

Minutes after SAA 4272 took off from OR Tambo International Airport on February 24, the Airbus A340-600, experienced an “alpha floor event”. This  is when an aircraft, either on takeoff or landing, does not have enough thrust and goes into a stall. When this happens, computers automatically take control and prevent the plane from crashing.

March 24 2021 - 15:12

Covid lockdown: Move to higher alert level before Easter - Prof Salim Abdool Karim

Epidemiologist Prof Salim Abdool Karim says government should move SA to alert level 2 before the upcoming Easter holidays as a precautionary measure.

Karim, who is also co-chair of the ministerial advisory committee (MAC), told TimesLIVE on Wednesday that he was “deeply concerned” about gatherings across all religious groups.

A News24 report said the national command council (NCC) was advised last week in a MAC advisory to restrict gatherings to 50, impose a 10pm curfew and revert to selling alcohol only from Mondays to Thursdays, 10am to 6pm.

March 24 2021 - 10:58

Help! Lockdown sees calls to SA Anxiety and Depression Group double

More than 500,000 people have called the SA Anxiety and Depression Group (Sadag) seeking help since the nationwide lockdown took effect.

Callers were grappling with anxiety, grief, depression, loss and financial distress as the lockdown, which was imposed to save lives during the Covid-19 pandemic, took its toll on mental health and relationships.

March 24 2021 - 07:20

The Covid-19 third wave: safety protocols, timelines and being prepared

The health department says it has no mathematical models to help it establish when South Africans can brace themselves for the third wave of Covid-19 infections, but has warned against flouting safety protocols during Easter.

March 24 2021 - 06:00

Employees can be fired for flouting Covid-19 regulations, experts say

Employers can discipline workers who flout Covid-19 regulations outside of work, and this could even result in dismissals.

However, they can only exercise this liberty if they have policies in place, or health and safety-related misconduct offences in their employment document.