COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 33 new Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours

April 04 2021 - 20:30

South Africa recorded 463 new Covid-19 cases and 33 deaths in the past 24 hours, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday.

April 04 2021 - 18:28

Italy reports 326 coronavirus deaths on Sunday, 18,025 new cases

 Italy reported 326 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday against 376 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 18,025 from 21,261.Italy has registered 111,030 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world.

The country has reported 3.6 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 28,432 on Sunday, down from 28,489 a day earlier.

There were 195 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 234 on Saturday. The total number of intensive care patients fell to 3,703 from a previous 3,714.

-REUTERS

April 04 2021 - 15:17

Archbishop Makgoba slams government for 'poisoned health care' over Covid-19

Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba used his Easter sermon in Cape Town on Saturday to lob missives against the government for failing to protect the poor during the Covid-19 pandemic and not being able to roll out an effective vaccination plan.

Makgoba who delivered the sermon at St George’s cathedral drew an analogy between the message of Easter from a “shift out of darkness ... characterised by betrayal, denials, death, the brutal display of state power, and the desire of religious authorities to destroy a force that was disruptive for them”, and the country’s response to the pandemic amid allegations of rampant corruption and delays in the vaccine rollout.

April 04 2021 - 15:03

'Titanic coming,' MEC warns as hundreds party on Soweto streets

Gauteng community safety MEC Faith Mazibuko on Saturday warned that more Covid-19 infections could be expected as hundreds of people partied the night away in Soweto and  broke lockdown regulations.

Mazibuko was at a police operation in Diepkloof, Soweto, on Saturday evening to enforce adjusted level 1 lockdown regulations.

April 04 2021 - 13:18

SA's vaccination rollout: Tortoise vs hares in race to Covid-19 jab

Criticism of the snail’s pace at which SA is rolling out Covid-19 vaccinations compared with its economic peers is unfair and misplaced, leading health economists and academics say.

Analysis by Our World in Data shows the vaccination rate in SA lags far behind those in countries of equal or lower economic standing.

April 04 2021 - 13:03

'We need all hands on deck for vaccinations' - experts

More pharmacists should be trained to administer Covid-19 vaccines and volunteers should be brought on board to help with administrative tasks when mass vaccinations begin in May, experts say.

Dr Velisha Perumal-Pillay of the University of KwaZulu-Natal told the Sunday Times this week that the pool of vaccinators consists mainly of doctors and nurses who could be "diverted to immunisation services" and away from other aspects of health care.

April 04 2021 - 12:58

Faith and vaccine saw this Cape nurse through Covid-19 hell

As a devout Christian, Ester le Grange used to recite the verse from Psalm 23 that says, "even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil".

That valley is exactly where the nursing manager found herself when she contracted Covid-19 after watching numerous patients succumb to the virus. Looking back in disbelief this week at the year since last Easter, when the pandemic's first wave had barely got under way, she said her faith in God had been key to her survival.

April 04 2021 - 12:50

#GiftSindiLife: Joburg doctor Sindi van Zyl in need of medical assistance

Popular Johannesburg doctor and DJ Sindi van Zyl was "in between" medical aids when she was admitted to hospital in February, battling to breathe.

April 04 2021 - 12:10

SA must fight for its place in world of Covid apartheid

A graphic in The Times in London this past week painted an unhappy picture.

It divided the world up into areas where British citizens can and cannot travel, from green through amber to red. SA is in the red zone. “Direct travel banned,” read the wording on top of the map of the world. “Britons who have been in red countries in the previous 10 days have to quarantine in a hotel on arrival in the UK. There are already 35 red-list countries.”

April 04 2021 - 11:00

Still a need for SA artists to sing for their supper

Two weeks before the national lockdown was announced a year ago, choreographer and producer-director Owen Lonzar saw his work dry up.

“I was setting up in Rosebank when I was told the gig — a corporate event for a bank — had been cancelled,” he said.

Soon the entertainment industry was on its knees, and Lonzar started a fund to help penniless performers and others connected with the industry, such as make-up artists, producers, stagehands and lighting technicians.

April 04 2021 - 10:41

Tributes for 'giant leader' Dr Frank Mdlalose

The first premier of KwaZulu-Natal, IFP veteran Dr Frank Mdlalose, has died of Covid-19, the party announced on Saturday.

April 04 2021 - 10:39

As WHO highlights Covid animal origins, China wildlife crackdown needs more teeth — experts

China and its neighbours must not only crack down on wildlife trade but also shut legal loopholes that allow disease-prone species to be farmed, experts said after an investigation team concluded that Covid-19 most likely originated in animals.

April 04 2021 - 10:39

US puts J & J in charge of plant that botched Covid vaccine, removes AstraZeneca

The US has put Johnson and Johnson in charge of a plant that ruined 15 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc from using the facility, a senior health official said on Saturday.

April 04 2021 - 10:38

Australia enjoys Easter with no new local coronavirus cases

Australians were celebrating Easter Sunday in a relatively unrestricted manner as the country reported no new locally acquired coronavirus cases.

Queensland, the epicentre of a recent, small Covid-19 community outbreak, has had only one infection in the past three days. The state has the tightest restrictions on public gatherings.

April 04 2021 - 07:00

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar hospitalized a week after contracting Covid-19

India batting great Sachin Tendulkar said on Friday he has been admitted to hospital as a precautionary measure after contracting the novel coronavirus last week.

April 04 2021 - 06:30

US puts J&J in charge of plant that botched Covid vaccine, removes AstraZeneca

The United States has put Johnson and Johnson in charge of a plant that ruined 15 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc from using the facility, a senior health official said on Saturday.J&J said it was "assuming full responsibility" of the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, reiterating that it will deliver 100 million doses to the government by the end of May.

The Department of Health & Human Services facilitated the move, the health official said in an email, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

AstraZeneca, whose vaccine has not been approved in the United States, said it will work with President Joe Biden's administration to find an alternative site to produce its vaccine.

White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters

April 04 2021 - 06:27

Australia enjoys Easter with no new local coronavirus cases

Australians were celebrating Easter Sunday in a relatively unrestricted manner as the country reported no new locally acquired coronavirus cases.

Queensland, the epicentre of a recent, small Covid-19 community outbreak, has had only one infection in the past three days. The state has the tightest restrictions on public gatherings.

Elsewhere, Australians flocked to the beaches, capitalising on the warm weather in many parts of the country, or gathered with families, in a stark contrast to last year's Easter when a nationwide lockdown kept people confined to their homes.

While many countries have imposed fresh lockdowns or curtailed services for the major Christian holiday trying to keep the third wave of coronavirus from further spreading, Australia's churches were open and many were attending services during the four-day weekend.

Christianity is the dominant religion in Australia, with 12 million people, and 86% of religious Australians, identifying as Christians, according to the 2016 census.

Reuters

April 04 2021 - 06:10

France reports further rise in Covid-19 intensive care patients

France reported on Saturday that 5,273 people were in intensive care units (ICU) for Covid-19, a rise of 19 from the previous day, as the country entered its third national lockdown to help combat the pandemic.

The government had been trying to keep the lid on new Covid cases with curfews and regional measures but from Saturday, and for the next four weeks, schools and non-essential businesses across the country will remain shut.

The rise in ICU patients on Saturday followed a much bigger jump the day before - the highest in five months, at 145.

April 04 2021 - 06:00

Mainland China reports 21 coronavirus cases vs 26 a day earlier

 Mainland China reported 21 new Covid-19 cases for April 3, down from 26 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Sunday.

In a statement, the National Health Commission said 10 of the new confirmed cases were local transmissions in the southwestern Yunnan province.

The other 11 cases were imported infections, it said.The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 18 from 24 on April 3.Total confirmed Covid-19 cases in Mainland China now stand at 90,273, with the death toll unchanged at 4,636, according to the statement.

Reuters