COVID-19 WRAP | 655 new Covid-19 cases, 34 deaths in 24 hours

April 12 2021 - 22:57

655 new Covid-19 cases, 34 deaths in 24 hours

SA recorded 655 new Covid-19 cases and 34 deaths in the past 24 hours, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Monday.

This means there have now been 1,559,113 cases in total and 53,356 fatalities recorded since the outbreak of the coronavirus in SA in March last year.

The new infections came from 16,042 tests, at a positivity rate of 4.08%.

April 12 2021 - 19:27

South Africa extends Covid-19 loan scheme deadline by three months

South Africa has extended by a further three months the deadline of a loan scheme that is central to efforts to counter the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Treasury said on Monday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the bank loan scheme for businesses, worth up to R200 bln in total and partly guaranteed by the government, in April 2020.

The availability of the loans in the scheme has been extended to July 11, from an earlier deadline of April 11, the Treasury said in a statement issued jointly with the South African Reserve Bank and the country's banking association.

April 12 2021 - 19:19

Coronavirus pandemic 'a long way from over', WHO's Tedros says

Confusion and complacency in addressing Covid-19 means the pandemic is a long way from over, but it can be brought under control in months with proven public health measures, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.

"We too want to see societies and economies reopening, and travel and trade resuming," Tedros told a news briefing.

"But right now, intensive care units in many countries are overflowing and people are dying – and it’s totally avoidable."

April 12 2021 - 15:40

Botswana probes deaths of two people who took AstraZeneca shot

Botswana is investigating the deaths of two among thousands of people who had been given doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine to see if there is any link, the health ministry said.

The southern African country has so far administered about 31,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only vaccine it has started rolling out.

April 12 2021 - 14:17

Prof fires broadside at experts who called for AstraZeneca rollout in SA

Prof Barry Schoub, head of the ministerial advisory committee (MAC) on vaccines, has lashed out at other experts who said the country should have gone ahead with the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In a strongly worded editorial in the South African Medical Journal, he said rolling out a vaccine with such poor efficacy would drain much-needed resources, break public trust, and create a potential threat or further “escape variants” of the virus that causes Covid-19.

April 12 2021 - 14:09

WATCH | Bheki Cele slams maskless residents in Covid-19 settlement after 400 arrests in four days

Police minister Bheki Cele and an entourage of officers walked 4km through a new Cape Town informal settlement called Covid-19 on Saturday evening.

Cele stopped residents who were not wearing masks and made them go home to fetch one.

Stop and searches took place on the main roads in the informal settlement.

April 12 2021 - 13:32

J&J begins Covid-19 vaccine supplies to EU, 50 million  doses expected in Q2 -lawmaker

Johnson & Johnson on Monday began delivering its Covid-19 single-dose vaccine to EU countries, European Union officials and the company said.

The company had initially planned to start its deliveries at the beginning of April, but delayed the rollout due to production issues."

The first doses are leaving warehouses for member states today," a European Commission spokesman told a news conference on Monday.

"Johnson & Johnson begins vaccine shipments to the EU today. Very good news," said Peter Liese, an EU lawmaker from the same party as German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The U.S. company has committed to delivering 55 million doses to the EU by the end of June and another 120 million in the third quarter, EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton said this month."

Most recently, it was unclear whether that promise would be kept. However, 50 million doses are certain" for the second quarter, Liese said, noting he received this information from the company and from the European Commission, which coordinates talks with vaccine makers.

Reuters

April 12 2021 - 13:26

Eli Lilly to focus on selling Covid-19 antibody drug combination

Eli Lilly and Co said on Monday it had a revised agreement with the US government for its Covid-19 antibody drug, bamlanivimab, which will now be sold in combination with another therapy.

Concerns over the impact on the drug's efficacy from rapidly spreading coronavirus variants that are resistant to the drug when administered alone led to the US government stopping distribution of the therapy last month.

Lilly and the US government have agreed to modify their existing agreement to enable the supply of etesevimab to complement doses of bamlanivimab the US government had already purchased, the drugmaker said.

The earlier supply agreement for bamlanivimab has been terminated and cancels the remaining 350,856 doses of bamlanivimab that were scheduled to be delivered by the end of March 2021.

Reuters

April 12 2021 - 12:43

EU seeks clarification from AstraZeneca on supply shortfalls

The European Commission said on Monday it was seeking clarification from AstraZeneca over its shortfalls in supplies to the European Union, after it sent a letter to the company in March as part of a dispute-resolution process."

The Commission still expects the company to clarify a number of outstanding issues," a spokesman for the EU executive told a news conference, noting there had been a meeting on the matter.

Reuters

April 12 2021 - 10:25

New Zealand's Ardern says border workers must take Covid-19 vaccine after new cases

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that people working at the borders must be vaccinated by the end of this month or risk being moved out of the role, after a third coronavirus case related to a front-line staff was reported.

New Zealand has virtually eliminated the Covid-19 virus within its borders and there's been no community transmission for more 40 days.

But it reported a positive Covid-19 in the community last week of a border worker who had missed two vaccine appointments. Two more cases linked to this individual has emerged since.

April 12 2021 - 08:58

Covid-19: Low risk for third wave in SA - AI powered algorithm predicts

Amid fears of the possibility of the country experiencing a third wave of Covid-19 infections, models show there is a low risk although the country remains vulnerable.

This is according to a finding using an artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm designed by the University of the Witwatersrand in partnership with iThemba LABS, the provincial government of Gauteng and York University in Canada.

April 12 2021 - 06:22

Japan begins Covid-19 shots for over 65s as fourth infection wave looms

Japan began Covid-19 vaccinations for its sizable elderly population on Monday, with imported doses still in short supply and the pace unlikely to stop a fourth wave of infection.

Shots for people aged 65 and above began at some 120 sites across the country, using Pfizer Inc's vaccine made in Europe and delivered to the regions in the past week.

Just 2,810 people in Tokyo are expected to get a shot from the first batch, while most regions will receive 1,000 doses or fewer, according to a health ministry schedule. Japan has a rapidly ageing population totalling 126 million.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato reiterated on Monday the government's projection that it can secure enough vaccines for Japan's 36 million people over the age of 65 by the end of June.

"If imports from the EU go smoothly, I understand the country is expected to distribute vaccines that can be administered to all of the elderly," Kato said.

Tokyo also began on Monday a month-long period of quasi-emergency measures to blunt a fourth wave of contagion driven by virulent mutant strains and with the planned start of the Summer Olympics just over 100 days away.

Reuters

April 12 2021 - 06:18

India overtakes Brazil as world's second worst-hit country by Covid-19

 India reported a record 168,912 Covid-19 infections overnight, data from the health ministry showed on Monday, overtaking Brazil to become the second-most affected country globally by the coronavirus.

India's overall tally reached 13.53 million, surpassing Brazil's 13.45 million cases, according to data compiled by Reuters. The United States led the global tally with 31.2 million cases.

Deaths in India stood at 904, taking the total to 170,179, data showed. 

Reuters