COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 67 new Covid-19 deaths as total cases jump to 1,592,626

May 07 2021 - 21:53

SA records more than 2,000 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours for third day

SA recorded 2,256 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours — the third day in a row that the 2,000 mark had been breached.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Friday that the new cases came from 25,934 tests, at a positivity rate of 8.69%. There have now been 1,592,626 total confirmed infections across the country.

Mkhize also reported that there were 67 new Covid-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the national death toll to 54,687.

May 07 2021 - 18:00

Italy reports 207 coronavirus deaths on Friday, 10,554 new cases

Italy reported 207 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday against 258 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 10,554 from 11,807.

Italy has registered 122,470 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 4.09 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 16,331 on Friday, down from 16,867 a day earlier.

There were 109 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 127 on Thursday. The total number of intensive care patients fell slightly to 2,253 from a previous 2,308.

Some 328,612 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 324,640, the health ministry said.

-REUTERS

May 07 2021 - 16:53

Third wave is likely to be less severe, says Gauteng command council

The Gauteng command council says the third wave of Covid-19 infections is likely to be less severe than previous waves, provided there are no significant virus mutations and super-spreader events are avoided.

Gauteng premier David Makhura said though the province won the battle of the second wave, the third wave would only be conquered if fatigue does not set it and if non-pharmaceutical interventions are followed.

May 07 2021 -  16:30

Health services suffer as budget is prioritised to deal with Covid-19

Basic health services such as testing for HIV/Aids and TB, maintenance, filling vacancies and the purchasing of new equipment were severely hampered in the last financial year as the national health department shifted its resources.

“The goods and services budget had a once-off allocation of about R4.3bn for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. We also have to fund the logistical part of the vaccines from this funding — and we have already put in a number of business cases to National Treasury to show the impact of this — as well as the additional funding that might be required during the financial year,” said the department’s chief financial officer, Ian van der Merwe.

May 05 2021 -  14:48

Canada says it's ready to discuss Covid-19 vaccine IP waiver

Canada said on Friday it was prepared to discuss an intellectual property rights (IP) waiver for Covid-19 vaccines while also stressing the importance of protecting IP and the integral role industry played in developing the medicines.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday threw his support behind waiving IP rights for Covid-19 vaccines. Any such waiver would have to be negotiated through the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"Canada is ready to discuss proposals on a waiver for intellectual property protection, particular to Covid-19 vaccines, under the WTO Agreement on TRIPS," said International Trade Minister Mary Ng, referring to the WTO's agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights."

Since the introduction of the IP waiver proposal, Canada has actively worked with partners to identify barriers to vaccine access — many of which are unrelated to IP, such as supply chain constraints," she said in a statement.

Biden's proposal angered pharmaceutical companies. Firms working on vaccines have reported sharp revenue and profit gains during the crisis.

Ng also stressed that "our government firmly believes in the importance of protecting IP and recognizes the integral role that industry has played in innovating to develop and deliver life-saving Covid-19 vaccines."

Reuters

May 05 2021 -  14:00

Makeshift crematoriums are built as India's crisis worsens

CNN's Clarissa Ward reports from Varanasi, India, where makeshift crematoriums are being built to handle the bodies of those who died from Covid-19 and CNN's John Vause speaks with Amy Kazmin.

May 05 2021 -  13:09

India's Biological E. to begin Phase III trial of vaccine, production from August

India's Biological E. Ltd will soon start Phase III trials of its Covid-19 vaccine and plans producing 75 million to 80 million doses a month from August, its MD told Reuters on Friday.

May 05 2021 -  12:59

New UK guidance on AstraZeneca will not affect rollout schedule- official

Britain's decision to advise all under 40-year-olds to take an alternative vaccine to the Oxford/AstraZeneca one will not affect the country's plan to offer a first dose to all adults by the end of July, a senior health official said on Friday.

"I can say to you that on current plans, our vaccine supply schedule will support the change offered by the (vaccine advisory group) JCVI without limiting the speed and scale of the vaccine rollout," England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam told a news conference.

"I do expect that we are still on target to offer a first dose to all adults by the end of July."

Reuters

May 05 2021 -  12:00

US schools shift focus to students' mental health

Covid-19 upended education over the past year, and educators in the U.S. are aiming to help students who are struggling with anxiety and depression as a result.

May 05 2021 -  12:00

Drugmakers push back on vaccine patent waiver

Drugmakers said President Joe Biden's support for waiving patents of COVID-19 vaccines could disrupt a fragile supply chain and that rich countries should instead share more generously with the developing world.

May 05 2021 - 11:25

EU supports Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver talks, but critics say this won’t solve scarcity

The European Union (EU) on Thursday backed a US proposal to discuss waiving patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines, but drug makers and some other governments opposed the idea, saying it would not solve global inoculation shortages.

May 05 2021 - 10:50

Japan to extend state of emergency to curb a surge in Covid-19 cases before Olympics

Japan's government is set to extend on Friday a state of emergency in Tokyo and three other areas by about three weeks until the end of May to curb a surge in novel coronavirus cases just months before the start of the Tokyo Olympics.

May 05 2021 - 09:03

We'll vaccinate 67% of population in 21 days — Mpumalanga health MEC Sasekani Manzini

Mpumalanga health MEC Sasekani Manzini says the province will need only 21 days to vaccinate 67% of its people for Covid-19 when the jab arrives. 

Speaking at the launch of the electronic vaccination system, in Verena near KwaMhlanga on Thursday, Manzini said the province was doing well in managing the pandemic, as it has only 795 active cases.  

She said the second phase of the vaccine registration, which is targeting people older than 60, was well under way, and her department has also dispatched health workers to vaccinate them in their homes. 

May 05 2021 - 07:01

Will SA follow in India's foot steps as Covid-19 cases rise at an alarming rate?

India, the world’s second most populous country after China, is in the throes of a debilitating Covid-19 pandemic that has not just overwhelmed the country’s poorly resourced health system, but is taking lives in parking bays as it does in hospitals and clinics.

On Thursday, India announced a record 412,262 new Covid-19 cases and a record 3,980 daily death toll as it became the second country to reach more than 20 million infections after the US. The death toll has crossed 220,000.

The poverty and inequality in India almost mirrors our country. The Indian government’s initial nonchalant approach to the second wave almost mirrors the dismissive tone of our government to what seems to be a certain third wave around the corner.