COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 4,424 new cases cases in 24 hours

May 27 2021 - 23:10

SA records 4,424 new cases cases in 24 hours

South Africa recorded 4,424 new cases in the past 24 hours, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday evening.

May 27 2021 - 20:18

SIU has completed 40% of its Covid-19 PPE probes, but more cases pour

Special Investigating Unit head advocate Andy Mothibi says the unit has concluded 40% of the 4,117 Covid-19 related cases it has been investigating since last year.

Details of these cases are included in the unit's latest Covid-19 report, submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa last month, he said.

Mothibi said the concluded 40% of investigations involved 835 service providers and 1,071 contracts awarded to service provides valued at just more than R5.7bn. Of those 1,071 contracts, irregularities were identified in 352 cases (31%) involving 247 service providers and contracts to the value of R1.78bn.

May 27 2021 - 16:56

SIU must investigate Digital Vibes without fear or favour, says presidency

Whether health minister Zweli Mkhize, who has been implicated in the controversial Digital Vibes tender,  should step aside is a matter that should be discussed between himself and President Cyril Ramaphosa, not by the cabinet.

This is according to acting minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who was answering questions on whether the cabinet had discussed the serious allegations involving Mkhize, who on Wednesday distanced himself from the R150m contract awarded to Digital Vibes.

May 27 2021 - 16:07

Alan Winde says the Western Cape will vaccinate 12,000 people per day next week — here's how

The Western Cape has set an ambitious target to vaccinate 24,000 residents per day in the next two weeks. This is according to Premier Alan Winde, who said on Wednesday the province is currently vaccinating 6,000 residents per day and plans to double this number next week to ensure a speedy process.

Winde said the province planned its ramp-up according to the number of vaccines it is expecting to receive on Thursday and in June. 

“We are also working actively to open more sites across the province so that residents are able to be vaccinated as close to home as possible.

May 27 2021 - 16:02

Tito Mboweni getting vaccinated draws mixed reaction

South Africans have expressed a variety of reactions to finance minister Tito Mboweni getting vaccinated.

Mboweni, 62, received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine this week at the Dr CN Phatudi Hospital in Limpopo.

The vaccine was administered by the province’s health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba.

May 27 2021 - 14:55

President Cyril Ramaphosa to address nation on Covid-19 third wave 'soon'

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation soon on how the country intends managing the imminent third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We can confirm to South Africans that there will be a family meeting soon,” acting minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said during a post-cabinet briefing on Thursday. 

Ntshavheni said the government was concerned about the increasing number of Covid-19 infections, as the winter season enters full swing.

May 27 2021 - 14:37

Africa short 140 million vaccines from India

The Covid-19 crisis in India has delayed the delivery of 140 million doses of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine, labelled as CoviShield, to Africa since March, said Dr Thabani Maphosa, from the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, on Thursday.

Forty million doses were not delivered in March, 50 million in April and 50 million in May, after the decision by India to hold on to its production of CoviShield, made by the Serum Institute of India, after a catastrophic surge of coronavirus infections in India.

The Covax global vaccine equity programme was relying on the institute to supply it with vaccines for distribution to low and middle income developing countries.

May 27 2021 - 14:35

Costly deals with 173 unaccredited suppliers: SIU on Gauteng education Covid-19 spending

An investigation conducted by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has revealed that the Gauteng education department did not follow due process in the procurement of services to decontaminate schools during Covid-19.

“The department obtained a deviation under Treasury regulations to conduct the procurement process without inviting competitive bids,” SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said in a statement on Thursday.

“The department did so on the basis that emergency procurement was warranted, given the urgent and pressing need to appoint service providers to decontaminate schools exposed to Covid-19. The request for the deviation expressly stated that the department would 'appoint accredited service providers from the Central Supplier Database (CSD)'.”

May 27 2021 - 14:33 - 14:33

UK PM Johnson disagrees that thousands died from Covid due to his inaction

British Prime minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday he disagreed with his former aide Dominic Cummings' claim that tens of thousands of people died unnecessarily because of the government's inaction on Covid-19.

Asked if he agreed with Cummings' allegation, Johnson said: "No, I don't think so, but of course this has been an incredibly difficult series of decisions, none of which we've taken lightly."

May 27 2021 - 12:55

Gauteng school decontamination deals 'haphazard' and unlawful: SIU

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has obtained an order to freeze R40.7m worth of bank accounts and assets after finding that the procurement process for Covid-19 decontamination at Gauteng schools was “manifestly unlawful”.

“The Gauteng department of education paid over R431m to service providers pursuant to a process that was haphazard, unfair and littered with procurement irregularities,” said SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.

“The SIU approached the Special Tribunal for a preservation order to freeze accounts with the sum of R6m and assets with an estimated value of over R4.7m belonging to seven companies, five individuals and two family trusts.”

May 27 2021 - 11:46

Free State vaccination process gathers momentum after shaky start due to protests

Thousands of people over the age of 60 have been vaccinated in the Free State this week, the provincial health department said on Thursday.

The vaccination process got off to a shaky start last week after violent protests erupted in Mangaung.

But this week health department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said the vaccination process was running more smoothly at government sites and close to 9,000 people over the age of 60 have received the jab.

May 27 2021 - 11:45

Inequality is already a vaccine obstacle in Western Cape, says premier Winde

Access to Covid-19 vaccinations is already a “rich man, poor man” tale after less than two weeks.

No over-60s have registered for vaccination in some poorer areas of Cape Town and the Western Cape, while up to two-thirds of elderly people have registered in wealthy areas.

Now the Western Cape health department is sending teams into poorer areas to help older residents register in its attempts to have all over-60s vaccinated by the end of June so that work can start on the larger 40-59 age group.

May 27 2021 - 10:35

282,135 people have received Covid-19 jab in phase two of vaccine rollout

SA recorded 4,623 new cases of Covid-19 infections and 102 deaths over the past 24 hours, the health department said late Wednesday, as it provided an update of the country's vaccination programme.

The Covid-related deaths were predominantly in North West (45) and Gauteng (24).

The Western Cape had nine fatalities, Free State six, Limpopo five and Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga four each.

May 27 2021 - 10:34

Covid-19 'Electronic Vaccination Data System doing what we want it to do,' says senior health official

The deputy director-general of the health department, Dr Nicholas Crisp, says the Electronic Vaccination Data System [EVDS] is working well, despite reported hiccups in the registration process.

“It is doing what we want it to do, and in our view, it has exceeded expectations,” Crisp told SAfm on Thursday.

“It’s not just the registration and vaccination system, it’s controlling everything to do with the vaccination programme. It is a huge amount of logistics and far more complicated than meets the eye,” he said.

May 27 2021 - 10:33

Zambian president bans campaign rallies to stem Covid-19 spread

Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Wednesday banned campaign rallies ahead of elections scheduled for August 12, saying large gatherings risked spreading the Covid-19 virus.

Lungu, a lawyer, is pitted against economist Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND), whom he narrowly beat in the 2016 elections.

Zambia, Africa's no.2 copper producer, is the grips of an economic crisis after it failed to make payment of a coupon on one of its dollar bonds in November, dragging it into sovereign default.

May 27 2021 - 07:00

Is suspending a health minister in the midst of a pandemic a good idea?