COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 3,614 new Covid-19 cases

June 1 2021 - 20:33

A million people now vaccinated against Covid-19 in SA: Mkhize

More than a million people have now been vaccinated against Covid-19 in SA.

The health ministry said on Tuesday that, as of the end of May, there had been 1,045,104 individuals who had either received the single-dose J&J vaccine or the first of the double-dose Pfizer vaccine.

Of these, 479,768 had been vaccinated under the Sisonke protocol and 565,336 under phase 2 of the rollout programme.

June 1 2021 - 18:07

Gauteng pays R16m to distribute R13m Covid-19 relief to artists and athletes

The Gauteng department of sports, arts and culture has paid two companies R16.5m just to disburse R13.2m in Covid-19 relief funds.

This means that the service provided scored R3.3m more than the actual value of the relief cash they were tasked with distributing.

MEC Mbali Hlophe made the shocking revelation in a written reply to a questioned posed by the DA in the Gauteng legislature. The DA’s spokesperson for sports, arts and culture at the Gauteng legislature, Kingsol Chabalala, on Tuesday said they were appalled by this revelation.

June 1 2021 - 16:55

‘Stricter measures are needed’: SA Medical Association on lockdown

The SA Medical Association (Sama) says it would have preferred stricter curfews, particularly over weekends, to curb the spread of Covid-19. 

The view was in response to the latest adjusted lockdown measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday.

Ramaphosa said due to an increase in new Covid-19 infections, the country would move to adjusted level 2 restrictions.

June 1 2021 - 16:29

Tannie Evita gets the jab at start of Western Cape’s rural rollout

Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout used to “praat kaktus” (speak cactus) but on Tuesday she used her sharp tongue to shout: “Vax us!”

Western Cape premier Alan Winde roped in Tannie Evita — alter-ego of entertainer Pieter-Dirk Uys — to kickstart the provincial Covid-19 vaccination rollout in rural towns.

The pair teamed up at Wesbank Community Hall in Malmesbury, where Tannie Evita, who lives down the road in Darling, pronounced herself “very relieved” after being vaccinated.

June 1 2021 - 16:24

‘Prioritise us for vaccination’, say teacher unions

With primary school pupils returning on a full-time basis from next month, teacher unions have asked to be prioritised for the Covid-19 vaccination.

They also want the basic education department to monitor the third wave of coronavirus infections before pushing ahead with the decision to fully reopen primary schools in six weeks’ time, even though they said the decision to return full time is the right one.

“The Educators Union of SA (Eusa) maintains its stance that the department should study the behaviour of the virus before making any decisions,” said spokesperson Kabelo Mahlobogwane.

June 1 2021 - 15:43

Nine congregants die as Covid-19 sweeps through Vredendal church

A community is in mourning after nine people who form part of a small Uniting Reformed Church in Vredendal, in the Western Cape, succumbed to Covid-19 complications over the past two weeks.

The congregation has also suffered the recent loss of other members who died of heart attacks and other illnesses.

“The funerals will start from tomorrow. We have closed the church. There are a lot of families and individuals infected by the virus. We will go online and use that method. No formal services will be taking place,” said Rev Pedro Oktober.

June 1 2021 - 08:10

EXPLAINER | What we know about the origins of Covid-19

Scientists are revisiting a central mystery of Covid-19: Where, when and how did the virus that causes the disease originate?

The two prevailing competing theories are that the virus jumped from animals, possibly originating with bats, to humans, or that it escaped from a virology laboratory in Wuhan, China. The following is what is known about the virus’ origins.

June 1 2021 - 08:12

Duchess of Cambridge becomes latest royal to get first dose of Covid-19 jab

The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton, said she had received a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine and paid tribute to everyone involved in the rollout of the inoculation programme.

Kate, 39, said she had received the shot at the Science Museum, a prominent tourist attraction not far from Kate's Kensington Palace home in west London.

“Yesterday [Friday] I received my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at London's Science Museum,” she said on the Twitter account she shares with her husband, Prince William, along with a picture of her receiving the shot.

June 1 2021 - 6:59

Covid-19 variants get official names

Many may associate the words “alpha”, “beta” and “gamma” with scientific jargon that describes different forms of energy, or even with investment portfolios. But now they will take on a new meaning as the World Health Organisation uses these terms as names for the different new Covid-19 variants identified across the world.

These letters of the Greek alphabets will, the WHO hopes, avoid stigma and discrimination against the countries where these strains were originally detected.

On Monday, the WHO said it has assigned these “simple, easy to say and remember labels” to describe key various strains, including the SA variant 501Y.V2 which was first detected towards the end of 2020. The variant was found to be far more transmissible than the original virus experienced by the country during its first wave, spreading about 50% faster.