COVID-19 WRAP | SA records more than 120 Covid-19 deaths as cases spike

June 10 2021 - 20:09

Lessons learnt from HIV became the mainstay of our Covid-19 response: Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane

Acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said SA used the lessons learnt in tackling the HIV/Aids pandemic to move swiftly and decisively in dealing with Covid-19.

She made the statement during a United Nations general assembly high level online meeting on HIV/Aids on Thursday night.

The meeting provided recommendations to guide and monitor the HIV/Aids response beyond 2021, including new concrete commitments to accelerate action to end the pandemic by 2030.

June 10 2021 - 20:04

Nearly 9,150 new Covid-19 cases recorded in SA in 24 hours as third wave sets in

SA recorded 9,149 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, according to National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) figures released on Thursday.

There were also 127 Covid-19 in-hospital deaths reported in the past 24 hours, according to NICD figures. 

Gauteng again accounted for the majority of the new cases - 5,597, or 61%.

June 10 2021 - 16:17

Gauteng health department worried by spike in new Covid-19 cases

The Gauteng health department is worried about the alarming rise of new Covid-19 cases in the province.

There were 8,881 Covid-19 cases recorded on Wednesday across SA, with Gauteng accounting for 5,111 of them — 58% of the total.

Of these new cases, the department said, most were recorded in the Tshwane and Johannesburg subdistricts.

June 10 2021 - 15:20

Malema says local government elections should be postponed to save lives

The government’s decision to forge ahead with the fifth municipal elections later this year during a global pandemic was a reckless one which would culminate in an avalanche of Covid-19 super-spreader events.  

For this reason, the EFF called on the Electoral Commission (IEC) to cease all election-related activities. This was the view expressed by EFF leader Julius  Malema during a media briefing on Thursday. 

“We reiterate our call despite our own readiness for the 2021 elections to be postponed in the interest of saving millions of lives. The duty to preserve lives is the highest of duties. People must be alive before they can vote and be voted for.”

Malema said his party ideally wanted the elections to be postponed to 2024. If that failed, they should take place next year, depending on the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic.

June 10 2021 - 12:22

Western Cape officially entering its third wave of Covid-19, says premier

The Western Cape is officially entering a third wave of Covid-19 infections.

The province has not quite passed the threshold of the technical definition, but premier Alan Winde said on Thursday there had been a 31% increase in cases week on week.

“The Western Cape is now entering the third wave due to that sustained increase — and that is very concerning,” he said.

June 10 2021 - 11:30

SA likely to be hit by a 'mini' fourth wave in December, says Prof Salim Abdool Karim

While SA has not yet met the threshold for a Covid-19 third wave, Prof Salim Abdool Karim believes that the country is likely to be hit by a “mini” fourth wave in December due to the speed of the vaccine rollout.

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Abdool Karim, who spoke to Bhekisisa on Wednesday, predicted that the rest of this year would see Covid-19 variants posing a great challenge to SA.

He believes that the 501Y.V2 variant, which was first discovered in the Eastern Cape, may remain dominant and that it was more “scary” than the B.1.1.7 first detected in the UK and B.1.617.2 first detected in India.

June 10 2021 - 10:21

Cape Town convention centre goes from field hospital to mass vaccination site

A few months ago it was a packed Covid-19 field hospital, and within weeks the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) will be a mass vaccination centre capable of administering 4,000 jabs daily.

A statement on Thursday by Western Cape premier Alan Winde and Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said the centre would open within three or four weeks.

Winde said: “Just over one year ago, our teams worked quickly and efficiently to convert the CTICC into the Western Cape’s first major field hospital, our Hospital of Hope, and it became a place of healing for the thousands of residents who received life-saving treatment there.

June 10 2021 - 07:15

India records world's highest daily Covid-19 deaths after state revises numbers

India reported on Thursday the highest single-day death toll from COVID-19 in the world, at 6,148, after a big eastern state revised its figures to account for people who succumbed to the disease at home or in private hospitals.

The health department of Bihar, one of India's poorest states, revised its total COVID-19 related death toll on Wednesday to more than 9,400 from about 5,400.The United States had recorded 5,444 COVID-19 deaths on Feb. 12.

India's total COVID-19 case load now stands at 29.2 million after rising by 94,052 in the past 24 hours, while total fatalities are at 359,676, according to data from the health ministry.

-REUTERS