COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 157 new Covid-19 deaths in last 24-hour cycle & SA is moving to alert level 3

June 15 2021 - 21:58

SA records 157 new Covid-19 deaths and 8,400 new cases in 24 hours

SA passed another grim Covid-19 milestone on Tuesday night, as the 58,000 mark for fatalities linked to the coronavirus pandemic was breached.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), there were 157 in-hospital deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 58,041.

In its latest release on SA's Covid-19 statistics, the NICD also confirmed that there were 8,436 new Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours, at a positivity rate of 17.8%. This means that there have now been 1,761,066 confirmed infections across SA to date.

June 15 2021 - 21:31

It's time to go back to basics, says President Cyril Ramaphosa, as third wave sets in

It’s time to go back to go back to basics.

This was the stern warning from President Cyril Ramaphosa as the country battles a huge surge in new Covid-19 infections which, the president said on Tuesday night, necessitated the need to move to lockdown level 3 restrictions.

Ramaphosa said South Africans needed to remind themselves of how the virus is spread “so that each one of us makes sure that we behave in a way that reduces the chances of transmission”.

June 15 2021 - 21:25

IN FULL | 'We have to act decisively and quickly to save lives': Ramaphosa's full address to SA on the move to level 3

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced that the country would be moved to lockdown level 3 restrictions.

This means that, among other things, the curfew has been tightened, alcohol sales restricted, and the number of people allowed to gather reduced.

June 15 2021 - 21:10

'Konje, what is level 3 again?' - Mzansi reacts to lockdown alert level change

Social media was flooded with reaction to President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement on Tuesday that SA will be moving to lockdown alert level 3 to try curb the spread of Covid-19.

Ramaphosa addressed the nation on developments in the country’s response to the pandemic, confirming that SA was in the third wave of Covid-19 infections and drew attention to the spike in new cases.

He said Gauteng was the hardest hit province, accounting for nearly two-thirds of new cases measured over the past week.

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To date SA has received 2.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Ramaphosa said government has received an indication from J&J to deliver 2 million vaccines to SA by end the of the month.

June 15 2021 - 20:24

Ramaphosa said the total number of people vaccinated in SA is almost 2 million. The country is vaccinating around 80,000 people a day.

June 15 2021 - 20:18

The sale of alcohol off site will only be allowed from Monday to Thursday between 10am and 6pm. This excludes public holidays.

June 15 2021 - 20:16

The curfew will now be from 10pm to 4am. Non-essential establishments such as restaurants, bars, and gyms must close at 9pm. Gatherings will be limited to 50 people  indoors and 100 outdoors.

June 15 2021 - 20:14

The president said SA will be moving to alert level 3 later tonight. This will take effect this evening when the regulations are gazetted.

June 15 2021 - 20:12

"We must behave in a way to reduce transmission. It is through our behaviour that the virus is spread ... We must be more diligent and consistent," said Ramaphosa.

June 15 2021 - 20:09

Covid-19 cases continuing to rise in Gauteng and Limpopo

During his address to the country, Ramaphosa said the Covid-19 positivity rate is continuing to rise in Gauteng, Limpopo and other places. The increase in Gauteng is faster and steeper than the previous waves in SA.

June 15 2021 - 20:07

President Cyril Ramaphosa says during the last seven days SA has had an average of 7,500 daily infections. He added that hospital admissions over the past 14 days  were 59% higher.

June 15 2021 - 19:49

RECORDED | President Ramaphosa addresses the nation on government’s Covid-19 response

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday night address the nation on the government’s response to the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

The address comes as SA grapples with the third wave of the pandemic. The number of Covid-19 infections has been rapidly increasing, with most cases recorded in Gauteng.

The government has been urged to impose stricter lockdown regulations in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

June 15 2021 - 16:57

‘Please consider the implications of letting your child attend gatherings’

Covid-19 cases at schools in the Western Cape are being fuelled by social events attended outside the classroom, provincial education MEC Debbie Schäfer warned on Tuesday.

There are 148 active cases among school staff and 314 among pupils in the province.

Schäfer said during the third wave of the pandemic “we are seeing more evidence of community-level transmission which in turn affects our schools”.

June 15 2021 - 15:33

'There is a family meeting this evening': minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni confirms Tuesday address

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Tuesday night, acting minister in the presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, told TimesLIVE.

The address comes amid calls for tighter restrictions and lockdown measures in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with Gauteng at the forefront of the country's surging third wave.

“There is a family meeting this evening,” Ntshavheni said via text message.

June 15 2021 - 14:43

Abdool Karim: Halt elective surgeries, use field hospitals & act to curb booze excesses

Clear hospital wards as much as possible, stop elective surgeries and make use of field hospitals.

According to Prof Salim Abdool Karim, these are the measures SA needs to implement to prepare for the peak of the Covid-19 third wave.

Abdool Karim, former head of the ministerial advisory committee on Covid-19, told TimesLIVE on Tuesday that it will take at least two weeks until the third wave peaks.

June 15 2021 - 14:27

IN QUOTES | Blade Nzimande on the impact of Covid-19 on tertiary students

Higher education minister Blade Nzimande has expressed concern about the impact of Covid-19 on tertiary students.

The minister was at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in the Western Cape on Monday during the release of a study into the impact of Covid-19 on the youth and students in the post-school education sector.

The study conducted by Higher Health and higher education institutions revealed the mental health of students took a knock during the lockdown and said counselling and emotional support services were made available to ensure their mental wellness.

June 15 2021 - 12:59

‘We are in big trouble, it’s time to wake up’: Gauteng doctor as Covid-19 cases increase

A Gauteng doctor who tested positive for Covid-19 months after receiving the vaccine has warned that hospitals are full and no-one should become complacent.

“The situation is dire and hospitals are full. There is a lack of and shortage of ICU beds for patients. We are in big trouble and we are nowhere near the peak of the third wave of infections,” Dr Marlin McKay told TimesLIVE on Tuesday.

McKay, who runs his own practice in Florida, Roodepoort, received a dose of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine in February.

June 15 2021 - 12:37

EFF lambastes Sahpra for ‘refusing’ to administer other vaccines in SA after J&J moemish

The EFF has slammed the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) for its alleged 'refusal' to allow the administration of the Sinovac and Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccines.

This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement on Sunday that SA had experienced challenges with the Johnson & Johnson vaccines and that more than two million doses manufactured at the Gqeberha plant in the Eastern Cape would be discarded.

June 15 2021 - 11:31

AstraZeneca’s antibody cocktail fails to prevent Covid-19 in study

AstraZeneca's antibody cocktail was only 33% effective at preventing Covid-19 symptoms in people who had been exposed to the coronavirus, failing a study that was key to the drugmaker’s pandemic push.

The trial of 1,121 adult volunteers looked at whether the long-acting antibody combination could protect people who had recently been in contact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in places like care homes. The company said it is running other studies of the medicine that could help clarify the findings.

June 15 2021 - 09:15

Acting health minister Kubayi-Ngubane takes aim at fake news

Acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has cautioned about the spread of fake news regarding Covid-19, saying false information makes it harder to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Speaking on SABC News, Kubayi-Ngubane urged citizens to double-check messages they receive and not fall victim to false information.

“When SA heard about level 1, people started thinking Covid-19 is gone. It is not gone. It is still here and we have to make sure we protect ourselves,” said Kubayi-Ngubane.

June 15 2021 - 09:15

US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene apologises for comparing Covid-19 masks to Holocaust

Republican US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly apologised on Monday for her remarks last month comparing Covid-19 mask requirements and vaccinations to the Nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews.

“I have made a mistake and it's really bothered me for a couple weeks now,” Greene told a news conference. She added that “there's nothing comparable” to the Holocaust and “I know the words I stated were hurtful and for that I am very sorry.”

June 15 2021 - 08:45

Georgia man fatally shoots cashier, injures deputy over face mask dispute

A man shopping at a supermarket in Georgia state on Monday shot and killed the cashier serving him over an argument about his face mask, before wounding an off-duty sheriff's deputy working at the store, local authorities said.

Victor Lee Tucker Jr, 30, shot the supermarket cashier with a handgun and was later involved in a shoot-out with the off-duty deputy, in which both were injured, according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

The statement did not provide further details about the argument between Tucker and the cashier, who was also not identified.

June 15 2021 - 08:08

Malaysia grants conditional approval for CanSino, J&J COVID-19 vaccines

Malaysia's health ministry said on Tuesday it has granted conditional approval for emergency use to the single dose COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by China's CanSino Biologics and U.S. drugmaker Johnson&Johnson.

It has also approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for recipients aged 12 and above, the ministry said in a statement.

-REUTERS

June 15 2021 - 07:10

Gauteng DA wants the provincialisation of ambulances halted amid Covid-19 third wave fears

The DA's Jack Bloom has lamented the provincialisation of ambulances in Gauteng, saying it has a negative impact on residents who are complaining about poor service delivery. He called for the move to be halted amid a rise in Covid-19 infections.

The DA Gauteng shadow MEC said he is inundated with calls from residents “who have called an ambulance that does not arrive in good time”.

Bloom said there are 40 fewer ambulances operating after the Gauteng health department “botched its takeover of all ambulance services in the province”.

June 15 2021 - 06:57

Africa’s rising Covid-19 cases ‘especially concerning,’ WHO says

Rising Covid-19 cases in Africa are “especially concerning” because the region has the least amount of access to vaccines, diagnostics and oxygen, said World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Together with the spread of more transmissible variants this increases the continent’s mortality rate among critically ill Covid-19 patients, he told reporters in a briefing on Monday.

June 15 2021 - 06:40

The US exceeds 600,000 Covid-19 deaths

The US crosses 600,000 Covid-19 deaths, a painful reminder that death, sickness and grief still persist as the country begins to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

June 15 2021 - 06:30

Novavax vaccine over 90% effective in U.S. trial

Novavax reported late-stage data from its U.S.-based clinical trial showing its vaccine is more than 90% effective against COVID-19 across a variety of variants of the virus

June 15 2021 - 06:14

UK PM Johnson: many workplaces need to get back to pre-pandemic state

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday said that he was determined for workplaces to return to a pre-pandemic normal if formal Covid-19 restrictions were lifted on July 19."

There are many businesses that need to move beyond social distancing and many jobs where we need to be able to do things in the way that we always used to do them," Johnson said at a news conference where he delayed the end of restrictions.

"People are yearning to get back to that, as indeed, as I am, and so I'm determined to be able to do that by July 19."

Reuters

June 15 2021 - 06:05

The big three: how Covid-19 is playing out in SA’s main economic hubs

The country’s three most economically active provinces are under the spotlight as a third wave of Covid-19 engulfs the country.

So far it appears “the big three” hubs of Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are on somewhat different journeys with infections, but could end up in the same place.

Though it is not the hardest hit in numbers, KwaZulu-Natal is showing the most marked increase (88%), while Gauteng is carrying the load of new infections nationally (64%).

The Western Cape, like KZN, is not officially in a third wave, but is hot on the heels of Gauteng, which has officially been in it for some weeks.

By Thursday last week, Gauteng was hovering just below 26,000 new infections.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a further 15,602 were cumulatively added.

June 15 2021 - 06:00

EDITORIAL | Gauteng is doing its citizens a grave Covid-19 injustice

At the end of every day, with rare exception, a statement from the national health department drops with the latest Covid-19 infection figures, including vaccine rollout details. The regularity of the updates, which SA has come to rely on, is to be applauded.

The numbers tell a frightening story. By Sunday, Gauteng was leading the charge, accounting for 64% of new infections.

Yet among provincial officials, there seems to be no sense or urgency to try to prevent a full-scale disaster. 

Many reasons are bandied about to account for the sharp increase, especially in Gauteng. People have Covid-19 fatigue; they simply don’t believe things are that bad. A year into lockdown has dulled the senses.