COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 13,155 new Covid-19 cases over last 24-hour cycle

June 20 2021 - 19:22

SA records 13,155 new Covid-19 cases over last 24-hour cycle  

SA recorded 13,155 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Sunday.

The NICD said the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases now stand at 1,823,319.

It said a further 112 Covid-19 related deaths were reported, bringing the total Covid-19 fatalities to 58,702.

June 20 2021 - 18:23

Electronic hospital bed management dashboard and extra medics to help Gauteng deal with Covid-19 surge

In spite of the health system in Gauteng operating under increased load due to the rise in Covid-19 cases, the province is still able to cope with the pressure at this stage, Gauteng health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi said on Sunday.

Gauteng has seen a surge in the number of new Covid-19 cases in the past few weeks. Of the 13,575 Covid-19 cases recorded by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Saturday, 8,403 cases were in Gauteng.

Mokgethi said healthcare workers and the department remained committed in curbing the third wave.

June 20 2021 - 16:52

Johannesburg mayor Geoff Makhubo contracts Covid-19

The executive mayor of Johannesburg, Geoff Makhubo, has tested positive for Covid-19, his office said on Sunday.

He has “gone into self-quarantine as part of the recovery process”, the statement said.

The provincial health department said earlier on Sunday that 8,403 new infections had been recorded in Gauteng in the previous 24-hour cycle.

June 20 2021 - 13:03

Airlines, holiday companies ramp up pressure on Britain to ease travel rules

Britain's airlines and holiday companies are planning a “day of action” on Wednesday to ramp up pressure on the government to ease travel restrictions, with just weeks to go before the start of the peak summer season. 

Travel companies, whose finances have been stretched to breaking point during the pandemic, are desperate to avoid another summer lost to Covid-19. But with Britain's strict quarantine requirements still in place that now looks likely.

June 20 2021 - 12:00

Taiwan welcomes US vaccine aid, bolstering its Covid fight

Taiwan welcomed 2.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from the United States on Sunday as help from a true friend, more than doubling the major semiconductor-producing island's arsenal of shots as it deals with a cluster of domestic infections.

Washington, competing with Beijing to deepen geopolitical clout through "vaccine diplomacy," initially had promised to donate 750,000 doses but increased that number as President Joe Biden's administration advances its pledge to send 80 million US-made shots around the world.

A China Airlines Boeing 777 freighter carrying the vaccines landed at Taoyuan airport outside of Taipei late afternoon, greeted on the tarmac by Health Minister Chen Shih-chung and the top US diplomat in Taiwan, Brent Christensen.

Speaking from her office in comments broadcast after the arrival of the Moderna Inc shots, President Tsai Ing-wen expressed her "sincere gratitude".

"A friend in need is a friend indeed," she added, switching into English.

The American Institute in Taiwan - the de facto US embassy - said the donation reflected the U.S. commitment to Taiwan "as a trusted friend and an important security partner".

"As President Biden has said, 'we will not use our vaccines to secure favours from other countries,'" it said in a statement. "Instead, 'we'll share these vaccines in service of ending the pandemic everywhere.'

Reuters

June 20 2021 - 11:35

Small Covid-19 outbreaks keep plaguing Australia

Australia's state of Queensland recorded one locally acquired coronavirus infection on Sunday, the latest streak of small outbreaks that have been plaguing the country in recent months.

The Queensland case comes as a cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant has grown by two cases to nine in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, prompting health officials to expand mask wearing rules.

"We know this strain, which is becoming the dominant strain, is extremely contagious and some people are spreading it more than others, and what we want to avoid at this stage is a super spreading event," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Australia has been highly successful in managing the spread of the coronavirus through swift border closures, social distancing rules and a high community compliance with them, reporting just over 30,300 cases and 910 Covid-19 deaths.

But the country has struggled with the vaccination rollout, and states have been plagued in recent months by small outbreaks, kept from spreading out of control through speedy contact tracing, isolation of thousands of people at a time, or snap hard lockdowns.

The state of Victoria, which battled a small outbreak of the Delta variant, which was first detected in India, earlier this month and which put five million people into a hard lockdown for two weeks, recorded no new cases on Sunday, following one infection in the previous day.

Reuters

June 20 2021 - 09:32

Africa facing 'third wave' of Covid-19, WHO official says

New Covid-19 cases are rising rapidly in Africa while vaccination across the continent remains low, the WHO's regional director for Africa says.

June 20 2021 - 08:55

Uganda imposes new anti-coronavirus measures to stem raging pandemic

Uganda's president Yowreri Museveni on Friday introduced sweeping new anti-coronavirus measures including a ban on all vehicular movement except for essential workers to help curb a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic gripping the nation.

June 20 2021 - 08:32

Take extra precautions: 13,575 new Covid cases in a day as third wave soars

Gauteng residents contracted 62% of the 13,575 new Covid-19 cases recorded in SA in the past 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said on Saturday night.

The total number of laboratory-confirmed cases now stands at 1,810,164.

A further 149 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 58,590.

June 20 2021 - 08:00

Philippines signs deal for 40 mln Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine doses 

The Philippine government has signed a supply agreement for 40 million doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, CNN Philippines said on Sunday, citing the head of the government's Covid-19 vaccine procurement.

Deliveries of the vaccine, among several brands of coronavirus shots allowed for emergency use in the Southeast Asian country, will begin "after eight weeks starting August", Carlito Galvez was quoted as saying.

Reuters

June 20 2021 - 07:45

US triples vaccine doses for Taiwan

The United States shipped 2.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan on Saturday, more than tripling Washington's previous allocation of shots for the island, which has faced increasing political and military pressure from China.

June 20 2021 - 07:20

India posts lowest daily rise in coronavirus cases in nearly 3 months

India reported 58,419 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours on Sunday, the lowest daily number in nearly three months, data from the health ministry showed.

The total number of cases of Covid-19 in India have risen to 29.9 million and so far 386,713 people have died. Deaths rose by 1,576 overnight. 

Reuters

June 20 2021 - 07:15

Delta Covid variant takes hold in UK and Russia

The coronavirus variant known as Delta is becoming an increasing concern for governments. In the United Kingdom, up to 90 percent of new cases are linked to the highly infectious variant that was first identified in India.

And it is being blamed for infections in Moscow tripling in just two weeks. Health officials warn it could become the dominant variant in Europe within months.

June 20 2021 - 07:00

Newborn baby survives Covid-19 in ICU

She’s only a month old, but Aurora Wileman has fought Covid along with the rest of her family — and survived.

Just two weeks after she was born at home in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, the infant was admitted to the local Netcare Linmed Hospital on May 25.

Her mother, Angie Wells, tested positive, but the baby tested negative and spent three days in hospital before being discharged.

June 20 2021 - 06:30

With the third wave in full swing, doctors fear being overwhelmed

Gauteng doctors, swamped by skyrocketing Covid-19 infections, are bracing for the worst as SA's third wave sees them battling staff, bed and even personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages.

The province's health system has come under increasing pressure after the closure of Johannesburg's Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in April, which took 1,000 general beds and 100 intensive care unit (ICU) beds out of action.

June 20 2021 - 06:15

The government must show it is serious about containing third wave

The resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic, signalled by a dramatic increase in the number of infections and a steady climb in the death rate, is something that should surprise none of us.

Even as the pandemic's last wave subsided earlier in the year, experts warned that SA faced the possibility, even certainty, of another Covid surge unless steps were taken to fundamentally contain and change the course of the disease.

Experts warned that a return to reasonable normality would ultimately be achieved once the majority of the population had developed immunity, mainly through mass vaccination.

June 20 2021 - 06:00

Class rotation 'a disaster for kids' futures', says experts

While teacher unions have welcomed the decision to keep schools open as the vaccination of teachers gets under way next week, education experts have warned that the rotational attendance of pupils is "a disaster that is going to have long-term, significant negative consequences for children".