COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 13,025 new Covid-19 cases

July 30 2021 - 20:09

Majority of latest Covid-19 cases from Western Cape

The majority of new Covid-19 cases, for the second day in a row, have been recorded in the Western Cape.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said in an update on Friday evening that 13,025 new Covid-19 cases had been identified in SA.

July 30 2021 - 16:33

Shona Ferguson has died of Covid-19 related complications

Ferguson Films co-founder Shona Ferguson has died, TshisaLIVE confirmed on Friday afternoon.

The actor and husband to actress Connie Ferguson died at the Milpark private hospital in Johannesburg.

In a statement sent to TshisaLIVE, the family confirmed that Ferguson died from Covid-19 related complication and not heart problems as earlier reported.

July 30 2021 - 11:22

KwaZulu-Natal yet to see increase in Covid-19 numbers after unrest, looting

KwaZulu-Natal says is yet to see the impact on the number of Covid-19 infections following the violent unrest and looting that led to scores of people being killed and damaged infrastructure worth billions of rand.

“The unrest in the province has not shown a different picture. We have been getting fluctuating figures,” said provincial health department head Dr Sandile Tshabalala.

The department had anticipated a sharp increase in the number of infections following the riots and looting.

July 30 2021 - 10:35

Security complex withdraws enforced Covid-19 vaccination rule after SAHRC steps in

A bid to make Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory for security guards living at a lifestyle estate in Gauteng has been foiled due to the intervention of the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).

The SAHRC said it held “fruitful talks” with the Bondev Property Management Company on Thursday.

A circular had been issued to security guards at the Midstream Estate Barracks in the City of Ekurhuleni, who live in communal living quarters at the estate.

July 30 2021 - 10:27

Vaccine shortages ‘a thing of the past’ as deliveries flood into SA

The past week was “not a good one” in terms of vaccines as supply constraints marred the rollout.

But the health department said on Friday that SA now has a bountiful supply and a pipeline that will last until the end of the year.

The biggest batch about to land is a Covax donation to the country of 5,660,460 doses of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine that will arrive between Saturday and Tuesday, on top of a further 1,556,100 doses that were purchased.

July 30 2021 - 09:38

Biden pushes cash reward to get vaccinated, new rules for federal workers

President Joe Biden on Thursday urged local governments to pay people to get vaccinated against Covid-19, and set new rules requiring federal workers to provide proof of vaccination or face regular testing, mask mandates and travel restrictions.

The measures are Biden's latest attempt to spur reluctant Americans to get vaccinated as the Delta variant of the coronavirus surges nationwide, infecting unvaccinated people in particular.

The United States lags other developed countries in vaccination rates, despite having plenty of free vaccines on hand. White House efforts to urge the hesitant to get vaccinated have hit a wall of anti-vaccine sentiment, misinformation, and political division.

July 30 2021 - 07:45

RECORDED | Acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi gives update on Covid-19 and vaccine rollout plan

July 30 2021 - 07:00

Which vitamins are most effective to help fight Covid-19?

Taking vitamin supplements in the time of Covid-19 could be beneficial to one's health, but they neither cure nor prevent the virus, says Johannesburg-based general practitioner Dr Marlin McKay. 

July 30 2021 - 06:15

India reports 44,230 new Covid-19 cases, overall tally at 31.57m

India reported on Friday 44,230 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, government data showed.

The nationwide tally of infections reached 31.57 million, according to the health ministry.

The country reported 555 deaths overnight, taking the overall tally to 423,217 fatalities, data showed.

Reuters

July 30 2021 - 06:10

‘Mass fatalities are putting Africa on brink of collapse. We need help, now’

“Mass fatalities from Covid-19 have begun in Africa,” writes Dr Mosoka Fallah, the former director-general of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, in the journal Nature this week.

By Thursday, the Africa CDC reported that 167,181 people had died of Covid-19 — the death rate has gone up 17% during the past month — and 6,6-million had been infected.

A third wave of infections is being experienced by 31 African countries (56%), with Botswana and Ghana among the latest to be hit by rising numbers.

But as Fallah’s article reveals, the numbers don’t give the full story.

July 30 2021 - 06:00

Covid-19 anti-vaxxers face being hit with increased Discovery premiums

Refusal to be vaccinated will be treated similarly to smoking or lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, says insurer