COVID-19 WRAP | SA records nearly 300 new Covid-19 related deaths

September 07 2021 - 20:15

SA records 5,372 new Covid-19 cases and 282 deaths in 24 hours

SA recorded 5,372 Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, along with 282 coronavirus-related fatalities.

This means that there have been 2,829,435 total cases to date and 83,899 deaths, according to the latest NICD figures.

Of the new cases, KwaZulu-Natal was still the worst-hit with 1,348 confirmed new infections. The Eastern Cape recorded 1,287, the Western Cape 948, the Free State 581 and Gauteng 457.

September 07 2021 - 17:48

Covid-19 infographic showing vaccine benefits ‘definitely not fake news’, says Groote Schuur Hospital

An infographic published on Monday by Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town showing the number of vaccinated versus unvaccinated patients currently in its wards is real, the hospital says.

“It’s definitely not fake news,” said hospital spokesperson Alaric Jacobs.

Jacobs declined to comment further, saying the province was preparing a similar infographic to show Covid-19 admissions in Western Cape hospitals.

September 07 2021 - 13:58

Government exploring incentives to encourage vaccine uptake, easing of lockdown level 3 mooted

The government wants to use incentives to encourage vaccination uptake. It is also looking at relaxing the restrictions on off-site alcohol sales, according to highly-placed sources.

A source, who was part of the president's co-ordinating council [PCC] meeting on Tuesday, told TimesLIVE the government tabled a proposal in which it said it wants to explore using vaccination records to allow fully vaccinated people to access activities and amenities.

Other proposals include relaxing current restrictions on sales of alcohol for off-site consumption and a return to normal operating hours for the alcohol industry.

The source said the government is also set to increase the number of people allowed at outdoor venues from 100 to 250 and 100 for indoor venues from 50.

The curfew will be pushed back to between 11pm and 4am, said the source.

September 07 2021 - 13:29

Get Covid-19 vaccine or please quit, Zimbabwe tells government workers

Government workers in Zimbabwe who do not want to be vaccinated against Covid-19 should resign, its justice minister said on Tuesday. 

The southern African nation has so far vaccinated 2.7 million people, against a target of inoculating two-thirds of its 15 million population by the end of the year. President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government says it has paid for 12 million Covid-19 doses from China.

Ziyambi Ziyambi said while Zimbabweans would not be forced to get vaccinated, those in the public service had a responsibility to protect the public by getting Covid-19 shots.

September 07 2021 - 13:00

Indonesia approves J&J, Cansino Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use

Indonesia has approved the single-dose Covid-19 vaccines produced by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, part of Johnson & Johnson, and China's CanSino Biological Inc for emergency use, the country's food and drug agency said in a statement on Tuesday. 

Reuters

September 07 2021 - 12:39

Vaccination rates surge in Sydney's hard-hit suburbs as cases dip

Covid-19 daily infections in Sydney fell for a third straight day on Tuesday but still lingered near record levels as the outbreak spurred a spike in vaccination rates in the hard-hit western suburbs of Australia's largest city.

September 07 2021 - 11:15

Employer body Neasa says vaccination should be employee’s choice

The decision to be vaccinated or not remains the prerogative of an employee who should not be forced to make a choice between an infringement of a right to bodily integrity and retaining his or her livelihood.

September 07 2021 - 10:02

‘Why should I vaccinate if it won’t prevent death?’ - Here's why some are so hesitant to get the jab

Johannesburg based general practitioner Dr Hillary Mukudu says vaccine hesitancy and Covid-19 denialism are not uncommon.

September 07 2021 - 07:30

Gutted by Covid, Buenos Aires rethinks its downtown

Argentina's picturesque and famously lively capital has faced a reckoning since the coronavirus hit last year and city officials are trying to reimagine how to revive businesses in downtown commercial zones.

September 07 2021 - 07:05

Where are the majority of new Covid-19 cases?

KwaZulu-Natal has again registered the highest number of daily Covid-19 infections in SA, according to statistics for the past 24-hour cycle. 

The national health department reported 4,118 new cases in SA with 1,163 from the province.

The Eastern Cape had the second-highest number of infections with 1,005; followed by Free State with 484 and the Western Cape with 434 cases. 

“The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (28%), followed by Eastern Cape (24%). Free State accounted for 12%; Western Cape 11%; and Northern Cape 9%," said the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Monday. 

September 07 2021 - 06:20

India reports 31,222 new Covid-19 cases; deaths rise by 290

India reported 31,222 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, a government statement said on Tuesday, taking the total to 33.1 million.

Daily deaths rose by 290 to 441,042.

Reuters

September 07 2021 - 06:10

Vaccination rates surge in Sydney's hard-hit suburbs as cases dip

Covid-19 daily infections in Sydney fell for a third straight day on Tuesday but still lingered near record levels as the outbreak spurred a spike in vaccination rates in the hard-hit western suburbs of Australia's largest city.

Officials have promised residents in Sydney, the epicenter of Australia's worst coronavirus flare-up, more freedom once vaccinations reach first 70%, then 80%, as a lockdown now into its eleventh week fails to quash the Delta variant.

"Don't be left behind when we start opening up. When we open up at 70% double dose, it will be only for those who are vaccinated," New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at a media briefing in Sydney, the state capital.

More than 80% of adults in the three worst-affected local council areas in the city's west have had at least one dose, officials said, much higher than 74% for the state as a whole and the national average of 63%.

Reuters

September 07 2021 - 06:00

PODCAST | The whole truth and nothing but on vaccines and ivermectin

Prof Helen Rees, whose job is making sure what we put in our bodies is right for our bodies, tells us the unvarnished facts