COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 7,338 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours

08 September 2021 - 06:15

By TimesLIVE

September 09 2021 - 19:49

Third wave over in Gauteng and Limpopo, says NICD, as SA records 7,338 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours

SA is on its way towards the end of the third wave of Covid-19 infections, but that doesn't mean there is room for complacency.

That was the message from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Wednesday as it released the country's latest coronavirus statistics.

The institute said there were 7,338 new Covid-19 cases and 253 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 2,836,773 and fatalities to 84,152 to date.

September 09 2021 - 12:42

No jab, no consult: Mpumalanga doctor's stance sees unvaccinated patients inoculating against Covid-19

“I was tired of seeing my patients die, that’s why I came up with that notice.” These are the words of Dr Tafara Machiri of Mbombela in Mpumalanga, who displayed a notice at his practice that he would no longer be seeing unvaccinated patients.

“After seeing about five patients die due to Covid-19-related complications between June and August, all of whom were unvaccinated and were eligible to receive the vaccine, I told myself that I need to do something,” he said.

After failing to convince the majority of his patients to get the vaccine, the doctor said he realised that he needed to come up with a plan that would motivate them to get vaccinated.

September 09 2021 - 12:40

Is alert level 2 on the cards? Here’s why SA thinks it might be

The decline in daily Covid-19 infections and a meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and provincial leaders on Tuesday has left many speculating over the easing of lockdown regulations.

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said he suggested the government lowers the lockdown restrictions to enable economic recovery. He also called for the scrapping of the state of disaster and speeding up the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines.

“We’re coming off the peak and my motivation is that we need to lower the lockdown regulations. We need to modernise and need a better recording system once we have had our vaccine. We need to be able to have it on an app. If you go for a test, the results should also be shown on the app,” he said.

September 08 2021 - 09:01

Declined for the R350 grant? Here’s why and how to appeal

As the SA Social Service Agency (Sassa) rolls out the R350 social relief of distress (SDR) grants to approved beneficiaries, some are still struggling with the application process.

Some applications are rejected if they reflect the applicant is owed a UIF payment that is pending, is a beneficiary of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) or if they are employed, except this is not true for many.

“I can’t believe you declined my application based on the internship that ended long ago. If your system is that authentic, it must be able to trace the contract period and termination date. Otherwise you are disadvantaging the most deserving people who try every day to get jobs,” wrote Twitter user @BonganiMajolall.

September 08 2021 - 08:25

Medical and dental deans call for compulsory vaccination of health science students

The SA Committee of Medical Deans (Sacomd) and the SA Committee of Dental Deans (Sacodd) have called for the compulsory vaccination of all health science students and the general healthcare workforce against Covid-19.

The committees, which represent higher education institutions that educate SA’s health workforce, said the move would “advance the efforts to curtail the spread of the coronavirus among our communities and limit the impact it may have of significant disease”.

“The further critical protection vaccination will afford is for dental healthcare workers and students exposed to high-level aerosol-generating procedures.

September 08 2021 - 07:00

I am fully vaccinated, where can I travel to?

Fully vaxxed and ready to put a fresh stamp on your passport? Well, get packing.

To date 35 countries, including Dubai, France, Germany, Costa Rica and Monaco, have eased their restrictions to fully vaccinated South Africans.

According to the travel guide website Sherpa, which developed a mapping tool showing Covid-19 travel restrictions in effect around the world, in the 35 countries Covid-19 testing or quarantine is not required upon arrival.

September 08 2021 - 06:20

Full alcohol bans effective, partial bans less so: research shows

A full alcohol ban is more effective in reducing trauma cases, while partial restrictions do not help much, a study by the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Stellenbosch University (SU) has found.

According to their research, fewer trauma cases were reported during lockdown levels with an alcohol ban in place compared to periods where alcohol sales were only restricted.

“A higher proportion of trauma cases were children and a shift towards more presentations during weekdays and office-hours was noticed. Fewer assaults occurred during periods where alcohol sales were banned, mainly due to a decrease in trauma from a sharp object.

September 08 2021 - 06:15

This is what the Covid world will end up being like ... and it’s not too bad

Israel has been the world’s laboratory during much of the Covid era. It was the first country to achieve mass inoculations, first to add a booster to the two-shot regimen of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine and first to broaden inoculation to children who are 12 and over. By the start of its summer, it appeared to be on the way to becoming the first country to achieve herd immunity.

And yet Israel now has the world’s highest rolling weekly average of new Covid cases. That’s been something of a shock and begs the question of whether the country’s pandemic plan has worked. While the news may look grim, and the government has been scrambling to respond, the reality is more prosaic: Israel hasn’t defeated the virus, but it has probably redefined what success against the virus looks like. It’s a messy reality, but not an intolerable one.