COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 6,270 new Covid-19 cases

09 September 2021 - 06:10

By TimesLIVE

September 09 2021 - 17:11

'We are pleading with you, not forcing you': Mabuza urges North West residents to get Covid-19 jabs

Deputy President David Mabuza spent Thursday conducting an oversight visit in the Bojanala district in the North West, where he canvassed citizens to get vaccinated.

“We are pleading with you, not forcing you,” said Mabuza, answering a question from a resident who quizzed him on what would happen if she decided not to get the Covid-19 jab.

Mabuza, who is the government’s leader of the interministerial committee on Covid-19, conducted a walkabout in communities in the Rustenburg, Kgetleng and Madibeng municipalities, visiting a local mall, taxi rank and TVET college.

September 09 2021 - 16:31

Sassa shuts down 'no vaccine, no R350 grant' claims

The SA Social Service Agency (Sassa) has shut down claims that those who have not been vaccinated will miss out on the R350 social relief of distress (SDR) grant.

The grant was reintroduced to provide assistance to people “in dire material need who are unable to meet their families’ most basic needs”, including those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and unrest in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

More than 12-million people have applied for the R350 grant, with millions receiving their first payment in the latest cycle.

September 09 2021 - 16:08

SA set for eased lockdown restrictions as new infections slow

The government is preparing to ease restrictions that were imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus after a sustained slowdown in new infections.

Larger public gatherings are likely to be permitted, making it easier for political parties to campaign for upcoming municipal elections, according to two people with knowledge of the deliberations within government, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Alcohol trading hours are set to be extended and a night-time curfew will probably be shortened, they said.

September 09 2021 - 16:07

'We must continue to safeguard lives and livelihoods,' Ramaphosa tells Brics summit

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged leaders at the 13th Brics summit to work together to ensure equal access to Covid-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.

“The pandemic has reinforced our belief that representative multilateralism is key to a sustainable future for all,” said Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa, who is the AU champion on Covid-19, made the remarks on Thursday during the virtual 13th Brics Summit, convened by India.

September 09 2021 - 15:47

Sinovac to trial Covid-19 vaccine in South African children in global study

China's Sinovac Biotech will trial its Covid-19 vaccine in children and adolescents in South Africa as part of a global Phase III study, Sinovac and local partner Numolux Group said on Thursday.

The study will evaluate the efficacy, immunogenicity and safety of the CoronaVac vaccine on children and adolescents, aged 6 months to 17 years, the firms said in a statement.

The global trial will enroll 14,000 participants across Chile, the Philippines, Malaysia, Kenya, including 2,000 in South Africa, they said.

September 09 2021 - 14:45

Covid-19 hits Gauteng residents hard as more people lose their jobs: survey

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns have hit Gauteng hard and forced households to adapt.

This is one of the observations made from the Gauteng City-Region Observatory's (GCRO) Quality of Life Survey 2020-21.

GCRO is a partnership of the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, the Gauteng provincial government and organised local government in the province. One of the largest and longest-running social surveys in SA, it is conducted biennially, through face-to-face interviews.

September 09 2021 - 13:20

What the data says: 98% of over 60s who died were not vaccinated

Stats from a seven-day period in the Western Cape have shown how the unvaccinated are putting themselves at major risk of death.

According to data presented by Dr Saadiq Kariem, chief of operations in the Western Cape department of health, 98.3% of deaths in those over 60 were among the unvaccinated.

Covid-19 hospital admissions in that age group were 96% unvaccinated and only 4% vaccinated. Of the overall cases in that age group, 92% were among the unvaccinated.

September 09 2021 - 13:10

Vaccine status checks and price hikes as Sanlam manages huge Covid bill, limits virus-related losses

Sanlam has paid out R22bn in death claims since the start of last year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of this, R8bn was paid in the first half of this year in SA alone, the group said on Thursday, presenting its half-year results.

Santam also continued to settle contingent business interruption (CBI) claims and paid R700m to policyholders in addition to the R1bn paid in interim relief in August last year, bringing the total CBI payments to R1.7bn at the end of August this year.

September 09 2021 - 12:24

Singapore to ease Covid-19 restrictions for migrant workers

Singapore said on Thursday it will start easing movement restrictions for migrant workers living in dormitories from next week, more than a year after the curbs were imposed due to a surge in infections in their often cramped quarters.

The announcement by the manpower ministry came after more than 90% of the workers in dormitories were fully vaccinated, higher than Singapore's overall vaccination rate at 81%, which is one of the highest in the world.

Up to 500 vaccinated migrant workers will be allowed to visit pre-identified public locations for six hours each week. They are required to take a rapid Covid-19 antigen test before and three days after, the ministry said in a statement, adding it would evaluate the pilot scheme after a month.

September 09 2021 - 11:50

Fire in North Macedonian Covid-19 hospital kills at least 14

Fourteen people were killed and 12 seriously injured when a fire broke out in a makeshift hospital for Covid-19 patients in the North Macedonian town of Tetovo late on Wednesday, the Balkan country's health ministry said on Thursday.

The prosecutor's office said DNA analyses would be needed to identify some of the victims, all of them patients in a serious condition. No medical staff were among the victims.

The total of 26 patients were accommodated in the Covid-19 hospital at the time of the fire, said Health Minister Venko Filipce.

September 09 2021 - 10:22

What will the festive season be like this year? David Mabuza says it depends on vaccinations

Deputy President David Mabuza says the ball is in your court regarding this year's festive season.

On Wednesday, Mabuza launched the government’s mass vaccination campaign “Return to play - It’s in your hands” in Johannesburg, ahead of December's festivities.

The social mobilisation programme calls on all citizens to play their part by vaccinating to reduce the rate of infections, hospitalisation and deaths.

September 09 2021 - 09:26

Pro-China social media campaign expands to new countries, blames US for Covid-19

A misinformation campaign on social media in support of Chinese government interests has expanded to new languages and platforms, and it even tried to get people to show up to protests in the US, researchers said on Wednesday.

Experts at security company FireEye and Alphabet’s Google said the operation was identified in 2019 as running hundreds of accounts in English and Chinese aimed at discrediting the Hong Kong democracy movement. The effort has broadened its mission and spread from Twitter, Facebook and Google to thousands of handles on dozens of sites around the world.

This expansion suggests Chinese interests have made a deeper commitment to the sort of international propaganda techniques Russia has used for several years, experts said.

September 09 2021 - 07:50

If I have Covid-19 when getting my second jab, will it affect the vaccine efficacy?

While no conclusive studies have been done on how effective the vaccine is if a person takes one while suffering from Covid-19, Dr Marlin McKay says it may lead to a worsening of symptoms and/or lower count of antibodies being developed. Still, he urges people not showing symptoms to get vaccinated.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, a division of the national health laboratory service, the SA government has chosen to wait an interval of 42 days between the first and second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

It typically takes two weeks after vaccination for the body to build immunity against Covid-19.

September 09 2021 - 06:45

US FDA declines emergency use approval for Humanigen's Covid-19 drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined Humanigen Inc's request for emergency use authorization of its lenzilumab drug to treat newly hospitalized Covid-19 patients, the company said on Thursday.

"In its letter, FDA stated that it was unable to conclude that the known and potential benefits of lenzilumab outweigh the known and potential risks of its use as a treatment for Covid-19," the company said in a statement.

Reuters

September 09 2021 - 06:30

Sydney pubs set for mid-Oct reopening cheer under roadmap to Covid lockdown exit

Sydney's cafes, restaurants and pubs are set to reopen in the second half of October after months of strict Covid-19 lockdown, according to an exit roadmap published by New South Wales state officials on Thursday.

They said bars and eateries, as well as gyms, across the city of five million people will be able to reopen at reduced capacity within days of the state reaching a 70% double-vaccination target, now expected around mid-October.

Stay-at-home orders for the fully vaccinated will be lifted on the Monday after the target is achieved, the officials said.

The plans come as daily infections linger near record levels in New South Wales (NSW) amid a spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, with the state registering 1,405 new local cases on Thursday, down from 1,480 a day earlier. Five new deaths were recorded.

"Living with Covid means you have a cautious and staged reopening once you get to those high rates of vaccination in your adult population," NSW state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said during a media briefing in Sydney, the state capital.

Australia's Covid numbers are far lower than in many other countries, with just over 68,000 cases and 1,066 deaths. Increased vaccination levels have kept the death rate at 0.41% in the Delta outbreak, data shows, below previous outbreaks.