COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 166 new Covid-19 related deaths

15 September 2021 - 05:30 By TimesLIVE

September 15 2021 - 19:36

'Sustained downward trend' in Covid-19, says NICD, as 4,667 new cases recorded in 24 hours

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases said on Wednesday that the number of new Covid-19 infections across the country was showing a “sustained downward trend”.

This as 4,667 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 2,869,201 to date. The positivity rate for new cases was also below 10%, at 9.6%.

There were 166 Covid-19 related deaths in the past day, bringing total fatalities to 85,468 to date.

September 15 2021 - 16:54

Criminal charges for Dis-Chem staff over 'fraudulent' Covid-19 vaccination cards

Pharmacy chain Dis-Chem has confirmed an isolated incident of fraudulent vaccination cards being issued at its Krugersdorp President Square vaccination site.

Four temporary employees have been arrested and criminally charged relating to the incident.

Dis-Chem said in a statement that it had rigorous checks and balances to prevent such incidents — including that stock and administered jabs are linked to the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) — and that it acted swiftly and decisively when a discrepancy was found.

September 15 2021 - 16:52

Lawyers called in over officials implicated in school sanitising scandal

The Gauteng education department has turned to lawyers to figure out exactly how to implement recommendations from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) on its officials implicated in a R431m Covid-19 school decontamination scandal.

The department on Monday received a preliminary report from the SIU after its lengthy investigation into inflated costs for cleaning contaminated schools in the province.

While Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi on Tuesday told eNCA that “heads will roll” within 23 hours, on Wednesday the department said that it had consulted lawyers about the report.

September 15 2021 - 15:06

Human Rights Commission 'expects objections' to vaccine passports

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is expecting to receive complaints about the Covid-19 vaccination passports the government is considering to enable access to certain venues.

“We are anticipating that we will receive complaints. How we intervene will depend on how the passport will be used,” said SAHRC chairperson Prof Bongani Majola.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday the health department was considering implementing vaccine passports to be shown when entering certain events and venues.

September 15 2021 - 14:49

Treasury seeks more than R32bn to address impact of July unrest and Covid-19

The National Treasury is asking parliament to consider approving a bill seeking urgent additional funding allocations of more than R32bn to address the impact of unrest in July and the Covid-19 pandemic for the 2021/22 financial year.

The funding is expected to be distributed to, among other entities, the SA Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria), which could be liable for claims of up to R20bn after the unrest in July.

The unrest wreaked havoc in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. It claimed more than 300 lives and resulted in extensive damage to infrastructure, including 161 malls, 11 warehouses, eight factories, 200 shopping centres (about 3,000 stores were looted), 11 liquor outlets and 113 communication infrastructure incidents.

September 15 2021 - 11:22

'He's campaigning' - John Steenhuisen slammed for mandatory vaccination comments

DA leader John Steenhuisen has come under fire online after his comments on government making Covid-19 vaccines mandatory.

Steenhuisen, who was reacting to President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent address, said the DA does not support mandatory vaccinations by the government.

“I think government would be making a terrible mistake if it was to make vaccines mandatory, because they will be infringing on people's rights,” said Steenhuisen.

“I believe in the freedom of choice and it's every person's right to decide what they will or will not do with their own bodies. I don't think it's a government's right to tell people what they shall or shall not do with their bodies,” he added.

September 15 2021 - 11:20

Malema says R350 grant is not enough - 'beneficiaries must be exempted from paying for water and electricity'

The R350 social relief of distress grant is not enough to sustain the poor, said EFF leader Julius Malema during a community meeting in Sebokeng.

Malema said the government should be paying the poor more, but acknowledged that social grants should not be a permanent solution.

He said the Sassa grants were not enough, as the poor are also expected to pay for basic services like water and electricity.

September 15 2021 - 11:11

I’ve just been vaccinated, so why did I test positive for Covid-19?

You recently received the Covid-19 vaccine but take a test and find you are positive for the coronavirus. What happened?

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, “the vaccine will not cause a positive Covid-19 test result”.

Instead it suggests that person was most likely in the incubation period of Covid-19 infection when they were vaccinated.

September 15 2021 - 10:42

Nine reasons why your R350 Covid-19 social relief of distress grant may be declined

The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) has listed several reasons why applications for the R350 social relief of distress grant may be declined by the agency.

This comes after more than 3.7-million applications were declined for August.

During his national address on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said out of the 13-million applications, 8.3-million were approved and payments have started to recipients.