COVID-19 WRAP | SA has administered a little over 17-million vaccines

29 September 2021 - 05:30

By TimesLIVE

September 29 2021 - 19:33

SA breaches 2.9-million confirmed Covid-19 cases, as 2,100 new infections recorded in 24 hours

SA recorded 2,106 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, meaning that there have now been more than 2.9-million infections confirmed in the country since the outbreak of the coronavirus in March last year.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Wednesday that the new cases came at a positivity rate - the number of confirmed cases against the number of tests done in the same period - of 4.6%.

KwaZulu-Natal continues to be the province with the most new daily cases recorded, with 626 confirmed infections in the past 24 hours.

September 29 2021 - 14:41

Legal action looms over Shembe march in Durban

Members of the Ebuhleni faction of the Nazareth Baptist Church could face legal action after a march which saw thousands of congregants descend on Durban's CBD on Tuesday.

On Wednesday police spokesperson Col Thembeka Mbele confirmed that a docket had been opened at the Durban Central police station for contravening Disaster Management Act regulations.

Mbele said the matter was under investigation and could not confirm whether anyone had been arrested.

September 29 2021 - 13:50

Super-spreader or righteous march? Mzansi split over Shembe congregants ‘walk for peace’

Durban’s city centre was turned white on Tuesday when congregants of the Nazareth Baptist Church descended for a “peace walk”, sparking fierce debate on social media.

Thousands of members of the church’s eBuhleni faction marched in support of their preferred leader, Mduduzi Shembe.

The church has been rocked by a long-standing succession battle after the death of Shembe’s father Vimbeni. The bitter fight went all the way to the Constitutional Court. In June the apex court dismissed Shembe’s grant for leave to appeal an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

September 29 2021 - 13:48

How do I know if my mask is good enough to protect me?

Wearing a mask in public is required by law and is meant to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, but how do you know if the mask you are wearing is good enough?

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) “masks help prevent the transmission of Covid-19 by stopping the spread of respiratory droplets when people talk, sneeze or cough”.

While the N95 masks used by doctors and nurses add additional protection for healthcare workers, cloth masks are recommended for the public.

September 29 2021 - 06:14

SA's TB burden continues to grow as Covid-19 gets all the attention

Tuberculosis, which remains the leading cause of deaths in SA, is on the rise. And, to make matters worse, there is little hope of ending it in the next nine years, as envisaged by the UN, largely thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has taken attention away from the “orphan disease”.

According to the latest report by an international organisation the Stop TB Partnership, during the coronavirus pandemic TB funding was slashed by more than half. This means that at least 1.2-million people either weren't diagnosed with, or treated for, TB. With four months still left this year, the number is expected to rise further.

In 2020, only 5.7-million people received treatment for TB, a drop of 21% from the previous year — leaving an estimated 4.3-million people with untreated TB and spelling death for probably half that number.