COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 520 new Covid-19 cases

October 21  2021 - 19:24

Covid-19: 520 cases, 81 deaths recorded in SA in 24 hours

There were 520 Covid-19 cases and 81 deaths recorded across SA in the past 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said on Thursday.

This means that there have been 2,918,366 cases and 88,835 deaths recorded to date.

Of the new cases, only KwaZulu-Natal had triple-figure infections, with exactly 100 recorded. Next was the Western Cape (89 cases) and Gauteng (74).

October 21  2021 - 13:00

New Covid-19 outbreak on Gold Coast 

South-east Queensland is on edge tonight, with a new Covid-19 outbreak on the Gold Coast. A man has been infectious for up to ten days, but authorities don't know where he's been.  

October 21  2021 - 12:00

Could Coronavirus Cancel Christmas? Doctors React To Rise In Daily Cases  

The Government has no current plans to implement its Plan B for tackling coronavirus, the Health Secretary has said but repeated his warning that Covid-19 cases could reach 100,000 a day as the country enters a ‘challenging winter period’.

October 21  2021 - 11:00

Elections during Covid-19: Bring your own pen and don’t forget the mask!

The Electoral Commission (IEC) has issued a list of rules voters should follow when they take to the polls on November 1.  

According to the IEC, these rules are aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 and keeping the public safe while casting their votes. 

They come after the IEC said it won’t impose a vaccine mandate on registered voters. 

“Rumour has it that you need to be vaccinated to vote in the local government elections. The truth is you do not need to produce a vaccination certificate or be vaccinated to vote,” the IEC said on its social media page.

October 21  2021 - 10:30

US FDA clears Moderna and J&J boosters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and said Americans can choose a different shot from their original inoculation as a booster.

October 21  2021 - 10:00

Brazil's Bolsonaro should face charges for Covid pandemic: Senate inquiry

An investigation into the Brazilian government's Covid-19 response has pointed the finger of blame at President Jair Bolsonaro.

The report by a Senate panel recommended that he face criminal charges including "crimes against humanity".

The parliamentary inquiry has also remonstrated 67 other people, including Bolsonaro's three eldest sons and four of his cabinet ministers. The Brazilian president seemed indifferent to the draft report, which still needs to be voted on by a Senate committee.

October 21  2021 - 09:00

Russia reports cases of more contagious Covid-19 variant 

Russia has reported some Covid-19 infections with a new coronavirus variant believed to be even more contagious than the Delta one, the RIA news agency said on Thursday.

It is possible that the AY.4.2 variant will spread widely, RIA quoted the state consumer watchdog's senior researcher Kamil Khafizov as saying.

That could cause the rate of new Covid-19 cases, already at record highs in Russia, to rise even further.

The new variant could even replace Delta eventually, although the process is likely to be slow, he said.

President Vladimir Putin this week approved a government proposal for a week-long workplace shutdown at the start of November, after coronavirus-related deaths across Russia in the past 24 hours hit yet another daily record of 1,028 on Wednesday, with 34,073 new infections. 

Reuters

October 21  2021 - 08:00

US coronavirus vaccine donations reach 200m doses

The United States, under pressure to share its coronavirus vaccine supply with the rest of the world, has now donated 200 million doses to more than 100 countries, the White House announced on Thursday.

President Joe Biden has faced some criticism from other world leaders for offering vaccine booster shots in the United States at a time when many people around the world have not received their first shot.

In recent weeks, the United States has stepped up its donations. Biden told Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta last week that the United States will make a one-time donation of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union.

"As of today, the United States has successfully donated and delivered 200 million Covid-19 vaccines to more than 100 countries around the world," the White House said in a statement to mark the milestone.

The statement said the United States and the international COVAX vaccine-sharing programme would follow through over the next year on commitments to donate more than 1 billion doses to needy countries.

"These vaccines will help save lives, protect livelihoods, and heal economies currently battered by this pandemic," the White House said.

Reuters

October 21  2021 - 07:00

My child is getting vaccinated — what documents should they bring?

Children aged between 12 and 17 years who have registered for the Covid-19 vaccine are required to bring their birth certificates with registration numbers, passport numbers or ID documents which will be captured on the EVDS system. 

The vaccination of the age group began on Wednesday, with children receiving one dose of the Pfizer vaccine

The department has urged parents and legal guardians to support their children and provide any necessary assistance.

It recommended that health workers provide information about the vaccine by discussing the risks and benefits associated with vaccination. 

October 21  2021 - 06:15

Out of Covid chaos comes opportunity

In 2020, the economy fell into a sharp recession, leading to huge loss of income for households and businesses. Unfortunately, many lives have been lost, nearly 90,000 cumulatively since the pandemic started. A year on, the mood is improving, albeit not in a straight line, as demonstrated by diverging confidence levels. In the recent Cape Town CCID’s State of Cape Town Central City Report 2020 — A Year in Review, we pointed out that it’ll take collaboration and creativity to equip business owners with the support, skills and will to weather the remaining storm.

Importantly, though, the South African economy is expected to exit the recession, supported by high terms of trade (though this may have peaked), accommodative monetary policy, a buoyant global economy and low base effect. However, the economy is expected to return to the pre-pandemic level in 2022. Even so, the recovery is good news for the business sector and households. Recently, the daily rates of infections plunged, officially marking the end of the third wave, and this paved the way for the Covid-19 command team to relax restrictions to alert level 1. Covid-19 had devastating effects on society and businesses, and the impact will be long-lasting.

October 21  2021 - 06:00

Pfizer jab lowers infection risk by 93% in adolescents, Israelis find

The launch of vaccinations for 12- to 17-year-olds on Wednesday coincided with new findings that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine significantly decreases symptomatic Covid-19 in adolescents.

The three-month study in Israel, an early leader in Covid-19 vaccinations, involved almost 189,000 adolescents, equally split between vaccinated and unvaccinated.

The study, between July and September, coincided with Israel’s fourth wave of Covid-19 infections, during which the Delta variant was the dominant strain — as it is in SA.