COVID-19 WRAP | 11,754 new cases in SA, 84 more deaths

December 31 2021 - 19:10

NICD reports 193,104 active cases of Covid-19 ahead of New Year's Eve

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported 11,754 new cases in an update posted on Friday.

This brings the total number of laboratory confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic in SA to 3,458,286.

The positivity rate was recorded as 27.2%.

December 31 2021 - 17:25

'Someone check on Bheki Cele': Mzansi reacts to lifting of lockdown curfew

South Africans have taken to Twitter to welcome the cabinet's decision tolift the Covid-19 curfew before New Year's Eve.

The curfew has been in place since the start of the lockdown in March 2020 to curb the spread of the virus. 

On Thursday, the presidency said it decided to ease the restrictions because of the vaccination rollout and capacity in the health system. 

December 31 2021 - 16:40

Russia faces lost decade after its deadliest month of pandemic

November was Russia’s deadliest month of the Covid-19 pandemic, deepening a demographic crisis that President Vladimir Putin says is a threat to the country’s future.

There were a record 87,527 deaths associated with the virus last month, according to data released by the Federal Statistics Service late Thursday. That was a 16% increase over the previous month, and raised total fatalities linked to Covid-19 in Russia to more than 625,000 since the start of the pandemic. 

“Life expectancy in Russia has regressed by a decade,” said Vera Karpova, a demographer at Moscow State University, who estimates Covid-19 has cut more than three years off the average lifespan to under 70. “The last time life expectancy was 70 was in 2012.” – Bloomberg

December 31 2021 - 16:00

'Can we go watch football now?' - Calls for government to open stadiums

There have been renewed calls for sports stadiums to be opened to spectators after the government scrapped the Covid-19 curfew on Thursday evening. The decision to scrap the curfew follows a special cabinet meeting on Thursday.

While many celebrated the move, others wanted the limits on live sports revised. On social media, many said they were ready to attend live sports events in stadiums and asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to “do the right thing”.

December 31 2021 - 15:48

Morocco's tough Covid-19 restrictions hammer tourism sector

Businesses working in Morocco's key tourism sector say the country's tough Covid-19 restrictions, including a full flight ban, are undermining its competitiveness compared to rival destinations.

Morocco shut its borders in late November and will only reopen them at the end of January. It has also banned new year celebrations and is enforcing its vaccine pass requirements more strictly in response to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

“These restrictions are unjustified and they have made Morocco lose tourists to Mediterranean competitors such as Egypt and Turkey,” said Lahcen Zelmat, head of Morocco's hotel federation. – Reuters

December 31 2021 - 15:30

Sinovac Covid-19 shots with Pfizer booster 'less effective against Omicron'

Sinovac's two-dose Covid-19 vaccine followed by a booster Pfizer-BioNTech shot showed a lower immune response against the Omicron variant compared with other strains, according to a study by researchers.

The study, which has not been peer-reviewed yet, was conducted by researchers from Yale University, the Dominican Republic's ministry of health and other institutions.

The Sinovac two-dose regimen along with the Pfizer shot produced an antibody response similar to a two-dose mRNA vaccine, according to the study. Antibody levels against Omicron were 6.3-fold lower when compared with the ancestral variant and 2.7-fold lower when compared with Delta. – Reuters

December 31 2021 - 15:25

UK approves Pfizer Covid-19 pill

Britain's medicines regulator on Friday approved Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 pill, Paxlovid, for people over the age of 18 with mild to moderate illness who are at high risk of developing severe Covid-19. – Reuters

December 31 2021 - 14:01

Hosts Cameroon report four Covid-19 cases on eve of Nations Cup

Cameroon's football federation said four of their players have tested positive for Covid-19, with the Africa Cup of Nations hosts set to kick off the tournament against Burkina Faso in just over a week's time.

Pierre Kunde Malong, Jean Efala, Michael Ngadeu Ngadjui and Christian Bassogog had been under observation since Wednesday due to "strong suspicions" and will continue to quarantine apart from the group, the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) said on Thursday. – Reuters

December 31 2021 - 13:41

The curfew may be lifted but we're still in a pandemic state of disaster

Despite the Covid-19 curfew being lifted on Thursday, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele says the state of disaster will remain in place.

Gungubele was speaking at a virtual briefing to media on Friday. “Cabinet intended to lift the curfew, our hope is that the curfew should stay lifted. The biggest challenge is in balancing the livelihood of the country and saving lives,” he said.

“According to experts, the Omicron wave has reached its peak and clinical manifestation has not caused any alarm in hospitals, so conditions allow that we lift curfew.”

December 31 2021 - 11:51

Curfew lifting: Calls for vaccinations and responsible conduct join praise

The tourism and hospitality sectors, among those that have been most affected by the Covid-19 lockdown due to restrictions on their trading hours, have welcomed the lifting of the curfew before New Year's Eve. 

Rosemary Anderson, Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) chairperson, said the midnight to 4am curfew had hampered operations without any proof that it reduced the spread of the virus: "Lifting the curfew will make a substantial economic difference to many hospitality businesses.

"Beyond the early closing of bars, restaurants and nightclubs, curfews meant that lodge, hotel and resort guests were forced into their rooms at midnight even though they were ‘technically’ at home. The curfew restricted them from going for a late-night walk in the gardens, swimming in the hotel pool at midnight or indulging any of the facilities resorts provide, such as gambling, having a meal, and so on."

December 31 2021 - 10:35

Approved for the R350 grant? Here's when you can collect your money

Beneficiaries of the R350 Covid-19 social relief of distress grant can expect to receive their first 2022 payment from January 10 after payments of the disability and elderly grants. 

The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) said older persons' grants will be paid from January 4 and disability grants from January 5. This includes other grant payments linked to these beneficiaries.

December 31 2021 - 08:30

Scientists break ground on Omicron's effect on vaccines and boosters

A wave of panic swept over SA and the globe when the Omicron variant was recently announced along with news that mutations at the spike protein might affect the efficacy of existing vaccines.

But this week, two important studies revealed their findings.

The first study has shown that a booster dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which officially had a single dose regimen in SA, is 84% effective at preventing hospitalisation.

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