COVID-19 WRAP | Gauteng records nearly 1,400 of SA's 4,500 new Covid-19 cases: NICD

January 26 2022 - 19:27

Gauteng records nearly 1,400 of SA's 4,500 new Covid-19 cases: NICD

SA recorded just more than 4,500 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, with nearly 1,400 of them in Gauteng.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases said on Wednesday that there were 4,514 new Covid-19 cases identified across SA.

Of the new cases, 1,376 were in Gauteng, 645 were in the Western Cape and 567 were in KwaZulu-Natal. No other province had more than 500 cases recorded in the past 24 hours.

January 26 2022 - 17:41

SANDF returned controversially procured 'Covid-19 drug' to Cuba, MPs told

The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) on Wednesday confirmed that it has returned 500,000 vials of the Heberon interferon alpha-2B Covid-19 drug to Cuba.

This follows instructions and recommendations by a ministerial task team and the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) on the illegal procurement of the drug which cost the taxpayer millions of rand.

January 26 2022 - 17:20

DA launches court action to compel full-time schooling

The regulations which prevent some children from attending school every day of the week are unconstitutional as they unjustifiably limit the rights to basic education, a child’s best interest and equality.

The DA made this submission in an application filed before the high court in Pretoria on Wednesday in which it seeks to compel schools to open fully, immediately.

The party said more than 80% of South African schools are still operating on a rotational basis, whereby each child attends school half the time, on alternate days or weeks.

January 26 2022 - 16:31

Johannesburg woman's dismissal for refusing to take Covid-19 jab is justified, says CCMA

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has ruled that the dismissal of a woman for refusing to get vaccinated is justified.

Theresa Mulderij of Johannesburg worked as a business-related and training officer at Goldrush Group. She had been working for the company since 2018 and earned R13,000 a month at the time of her dismissal.

January 26 2022 - 14:01

Covid-19 supplies stolen at Western Cape schools over the holidays

The Western Cape education department recorded 41 burglary and vandalism incidents at schools during the December holidays.

“Most of the incidents were minor, with just two major incidents being reported,” said education MEC Debbie Schäfer. 

The tally was a “significant decrease in comparison to the 59 incidents reported during the December 2020/January 2021 holidays, bearing in mind that the 2020/2021 holiday was much longer”.  

January 26 2022 - 09:57

Japan set to miss booster target as Omicron muddles rollout plan

Japan is set to miss a target to give Covid-19 booster shots to almost 15 million people this month after the fast spread of the omicron variant threw initial rollout plans into disarray. 

About 2.6 million people had received their third dose as of Tuesday, about 18% of the target for January, according to government figures. Japan so far limits its booster program to healthcare workers and the elderly, meaning just 2.1% of the total population have had the latest shot, the lowest ratio among developed nations, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. 

January 26 2022 - 08:24

Pfizer, BioNTech start testing Omicron vaccine

Pfizer and BioNTech said they started a clinical trial to test a new version of their vaccine specifically designed to target the Covid-19 Omicron variant

January 26 2022 - 07:00

How should I dispose of my mask to prevent the spread of Covid-19?

Wearing a mask in public is crucial to prevent the spread of Covid-19, but how do you make sure you are not putting others at risk of contracting the coronavirus when throwing away your mask? 

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 cloth masks can be used multiple times, provided they are washed after every use, disposable masks must be thrown away after use.

January 26 2022 - 06:15

US Covid deaths climb as cases drop

Even as Covid-19 cases drop and hospitalizations show signs of plateauing in hard-hit pockets of the United States, the still-rising death toll from the Omicron variant highlights the trail of loss that follows every virus surge.

January 26 2022 - 06:00

Covid-19 kept them at bay, but shark attacks on the rise again

After three consecutive years of being on the decline, the number of shark bites globally picked up in 2021, with 73 unprovoked incidents. 

Data published this week by the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File (Isaf) also included 39 provoked shark bites and nine fatalities.

The number of unprovoked bites in 2021 aligns with the five-year global average of 72 annually but is in stark contrast to the 52 confirmed bites recorded in 2020, which were the lowest documented in more than a decade.

While the exact cause of the reversal is unclear, Isaf manager Tyler Bowling attributes a portion of the trend to beach closures associated with Covid-19 restrictions.