COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 1,853 Covid-19 cases and 43 deaths in 24 hours: NICD

March 03 2022 - 19:54

SA records 1,853 Covid-19 cases and 43 deaths in 24 hours: NICD

There were 1,853 new Covid-19 cases recorded across SA in the past 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Thursday.

Of the new cases, the most were in Gauteng (650), followed by the Western Cape (420) and KwaZulu-Natal (369).

This brings to 3,679,539 the total number of infections across SA since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.

March 03 2022 - 18:44

Lockdown tobacco ban was justified, government tells Supreme Court

The tobacco ban during lockdown level three was justifiable under the constitution, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) heard on Thursday.

The court was hearing an appeal against the December 2020 judgment of the Western Cape High Court, which found that the tobacco ban had breached a number of human rights under the constitution and that the ban was unlawful because it was not “necessary” to prevent an escalation or to alleviate the effects of the disaster, as required by the Disaster Management Act.

March 03 2022 - 13:50

WHO sees little impact on Covid-19 vaccine supplies to Africa from Ukraine war

The World Health Organization does not expect any immediate impact on vaccine supply to Africa from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, senior officials on the continent said on Thursday.

Russia's Sputnik vaccines are part of an effort by wealthier countries to plug the Covid-19 vaccine gap in Africa, but so far they remain a minimal component of imports to the continent.

Russia's invasion entered its second week on Thursday and there are concerns that the focus on the war could interrupt vaccine shipments to Africa.

Richard Mihigo, the programme area manager for WHO Africa, told a weekly online news conference that Russia's Sputnik Covid-19 vaccines were a minimal component of imports to the continent.

"In the short term, there will be very little impact on the vaccine supply overall in the region," Mihigo said.

"We need to look at the mid- to long-term impact of this military offensive, and the economic sanctions - it is very difficult to say (now what the effect will be)."Only 13% of Africans are fully vaccinated, lagging most of the rest of the world. 

Reuters

March 03 2022 - 13:00

Covid vaccine passport rules to be lifted in France on March 14 - BFM TV

Rules requiring people to show a Covid-19 vaccine passport to access venues will be lifted in France on March 14, reported BFM TV, as the country gradually eases Covid health protocols amid signs that the fifth wave of the virus is receeding in France. 

Reuters

March 03 2022 - 11:00

Euro zone business growth accelerated in February as Omicron faded -PMI

Business activity across the euro zone accelerated sharply last month as demand soared, particularly in the bloc's dominant services industry, according to a survey mostly conducted before Russia invaded Ukraine.

As the Omicron coronavirus variant swept across Europe earlier this year, many governments reimposed restrictions. But most of those curbs have been eased.

IHS Markit's final Composite Purchasing Managers' Index, seen as good gauge of overall economic health, climbed to a five-month high of 55.5 in February from 52.3 in January.

However, that was below the 55.8 preliminary estimate which contained 82% of replies and was published on Feb. 21 - before the Russian invasion.

"The survey data for February depict a euro zone economy that was regaining robust growth momentum ahead of the invasion of Ukraine," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit."

Business activity accelerated to a pace commensurate with GDP growth in excess of 0.6%, buoyed by a relaxation of virus restrictions.

"As restrictions were eased consumers returned to restaurants, bars and other services while also buying manufactured goods, so the composite new business index climbed to 55.6 from 52.7, its highest since September.

A PMI for the services industry bounced to 55.5 from 51.1, well above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction but below an initial 55.8 estimate.

Manufacturing growth in the bloc waned slightly last month but activity was still strong and supply chain constraints eased, a sister survey showed on Tuesday, although factories and consumers faced soaring prices.

Services firms had to bear input costs rising at the fastest rate since the survey began in mid-1998 and increased their prices at a record pace. The output prices index rose to 58.8 from 57.9.Inflation soared to a record high 5.8% last month, official preliminary data showed on Wednesday, almost triple the European Central Bank's 2.0% target.

That will likely intensify a policy dilemma for ECB policymakers when they meet next week, needing to convey a sense of calm amid war-related market turmoil but also responding to mounting price pressures.

"With inflation risks rising and growth prospects waning, the Ukraine conflict adds to business and household headwinds for the coming months, and exacerbates the difficult juggling act of the ECB in controlling inflation while sustaining a robust economic recovery," Williamson said. 

Reuters 

March 03 2022 - 10:23

Hong Kong reports 56,827 Covid-19 cases, new record daily high

Hong Kong reported a record daily high of 56,827 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday and 144 deaths, as a worsening outbreak overwhelms healthcare facilities and sees authorities scramble to contain cases in the Asian financial centre. 

Reuters

March 03 2022 - 09:25

South Korean PM tests positive for Covid as infections surge

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, his office said, as daily infections hit unprecedented levels this week, driven by the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Kim has steered anti-virus efforts, holding regular meetings with officials and experts, and visiting medical and educational facilities to check quarantine work and promote vaccination.

"He was coughing a bit this morning but is now only having mild cold symptoms," an official at his office told Reuters.

He had begun receiving treatment at home and the intra-agency anti-virus meetings would be temporarily led by other officials, his office said in a statement.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 198,803 new Covid cases as of midnight Wednesday, a day after the daily tallies hit a record of 219,241.

Daily deaths rose to a record 128, for a total of 8,394, and serious cases surged to 766, compared with about 300 two weeks ago.

South Korea has largely been a Covid mitigation success story, with 3,691,488 infections among its 52 million population and a relatively low death rate.

But health officials estimated that the current wave of infections will go on and peak at about 330,000 daily cases by mid-March. 

Reuters

March 03 2022 - 07:00

Is SA moving towards a Covid-19 recovery period?

Wits University’s Prof Shabir Madhi says SA is moving towards a Covid-19 recovery phase after battling the pandemic for two years since the first case was confirmed in March 2020.  

Madhi unpacked a recently published study that looked at the seropositivity (the percentage of people who have antibodies to the virus) against Sars-CoV2, a virus that causes Covid-19, before the fourth wave dominated by the Omicron variant. 

Madhi says the study was conducted in Gauteng and samples were taken from 7,000 people. They show that among people under 12 years of age, none of whom had received a Covid-19 vaccine, 56% showed the presence of antibodies to the virus.

March 03 2022 - 06:10

White House readies Covid-19 roadmap for future

White House outlines new strategy to fight Covid-19, including an initiative that allows Americans to get tested at a pharmacy and get free antiviral pills if they test positive.

March 03 2022 - 06:00