It’s hard to imagine a time when “coronavirus” wasn’t a household word. But for a long time, this family of viruses had merited very little attention. Believed to be ubiquitous among animals and avian species, the first coronavirus to infect and cause disease in humans was only isolated and identified in the 1960s. Seven human […]

Japanese scientists at Kyoto Prefectural University have developed a ground-breaking face mask – utilising antibodies extracted from ostrich eggs – that enables an easy way to identify if someone has contracted Covid-19. According to Kyodo News, the team said in a press release that the masks glow when they’re exposed to ultraviolet light IF they […]

The Gauteng Provincial Government is gearing up for the worst-case scenario as the second wave of COVID-19 infections rears its ugly head in the province. Addressing the media on Tuesday, Premier David Makhura said Gauteng is now the second most affected province in the country in terms of active Coronavirus cases after KwaZulu-Natal. The province […]

The number of detected COVID-19 cases has risen to 759 658 after 2 514 infections were reported by the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, on Thursday. A further 115 people succumbed to the novel Coronavirus, which pushes the death toll to 20 671 since the outbreak. The Eastern Cape logged the highest number of additional deaths […]

South Africa recorded 1 712 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, pushing the tally to 730 548 since the outbreak. Meanwhile, there are 46 more COVID-19 fatalities, which brings the death toll to 19 585. Of the latest deaths, 24 are from the Eastern Cape, nine from Gauteng, five from KwaZulu-Natal, four from the Western Cape, three from […]

ANC Chief Whip Honourable Pemmy Majodina was informed last evening, Sunday 18 October 2020 that South Africa’s Minister of Health, Dr Zwelini Mkhize (Khabazela) and his spouse, Dr May Mkhize have both tested positive for Covid-19. Minister Zwelini Mkhize is in self–quarantine as a precautionary measure whilst his wife Dr May Mkhize has been admitted […]

A vaccine against COVID-19 is urgently needed if we’re to stop the virus spreading and prevent potentially millions of further deaths. We’re now one step closer to that goal. Yesterday, we published early results from our clinical trial of the vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (also known as AZD1222), designed by the University of Oxford and developed […]

The adjustments to the 2020 budget partly cushion the initial blow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s lockdown. But the relief is only temporary and measures to contain the growth in debt will bite hard in years to come. Some cried wolf about austerity budgets in South Africa after the global financial crisis in […]

Crises bring out the the best and worst of politicians and populations. Folly, fear and fortitude are on display everywhere. In the main, democracies have fared better than non-democracies in handling the coronavirus pandemic… writes Lawrence Hamilton from the  University of the Witwatersrand. But the record is very varied indeed. What explains this? What can […]

There are now 40,792 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa as of 4 June 2020, according to the Department of Health. This is an increase of 3,267 cases in the past 24 hours. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said: “As of today, the cumulative number of confirmed #COVID19 is 40 792, the total number of […]

South Africa’s confirmed COVID-19 cases now stand at 16 433 with 475 071 tests having been conducted. In a statement on Monday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said of the 475 071 tests conducted, 14 198 tests had been conducted in the last 24-hours. South Africa also reported a further 22 COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the total number of deaths […]

Evidence is building around the world that elderly people are the most vulnerable group in the COVID-19 pandemic. They are more likely to develop severe symptoms and to die from this viral disease, especially if they have other medical conditions like heart disease or high blood pressure. Globally, the death rate from COVID-19 increases most […]

South Africans “celebrate” Freedom Day through gritted teeth, with a wry smile and an acute sense of irony, this year. Many, if not most, will be lamenting the loss of freedom due to the COVID-19 lockdown. For most professionals, there will be no public holiday, since days slide seamlessly into one another, punctuated only by […]

South Africa now has 4 220 confirmed Coronavirus cases, with four new deaths. The Department of Health on Friday said the four deaths were recorded in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (two in each province). This brings the total number of deaths to 79. The Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has conveyed condolences to […]

South Africa has recorded 318 new COVID-19 cases, with the total number of confirmed cases at 3 953 as of Thursday. The country has also reported 10 new deaths – with the Western Cape recording six deaths, KwaZulu-Natal two deaths and Gauteng and the Eastern Cape have each recorded one death. This brings the number […]

Numbers tell stories. Usually, stories of people – often happy stories, like births, marriages, finishing school, getting a degree, getting a job. Even paying taxes. Sometimes they tell sad stories – death, divorce, disease, liquidations. Statistics do not provide a cold or inanimate way of dealing with the world – they are one key part […]

Albert Camus was a 20th century French Algerian thinker who won the Nobel Prize for his literary works. These days it is his novel The Plague that has naturally been receiving attention. In this essay I instead consider what Camus’ philosophical classic, The Myth of Sisyphus, reveals about the status of our lives with COVID-19. […]

Here’s a powerful video message, edited by South African filmmaker Michael Odendaal… to Coronavirus. Michael, who owns Mode Productions 17, told SAPeople he created the video after feeling “incredibly inspired by President Ramaphosa’s address to the nation just before Easter”. He added: “I am overall just inspired by the people in our country and I […]

The South African Government says it is “very concerned and alarmed” at the announcement by President Donald Trump to cut funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) with immediate effect. This comes as the global number of people with coronavirus surpasses 2 million. “South Africa is particularly alarmed that the decision is made amid a […]

The Surgeon General of the South African National Defence Force says the SANDF has recorded its first four positive cases of the COVID-19. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Surgeon General said three of the cases were in the Western Cape, while the fourth was recorded in Gauteng. “None of these members are uniformed […]

In the second week of March the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. By mid-March the disease had spread rapidly in many countries around the world. Governments are taking drastic steps, including the complete lockdown of cities, as well as extensive health interventions to try and stem the disease which is caused by […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 related deaths have risen to 18. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced the latest Coronavirus figure on Wednesday, after five more deaths were sadly recorded. As at 8 April, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stands at 1,845. This is an increase of 96 from the previously reported cases. Gauteng leads with […]

On Monday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa rose to 1 686 – an increase of 31 from the previously reported cases, with one new death reported. Gauteng still leads the pack with the highest number of cases at 713, followed by the Western Cape at 462 and KwaZulu-Natal with 257. […]

Dear Family and Friends, On an early morning emergency dash to collect supplies I was anxious about venturing out and what I would see. It was Day 5 of Zimbabwe’s 21-day Coronavirus lockdown and I knew that by now people who live hand to mouth and eke out a living selling fruit and vegetables from […]

Tributes have poured in for award-winning scientist Professor Gita Ramjee, who passed away on Tuesday in an Umhlanga hospital in KZN, South Africa, from the novel Coronavirus COVID-19. According to local reports, Prof Ramjee had complications arising from asthma and pneumonia. Her sister Asmita Parashar, who is based in India, said on Twitter: “My sister, the […]