The perception of time is a psychological phenomenon, meaning external factors can modify the way we experience it. For example, time may seem to fly by when we’re in good company, whereas if we’re somewhere we don’t want to be, it may appear too slow. The COVID pandemic was a source of psychological stress globally, […]

Progressive Health Forum recommends South Africans get Covid booster vaccines ahead of the winter season, especially people over 50 years. Health Forum urges people to get Covid vaccine booster shots, especially those above 50. Image: iStock/(IDA) READ MORE: WHO declares COVID-19 global health emergency over, but pandemic not over The Progressive Health Forum said while […]

South Africa’s Department of Health and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) will no longer issue the daily numbers of COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions and deaths due to a decrease in SARS-CoV-2 levels. It will instead be issued on a weekly basis. The department and the NICD had been reporting COVID-19 surveillance data on […]

A total of 56 769 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the last 24 hours in South Africa, including 14 409 Johnson & Johnson vaccines and 42 360 Pfizer vaccines. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) report on Tuesday, the vaccines administered in the last 24 hours included 20 063 first doses, […]

South Africa could be entering a fifth COVID-19 infection wave, Health Minister Joe Phaahla announced on Friday. He said there has been a sustained rise in infections over the past 14 days. Speaking at a news conference, Phaahla said that the increase in cases was originating mainly in Gauteng (49%), KwaZulu-Natal (23%) and Western Cape […]

South Africa has in the past 24 hours recorded 1 954 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 764 865. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said this increase represents a 19.3% positivity rate. “The majority of new cases today [Monday] are from Gauteng (55%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (23%). Western Cape accounted […]

South Africa’s national state of disaster is to finally end. In a #FamilyMeeting on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the State of Disaster – which was put in place over two years ago in response to Covid-19 – will end tonight (4 April) at midnight SA time. Read the president’s full speech below. The […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the easing of several restrictions, including Travel, as part of Adjusted Alert Level 1, which will take effect tomorrow (Wed 23 March) once they’re gazetted. Travel industry organisations welcomed the announcement, saying tonight that the PCR test removal for inbound vaccinated travellers will be a major boost for South Africa’s […]

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde is one of many South Africans today who have condemned the government’s decision to extend the State of Disaster, which has already been in place for two years. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, yesterday gazetted a further extension of the National State of Disaster […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged South Africans to go out in their numbers and get their booster COVID-19 shots as the country has not yet defeated the pandemic. He said the COVID-19 virus is still very much with us and therefore everyone should get vaccinated as well as have their booster shots. “If you have already […]

South Africa is reducing the interval between first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine, along with other changes, the Department of Health announced today. The department said the modifications have been guided by scientific evidence, and are part of ongoing efforts to increase the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa where it […]

The voice of South Africa’s hospitality industry – FEDHASA – has issued a call to the SA government to remove the compulsory PCR test required for inbound international and returning South African travellers who are fully vaccinated. Whilst welcoming last night’s announcement on the reduction in Covid-19 restrictions in South Africa (including isolation no longer […]

The South African Cabinet has approved changes to the Adjusted Alert Level 1 COVID-19 regulations as South Africa has exited the fourth wave nationally. Based on the trajectory of the pandemic and the levels of vaccination in the country, Cabinet has decided to make changes to Adjusted Alert Level 1 with immediate effect. With the […]

In the short time since the omicron variant was identified in South Africa in November 2021, researchers have quickly learned that it has three unique characteristics: It spreads efficiently and quickly, it generally causes milder disease than previous variants and it may confer strong protection against other variants such as delta. By Prakash Nagarkatti, University […]

South Africa recorded 2 597 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 3 559 230 since the outbreak. The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape after 721 people tested positive, followed by 602 in Gauteng, 547 in KwaZulu-Natal, 167 in the Eastern Cape, 129 in the […]

A new study has shown that the Omicron wave in the Western Cape was much less deadly than previous waves, owing to vaccination, high rates of past infection in the community, and reduced risk of severe disease and death owing to the variant itself. Over 5,000 adult Covid patients were surveyed during one month of the fourth […]

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has Gazetted the extension of the National State of Disaster on COVID-19 until 15 February 2022. In a statement, the Ministry on Friday said the extension took into account the need to continue augmenting the existing legislation and contingency arrangements undertaken by organs of state […]

The Gauteng province has officially exited the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with the rest of South Africa’s provinces already having reached their peak and on a steady decline. Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla announced the good news during the department’s first COVID-19 briefing of the year. “Of note is that the decline in […]

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia has cancelled tennis legend Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time. The government said on Friday that Djokovic, who has not been vaccinated against Covid-19, may pose a health risk. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to again cancel the 34-year-old’s visa, after a court quashed an earlier revocation over […]

A South African pulmonologist, Anita Graham, said on Thursday (January 13) that she was still seeing serious COVID-19 disease in people who are unvaccinated or have co-morbidities during the current infection wave being driven by the Omicron variant. “We are still seeing very serious infections and admissions in patients who are unvaccinated and also in […]

South Africa has recorded 6 762 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hour reporting cycle, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 540 891. According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), this increase represents a 15.5% positivity rate. A further 181 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 92 830 to date. “The […]

Tourism Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, has welcomed the lifting of travel bans to Southern Africa by the European Union (EU), but said the damage has already been done and it comes after peak tourism season. On Monday, EU states agreed to lift the travel bans, which were imposed following the onset of the COIVD-19 Omicron variant. […]

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) says South Africa recorded at least 4 482 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 3 526 054. A further 82 deaths as a result of complications related to the virus have also been recorded. This brings the total number of people who […]

In the final days of 2021 the South African government eased its COVID regulations. On December 30th the government scrapped a curfew that had been in place since March 2020. It also initially announced an easing around quarantines and contact tracing but subsequently reversed these plans. Nevertheless, its approach sets a new trend in how […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 cases have now surpassed 3.5 million after 9 860 people tested positive on Thursday across the country. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), this means there are now 3 504 554 confirmed cases since the outbreak, representing a 21% positivity rate. Data shows that the Western Cape recorded the […]