Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as well as France’s President Emmanuel Macron, called for more vaccines for Africa while speaking during the Global Citizens Festival on Saturday 25 September. Harry and Meghan, on stage in New York, also gave their support for the waiving of intellectual property (IP) rights around the production of Covid-19 vaccines […]

South Africa has now surpassed the eight million mark for adults who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. According to the Department of Health, the country administered 178 685 COVID-19 jabs in the past 24 hours, of which 100 853 people were fully jabbed. This brings the total number of administered doses to 16 358 076, […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will address a virtual Global COVID-19 Summit on Wednesday evening, at the invitation of United States President Joe Biden. The theme of the summit is ‘Ending the Pandemic and Building Better Health Security to Prepare for the Next’. The summit, according to the Presidency, envisages agreement by leaders on four […]

More than 60 people, most of whom were homeless, queued at the U-turn Homeless Service Centre in Claremont to receive a hot meal after getting their single-jab Johnson and Johnson vaccine against Covid-19 this weekend… By Marecia Damons. More than 60 mostly homeless people were vaccinated at the U-turn Homeless Service Centre in Claremont. The […]

No South African has died from the COVID-19 jab, according to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHRPA) which continues to investigate the safety of vaccines. National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee (NISEC) Chairperson, Professor Hannelie Meyer, made the announcement during a webinar on self-reporting of side effects or adverse events. Meyer said SAHPRA and […]

South Africa will move from Adjusted Level 3 to Adjusted Level 2, with effect from Monday 13 September, it was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in a ‘family meeting’ tonight, as the President addressed the nation. Adjusted Level 2 means that: Curfew will now start at 11pm and end at 4am. The President reiterated the […]

Vaccinated South Africans are likely to be issued with digital vaccination certificates within a week or so, according to SA’s Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla. In a series of tweets on Twitter, Bhekisisa Chief Editor Mia Malan broke the news. Those who have been vaccinated will be able to upload their certificates onto smart phones […]

The Northern Cape Department of Education has raised concern about the amount of learning losses as new COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the province’s schools. At least 1 272 cases of the virus have been reported since 23 August to date with several schools closed and learning delayed in the province. In a statement, […]

A new Covid-19 variant C.1.2, has been identified in South Africa. This SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest (VOI) is of concern as it is associated with increased transmissibility, neutralisation resistance and disease severity, according to recently published research. It was identified in SA in May, and is now in another 10 countries. According to the US […]

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) said it has finalised the investigation of the 32 people who allegedly died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. “To date, investigations for 32 death cases have been completed and causality assessment concluded, of which 28 were coincidental to vaccination,” SAHPRA explained. According to the drug watchdog, this […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination programme is expected to increase drastically following Cabinet’s approval for the vaccination of people aged between 18 and 35 years from tomorrow, Friday 20 August 2021. Cabinet said it had received a report from the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) indicating that over nine million vaccines have been administered in South […]

The health department’s official Covid death toll for 2020 was 28,500. But this is less than half the actual Covid death toll for last year, Medical Research Council (MRC) and University of Cape Town (UCT) researchers explain in an article published in June. The official data, by and large, only include confirmed Covid deaths in hospitals. The […]

Health workers at Groote Schuur have given fascinating insight into how one of the biggest and most famous hospitals in the country adapted to the unprecedented demands of the Covid-19 pandemic… writes James Stent.  Professor Lance Michell and colleagues have published a paper in the Southern African Journal of Critical Care explaining how the intensive […]

South Africa has recorded 13 263 new COVID-19 cases overnight. This increase represents a 22.3% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 423 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 73 415 to date. A total of 15 031 457 tests have been conducted in both public and […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout programme, outlined by the Ministry of Health, had three phases, starting with the most vulnerable population. Phase one included all the frontline healthcare workers. They received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Phase 2 vaccinated people over 60 years old and those in congregate settings. The third and final phase, now […]

Award-winning Botswana actor and producer Shona Ferguson – born Aaron Arthur Ferguson – has sadly passed away at the age of 47. The dual Botswana / South African citizen had apparently been admitted to hospital in Johannesburg over a week ago, suffering Covid-19 complications. He reportedly underwent heart surgery at Milpark Private Hospital, and was […]

Saudi Arabian citizens who travel to South Africa, or transit through the country, will face a three-year travel ban, the Saudi government is reported to have announced on Tuesday. The ban will apply to anyone who travels to a country on Saudi Arabia’s ‘red list’. The Saudi ‘Red List’ countries currently include SA, Afghanistan, Argentina, […]

After a weekend in hospital fighting Covid-19, News24 journalist Karyn Maughan announced this morning that she is to be discharged today. She credited the first vaccine dose she has received for helping protect her from the worst. On Friday, she had tweeted: “I have tested positive for Covid 19. Hope that the vaccine will protect […]

Young South Africans will return to school tomorrow and restrictions on the sale of alcohol will be eased, as President Cyril Ramaphosa tonight announced the country is moving from Adjusted Alert Level 4 to Adjusted Alert Level 3, with immediate effect as soon as it is gazetted this evening. The President said since he spoke […]

It’s not just some South Africans who are fed up with restrictions related to Covid-19. Several protests have taken place around the world today – Saturday 24 July – including in London (UK), Paris (France) and Sydney (Australia). The close proximity of people to each other, with many not wearing masks, was criticised by many. After […]

Well known South African legal journalist Karyn Maughan has tweeted a message from hospital, asking for prayers as she battles Covid-19. Karyn, who currently reports for News24, wrote at around 17h00 on Friday: “I have tested positive for Covid 19. Hope that the vaccine will protect me from the worst of this. Am in hospital. […]

South Africa’s state-backed vaccine manufacturer Biovac is to start making the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the second half of next year. This will be a first for Africa. The company plans to be producing at least 100 million doses annually from 2023. Pfizer made the announcement on their website today (Wed 21 July). The collaboration between […]

Ahead of the 2010 World Cup there were billboards all over South Africa which shouted, “the waiting is over”. After what had seemed an eternity, the first match exploded into life. The sideshows and build-up were quickly consigned to history… writes GARY LEMKE in Tokyo. On Thursday, South Africa’s men’s under-23s go into battle against hosts […]

South Africa has reported three positive cases of Covid-19 amongst its team at the Olympic Village in Tokyo. Team Manager Mxolisi Sibam said in a SAFA (South African Football Association) press release on Sunday that “we have three positive cases of COVID-19 in the camp here, two players and an official”. The two football players […]

South Africa detected 11 182 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, while 220 more people succumbed to the illness. The country now has 2 206 781 laboratory-confirmed infections and 64 509 deaths, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said. Of the latest cases, 50% of were recorded in Gauteng (5 614), 11% in the Western Cape (1 225), 9% […]