I have spent quite some time documenting the spread of the deadly Coronavirus, as well as the communities’ response to the lockdown… writes Durban photographer Kierran Allen (who is covering the Lockdown in Durban for SAPeople, with authorisation from SAPS). There are two very different takes on it: and I have witnessed both with my […]

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says it is pleased to announce that 16 South Africans who were stranded in Dubai and Doha, respectively, have been successfully repatriated back to South Africa.   They arrived yesterday, 02 April 2020, following the announcement by the President of the relaxation of the restrictions to allow South […]

One of the world’s leading news broadcasters, the BBC, has praised South Africa for its “ruthless efficiency” in fighting the coronavirus, and for its “formidable leadership”. “South Africa seems to have acted faster, more efficiently, and more ruthlessly than many other countries around the world,” says the BBC, stating that more than 47,000 have been […]

A singing doctor in America is taking the world by storm, and in a way his inspiration to help people all started with a trip to South Africa a few years ago… which left him feeling “unstoppable”. Dr Elvis Francois (his name really is Elvis!) posted a video a couple of weeks ago from Rochester […]

South African photojournalist Tom Brown, who is usually based between India and South Africa, ventured out into Tshwane on Wednesday to bring SAPeople readers a snapshot of the city under lockdown. (Tom is an accredited photographer with permission to carry out this assignment during lockdown.) Pick n’ Pay are putting up perspex screens to safeguard […]

What a wonderful world it is… as people all over the planet join together separately to create videos like this. John Foreman’s Aussie Pops Orchestra posted this video on YouTube and said: “While we’re all staying at home, the talented musicians of the Aussie Pops Orchestra, together with some amazing Australian artists, have phoned in […]

The short dragon movie “Zog,” animated by Cape Town’s Triggerfish and voiced by famous actors of film and TV like “Game of Thrones” Kit Harington, has won the International Emmy for Best Kids Animation. The 27-minute short film, produced by Magic Light Pictures and co-directed by South African Daniel Snaddon (“Stick Man”) and two-time Oscar […]

As South Africa enters Day 7 of a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, Eskom has announced that it will double maintenance work at its plants. “With the COVID-19 national lockdown in full effect, Eskom has experienced a significant reduction in demand for electricity. “Electricity usage has dropped by between 7 500MW and 9 000MW since the lockdown […]

Although the major banks in South Africa have announced they are offering payment relief to their loyal business and personal customers suffering during Lockdown, a video has been going viral on social media in which it is pointed out that using this approximate three-month “payment holiday” (April to June) may not be necessary if you […]

A dusting of snow may fall on the highest-peaks of the central and southern Drakensberg this afternoon, and more snow may be on the horizon for Easter, according to the team at Snow Report SA. “Last year SnowReportSA forecast snow for April and the forecast proved to be correct, with some wonderful photographs being sent […]

Ironman Europe has taken to social media to highlight the incredible achievement of a South African woman who  ran 316 laps at home (along with swimming and cyling) in her determination to raise money for a friend’s wheelchair, no matter what. On Sunday 29 March, Charlotte Raubenheimer was meant to line up at Hobie Beach […]

The first planeload of foreign nationals being repatriated back to their homeland has taken off from South Africa, following Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s announcement yesterday that amendments would be made to the Lockdown regulations, allowing for the repatriation of foreigners back to their countries, and of South African citizens and residents abroad, back home on […]

Mary Oppenheimer-Slack, the daughter of former Anglo American chairman Harry Oppenheimer, and her daughters have contributed R1 billion to the Solidarity Fund created to fight the spread of the Coronavirus in South Africa. “We join all South Africans in expressing our profound hope that, together, we can overcome this grave challenge to South Africa and […]

Welcome to the Lock Up/Down Cartoon. As we are going to be cooped up at home for the next few weeks, Piet Frans (aka Pieter Kruger) has decided we should still try have some fun. Kruger is a former lawyer who spent 13 years in The Hague prosecuting war criminals at the Yugoslav War Crimes […]

South Africans stranded abroad will be allowed to fly home, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has confirmed at a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon. At the same briefing, DIRCO Minister Naledi Pandor asked those South Africans abroad who are not stranded or distressed to please consider rather remaining where they are. She said that data collected […]

The petrol price in South Africa will come down by between R1.88 and R1.76 a litre inland in South Africa… although as some are saying “The drop in petrol price during the Lockdown is like a bald man winning a hairbrush” ? The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced a R1.88 cent decrease in […]

For South Africans stranded abroad, and their distraught families back home, there is hope… as DIRCO, the DA and other organisations – including SAPeople – work together like never before in what is now “truly an SA Project”. In an exclusive interview on Tuesday morning, DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Darren Bergman, […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Monday, Day 4 of the unprecedented 21-day Lockdown in the country to fight the Coronavirus 19 COVID-pandemic. He reassured those South Africans abroad that he is aware of their plight, and told South Africans back home that a major new testing and screening drive is about to be […]

The Motsepe Family has – in partnership with companies and organisations they’re associated with – pledged R1-billion to assist with the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its related challenges to South Africa and the African Continent. The companies and organisations involved in the pledge include: Motsepe Foundation, Sanlam, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) […]

The best of humanity – and South Africa – has been on show from a rooftop in Hout Bay! This weekend Just Jinger’s Ard Matthews entertained the folk in Hout Bay, Western Cape… and all those around South Africa and the world who watched the live streaming, or have seen the videos which are going […]

South African High Commission and Embassy staff around the world have been working all weekend – many in foreign countries on lockdown themselves, working from home – to do all they can to help the South Africans who have found themselves stranded abroad. “Her Excellency Ms Tembi Tambo, the SA High Commissioner in the UK […]

The South African High Commission in Sri Lanka has confirmed that plans being arranged by the SA Honorary Consul in the Maldives, for a chartered flight for stranded South Africans to be flown back home to South Africa, are legitimate. The SA High Commissioner’s Deputy Johannes van Niekerk confirmed that the SA’s Honorary Consul Mohamed […]

The lockdown in South Africa, put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, mean most people are house-bound. Self-isolation means far fewer opportunities to be physically active if you are used to walking or cycling for transportation and doing leisure time sports. But equally worryingly, the home environment also offers abundant opportunity to be […]

British performer Stephen Ridley – aka The Talented Mr Ridley – has produced a poignant video that is going viral around the world. It’s a cover of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ – with some lines that touch close to home, in the time of coronavirus. The video is made even more moving by the fact that […]

South African students who were repatriated to South Africa from Wuhan City, in China, will finally be making their way home to their families on Monday, after spending 14 days in quarantine at a resort in the Limpopo province. The SA Government said plans are underway to reunite the 114 South African citizens with their […]