For all official information and updates regarding COVID-19, visit the South African Department of Health's website at www.sacoronavirus.co.za

Home » Articles Posted by Dinilohlanga Mekuto

Author Archives: Dinilohlanga Mekuto

0 Comments
Correctional Services reports 69 new COVID19 cases on Monday
6 July 2020, 9:40 PM

The Department of Correctional Services has reported 69 new COVID-19 cases. 66 of the reported cases are inmates and 3 are officials in correctional facilities around the country.

According to the latest statement from the department, this brings the cumulative number of infections in correctional facilities to 2 912 with 1 865 recoveries.

To date, 35 people have died in South African prisons due to COVID-19 related complications.

For more see statement below:

 

0 Comments
Influential Africans, part 3 – Dr Cheikh Anta Diop
30 June 2020, 9:58 PM

This week on Influential Africans, we look at the life of African academic-historian, Dr Cheikh Anta Diop. Born in the 1920s in Senegal, Diop is an accomplished scientist and politician whose work continues to inspire African scholars.

His legacy lives in his native country of Senegal, where Dakar University was renamed to Cheikh Anta Diop University in his honour.

In his lifetime, Diop wrote many books on the subject of pre-colonial Africa and ancient Egyptian dynasties.

For more on Dr Cheikh Anta Diop, see video below:

0 Comments
Confirmed COVID-19 cases at Correctional Services rise to 2348
29 June 2020, 9:27 PM

The latest number of COVID-19 infections at South African Correctional Services facilities now stands at 2348.

The number of confirmed cases among inmates is 1228 with 1120 officials having tested positive for the coronavirus.

1682 recoveries have been reported to date with 23 deaths in total.

See media statement on latest COVID-19 stats at Correctional Services below:

 

0 Comments
INFOGRAPHIC | Supplementary healthcare budget
26 June 2020, 4:50 PM

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has painted a grim picture for the country as it battles with the new coronavirus pandemic and a shrinking economy. Mboweni delivered his supplementary COVID-19 budget on Wednesday this week.

Mboweni says the country’s economy could hit levels last seen 90 years ago, as the economy is opened after a national lockdown.

The COVID-19 outbreak has also put more pressure on South Africa’s economy, with many financial resources being directed towards minimising the effects the disease could have on citizens.

Government has had to set-up temporary health facilities to deal with the pandemic.

 

The infographic below gives a breakdown of the supplementary healthcare budget:

Loading...

Loading…

0 Comments
10 quick facts about South Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccine trials
25 June 2020, 5:59 AM

This week, the very first vaccine trials to be piloted in South Africa for the novel coronavirus, were unveiled.  Here’s what you should know:

  1. The vaccine is called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and it’s being piloted in SA and Brazil.
  1. It was developed by the Jenner Institute at Oxford University with the participation of Wits University.
  1. The trial is funded by the Bill Gates Foundation through its partnership with the South African Medical Research Council.
  1. The vaccine is one of some 200 vaccines being developed for COVID-19 around the world.
  1. None of the tests will be conducted on children or pregnant women.
  1. The trials will be conducted on 2000 participants in SA. The first and last group of 50 participants respectively, are HIV positive.
  1. The vaccine uses genetic material called Spike glycoprotein which is commonly found on the surface of the novel coronavirus.
  1. The study was approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPR) and Wits University’s Human Research Ethics Committee.
  2. Wits University’s Dean of Sciences and vaccinology professor Shabir Madhi is the lead investigator for the trials.
  1. The first trial was conducted on June 24 and effectiveness will be determined after over 40 cases are identified, a process expected to be concluded by March 2021.

Weather

 

SABC © 2020