COVID-19 WRAP | 2,824 new cases, 268 deaths in SA in 24 hours

February 08 2022 -  19:50

Covid-19: 2,824 new cases, 268 deaths in SA in 24 hours

SA recorded 2,824 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Tuesday.

This means that there have been 3,628,014 total confirmed cases recorded across SA since the outbreak of the virus nearly two years ago.

The NICD also reported, using health department data, that there were 268 deaths recorded across SA in the past 24 hours. Of these, 20 were recent deaths that occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours, while the balance were historical fatalities identified as part of an ongoing audit.

February 08 2022 -  10:30

Malaysia Covid-19 panel recommends full border reopening in March

Malaysia's coronavirus recovery council on Tuesday said it has recommended a full reopening of borders as early as March 1 without mandatory quarantine for travellers, as part of plans to accelerate economic recovery.

The Southeast Asian nation has shut its borders since March 2020 and froze the entry of foreign workers to try to contain novel coronavirus outbreaks.

The recommendation comes as neighbours waive quarantine requirements to attract vaccinated tourists, including Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore.

Thailand on Monday said it was eyeing travel bubbles with Malaysia and China.

Muhyiddin Yassin, a former premier and chairperson of the National Recovery Council (NRC), a government advisory body, said travellers would have to undergo Covid-19 screening before departure and on arrival.

"This means tourists can visit, investors can enter... It means AirAsia can fly again, as an example," he told a news conference, referring to the Malaysia-based budget carrier.

At present, Malaysia allows quarantine-free entry to people from Singapore as part of a bilateral arrangement.

Daily coronavirus infections in Malaysia have surged in recent weeks to their highest in four months, driven by the Omicron variant.

It reported 13,944 new infections on Tuesday, adding to more than 2.9 million cases recorded overall, with over 32,000 deaths, among the highest fatality and infection rates in Asia per capita.

The majority of the cases were asymptomatic or mild due Malaysia's high vaccination rate, the health ministry said on Monday.About 98% of Malaysia's adult population has received two doses of the vaccine and more than half a booster shot. About 89% of 12-17 year olds have been vaccinated and inoculations for children age 5-11 started last week.  

Reuters

February 08 2022 -  10:00

Hong Kong further tightens its tough Covid rules

Hong Kong will limit public gatherings to two people and close sites such as churches and hair salons, leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday, as the Asian financial hub battles a growing coronavirus outbreak that has caused record infections.

Existing social distancing measures will be extended to Feb. 24, Lam told a media briefing. These include a ban on dining in restaurants after 6 p.m. and the closure of gymnasiums and cinemas.

Reuters

February 08 2022 - 09:30

Ottawa police say 'relentless' in blocking protest funding

A 'Freedom Convoy' has disrupted life in downtown Ottawa. Police Chief Peter Sloly said his officers are committed to ending demonstrations against the Canadian government's health measures that have gridlocked the capital.

February 08 2022 - 07:00

What are the two new Covid-19 vaccines approved by Sahpra?

The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has announced the authorisation of Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine and the Covid-19 vaccine MC Pharma, also known as Sinopharm/BIBP vaccine, for use in SA.  

According to the regulatory authority, the approval of the two vaccines is based on acceptable safety, quality and efficacy data submitted by the companies.

Both vaccines have been registered in terms of section 15 of the Medicines and Related Substance Act, with conditions.

“The registration of these vaccines is a vast stride in vaccine registration as Sahpra plays its role in the fight against Covid-19,” said Sahpra CEO Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela.

February 08 2022 - 06:40

Members of US Congress hold moment of silence for 900,000 US Covid deaths

Democratic leaders in the US Congress plan a moment of silence on Monday to commemorate the 900,000 American lives lost to the Covid-19 pandemic.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will gather on the steps of the US Capitol building at 7 p.m. ET (0000 GMT), joined by congressional leadership and a bipartisan group of legislators, according to Pelosi's office.

The United States reached the milestone of 900,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Friday, according to data collected by Reuters, totaling 906,017 deaths as of Monday.

The figure marks an increase of more than 100,000 US Covid-19 fatalities since December 12, coinciding with a surge of infections and hospitalizations driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant of the virus. 

Reuters

February 08 2022 - 06:10

‘I have never washed so many corpses in one day. We were exhausted’

Eda Elal has prepared corpses for burial in accordance with Islamic rituals for nearly half her life, but says her job as a “ghassal” in Turkey has never been harder than when bodies and illness overwhelmed her during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Elal, 36, said a sense of spiritual duty helped her continue to carry out the common end-of-life ritual despite exhaustion and fear, especially when she fell ill with Covid-19 last year.

According to the ritual, ghassals pray while washing the body, before placing it in a white shroud ahead of burial. Corpses arrive from hospitals or homes to a washing cabin called a “ghassilhane”, where men wash male bodies and women wash female bodies.

February 08 2022 - 06:00

Provinces scramble for mobile classrooms as rotational teaching ends

Most pupils returned to full-time daily attendance on Monday, but some provinces were still scrambling to procure mobile classrooms to ease overcrowding.

This follows the green light given by cabinet recently for all schools to end controversial rotational schooling.

Many so-called quintile 1 to 3 schools (the poorest) have been conducting rotational learning since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, forcing pupils to attend class two or or three times a week, or even in alternate weeks.

Barney Mthembu, head of the education department in KwaZulu-Natal, said they had ordered 244 mobile classrooms after identifying schools that needed them.

“Manufacturers have a backlog because many schools need mobile classrooms, but we have already provided 190 and the balance are being manufactured,” he said.