Many journalists, including us, are finding the quantity of science reports on Covid-19 overwhelming. The aim of this occasional column, which we’re calling Covid-19 Report, will be to alert reporters in South Africa (and anyone else who is interested) to the best and most important science, and also clear up misconceptions. What’s our methodology? We […]

An abundance of snow fell again last night in southern Africa, turning mountain slopes in Lesotho into a winter wonderland. Check out the gorgeous photos and videos below by Martin Schultz at Afriski Mountain Resort. Afriski Director, Peter Peyper, said “we have received more snow during April this year than we did in the past […]

The legal global wildlife trade is worth roughly $300 billion. Of more than 31,500 listed terrestrial birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, approximately 5,500 are traded. Research predicts that a further 3,196 species may be traded in the future, placing a possible 8,775 species at risk of extinction. Serious attempts to regulate the trade in wildlife […]

Wildlife campaigners from 339 organisations from around the world, including the Lion Coalition, Humane Society International, Blood Lions and Born Free Foundation, are calling on the World Health Organisation to release a formal position statement in support of a global ban on wildlife markets selling wild animals or products, in light of the risk to […]

Evidence is building around the world that elderly people are the most vulnerable group in the COVID-19 pandemic. They are more likely to develop severe symptoms and to die from this viral disease, especially if they have other medical conditions like heart disease or high blood pressure. Globally, the death rate from COVID-19 increases most […]

The performing arts is one of the sectors hit hard by COVID-19, with tens of thousands of gigs cancelled across the world. While pop and electronic music has evolved with online platforms like YouTube as their natural habitat, jazz has remained more strongly tied to live performance, using social media and online videos mainly as […]

Severe restrictions on travel and economic activity have been imposed in many parts of the world. For the poor, recessions have always meant starvation, lack of medical support for diseases including HIV treatment programmes, and in particular the deaths of infants and children vulnerable to malnutrition and childhood disease. What do the restrictions mean for […]

About 1.5 million more South Africans will from 1 May return to work as government begins to lift a fraction of COVID-19 lockdown regulations. This comes as government gradually eases the economy back into activity as announced this week by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The regulations were introduced last month as government sought to counter the […]

South Africans “celebrate” Freedom Day through gritted teeth, with a wry smile and an acute sense of irony, this year. Many, if not most, will be lamenting the loss of freedom due to the COVID-19 lockdown. For most professionals, there will be no public holiday, since days slide seamlessly into one another, punctuated only by […]

Many are hailing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech on Thursday night as one of the best in South African history. None captured the spirit as well as writer and animal rights activist, Herman H Le Roux, whose words written straight after Ramaphosa’s address to the nation have gone viral on social media, sometimes without his credit, […]

An intense hail storm on farms in the vicinity of Uhlenhorst in the Kalahari Desert last week, to the south-east of Rehoboth, covered a large swathe of land with a thick layer of ice and turned the countryside into an instant winter wonderland… writes Niël Terblanché from Informanté. The huge amount of falling ice flayed […]

“The last decent meal I had was a month ago … I don’t know how I will pay my [R250] rent this month,” says Munyaradzi, who asked for his surname to be withheld. Munyaradzi is one of a group of Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa who want to be repatriated. They say making ends […]

According to the Gauteng Health Department sub-district figures for Covid-19 cases, the following areas have the highest flare-up of cases of Covid-19 in Gauteng – Sandton, Alexandra, Orange Grove and Houghton.   Johannesburg accounted for 712 (59%) out of 1199 infections in Gauteng as at 21 April. Highest Cases of Coronavirus to Lowest in Joburg […]

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has provided more details on the second set of measures that are aimed at assisting individuals and businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. “There is a critical need for government interventions to assist with job retention and support businesses that may be experiencing significant distress,” the National Treasury said in a statement […]

The physical distancing measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 15 March followed by an extended lockdown may have bought us time to prepare for Covid-19. Good leadership has helped the response, but the current lockdown is not sustainable. In city centres and middle-class suburbs there is largely adherence, but in many marginalised areas the lockdown […]

The Eastern Cape is gearing up for its fight against COVID-19 with the province boosting its hospital capacity. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize paid the Eastern Cape a visit on Tuesday where he met with the Premier Oscar Mabuyane and Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba. Mkhize was taken through the province’s contingency plans to fight the outbreak […]

Numbers tell stories. Usually, stories of people – often happy stories, like births, marriages, finishing school, getting a degree, getting a job. Even paying taxes. Sometimes they tell sad stories – death, divorce, disease, liquidations. Statistics do not provide a cold or inanimate way of dealing with the world – they are one key part […]

In an effort to curb COVID-19 infections, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has dispersed 1265 tankers and 134 water trucks throughout the Free State province. This is to ensure people are able to wash their hands, a critical measure in preventing the spread of the virus. The department is not only supplying municipalities […]

After many unanswered calls by government departments, the Public Service Commission has appealed to them to update contact details on their websites so citizens can reach them. Many have not been updated despite lockdown being in effect for three weeks already. The PSC said it has been inundated with unanswered calls and unreachable numbers. The […]

There is no word to describe a parent who has lost a child… writes Hayley Reichert from Home Away From Home. The closest word that is used among those who have experienced such a loss, is ‘Vilomah’, a Sanskrit word that means ‘against a natural order’. One such angel is nine-year old Max Claase, a […]

The South African government should massively ramp up its “insufficient” spending to cushion the country from the economic and social ravages of the Covid-19 lockdown and the pandemic, says the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) in a policy document. The think tank has released a detailed emergency rescue package which it says the state should […]

As the taxi industry counts the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, intergovernmental consultations on a Taxi Industry Relief intervention are at an advanced stage. This was confirmed by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula during a virtual meeting with the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) on Sunday. “The Departments of Transport, Small Business, Labour, Trade and Competition as […]

Albert Camus was a 20th century French Algerian thinker who won the Nobel Prize for his literary works. These days it is his novel The Plague that has naturally been receiving attention. In this essay I instead consider what Camus’ philosophical classic, The Myth of Sisyphus, reveals about the status of our lives with COVID-19. […]

What strategy should South Africa follow to contain the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus after the current 35-day lockdown? Any strategy should be informed by the trajectory of the disease, the effectiveness – or otherwise – of the current lockdown and how the particularities of the country will interact with the virus. These include high […]

Today – Saturday 18 April – some of the biggest names in music have come together for the One World: Together at Home concert, to generate further funds for the Solidarity Response Fund. But – says the WHO – it’s not just to raise funds… but “to bring the world together, because we’re one world, […]