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 […]

South Africa has confirmed a total of 3 158 COVID-19 cases, having conducted 114 711 tests to date. Gauteng is still leading with 1 148 people testing positive for the virus, followed by the Western Cape at 868 cases. KwaZulu-Natal has 617 cases of COVID-19, the Eastern Cape province has 293 cases, Free State has […]

Loyal South African Airways (SAA) staff are begging the South African public to please support them in persuading the government to not turn its back on the airline. Listen below to a heartbreaking message from one of the airline’s pilots to South Africans to take to social media and help #SAVESAA. According to reports, the […]

To obey lockdown regulations, Batyi tries to keep her family inside her corrugated iron shack in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. “I worry a lot about them catching coronavirus,” says Nozakuthini Batyi. “I make my kids stay in my yard or lie in bed throughout the day.” As a means to ensure her kids stay indoors, she […]

South Africa has 3 034 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 903 recoveries and 52 deaths, the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said on Saturday. Mkhize held a virtual briefing on Saturday evening, where he released the country’s latest COVID-19 statistics. Gauteng has the majority of COVID-19 cases at 1 101, while the Western Cape has […]

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, […]

Watch British singer James Blunt’s moving tribute to the brave workers in the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic, following his father’s lifesaving kidney transplant in January. The world-famous musician, who first released The Greatest, in October 2019, has released a new version containing visuals celebrating the ‘brave and powerful’ workers on the frontline of the […]

There have been numerous videos posted of wild animals taking advantage of lockdown in South Africa, but this has to be one of the strangest. Posted on Twitter today, a kudu was seen wandering through a street in Pretoria. There was no explanation of how it could have got there. We will update you if […]

A captain and his crew pleaded guilty to attempted murder after throwing two terrified stowaways into the shark-infested Indian Ocean, off the South African coastline, to avoid catching coronavirus from them. Skipper Cui Rongli watched as his crew built a makeshift raft roping together sealed plastic drums and plywood, then stopped his ship to dump […]

On a large open field in Lavender Hill known as ‘the battlefield’, where clashes between rival gangs the Mongrels and Junky Funky Kids take place, over 300 children sit, spaced one-and-a-half-metres apart to reduce the possibility of Covid-19 transmission. Ranging in age from three years to early teens, the children are waiting in the autumnal […]

South Africa has confirmed a total of 2 783 COVID-19 cases, having conducted 100 827 tests to date. Gauteng has the highest number of cases with 1 018 people testing positive for the virus, followed by the Western Cape at 717 cases, KwaZulu-Natal at 591 cases, Eastern Cape at 246 cases, Free State at 100 […]

Take advantage of this awesome offer to keep the entertainment running for the next three months.   Whether you’re looking for HBO series, Mzansi favourites or action movies, streaming service Showmax has a unique combination of hit African content, first and exclusive international series, the best kids’ shows, and live news and sport, all with […]

Could Australia’s Flake ‘n Chips be causing the demise of South Africa’s Great White Shark? In an investigative exposé on Sunday evening, Carte Blanche reveals that when the popularity of the Australian fast food “flake” – which is in fact shark – decimated that country’s local shark population, suppliers turned their sights on the fishing […]

Parliament has resumed its business with immediate effect, starting virtual meetings and cancelling the upcoming leave period for MPs, the presiding officers have announced. Parliament was suspended last month as a precautionary measure to curb COVID-19. Briefing the media on Thursday, National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise and National Council of Provinces Chairperson Amos Masondo said […]

There have been 403 incidents of vandalism, burglary and destruction of schools across several South African provinces since the start of the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown, according to the Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, who has condemned the criminal activity. The damage of school property includes torching of schools, the theft of learning as well as […]

Despite South Africa being on standstill and citizens urged to stay at home during the lockdown, 26 crashes were recorded in the country over the Easter Long Weekend… resulting in 28 people losing their lives on the roads during this period, according to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. Usually South Africa experiences fatalities in the hundreds […]

Some townships and informal settlements are quiet, the streets empty as people observe the rules of the lockdown. In others, life goes on just as it always did. GroundUp’s reporters describe the areas they know. Hanover Park, Cape Town In areas like Hanover Park, where people live in cramped spaces and there is nothing but […]

Following reports alleging that black African nationals, in particular, are being discriminated against in China as an anti-foreigner sentiment sweeps parts of the country, blaming them for causing the second outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, South Africa’s DIRCO Minister Naledi Pandor has said she believes Chinese authorities will attend to this “awful” […]

Sasol has donated a million litres of jet fuel to support the SA Government’s efforts to repatriate hundreds of South Africans stranded worldwide, unable to get home, as a result of the global COVID19 pandemic. “This is for government to use in the repatriation of citizens and the transportation of urgent medical supplies,” said the […]

South Africa has 2 605 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with Limpopo and the Eastern Cape recording their first deaths, according to the SA Department of Health. “It is with regret that we inform the public that the COVID-19 related deaths is now 48. “We note that two provinces, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, have also recorded […]

If you are stuck at home in South Africa with a burst pipe, you can now call your plumber to come fix it. This is just one of the changes made to regulations governing the extended COVID-19 lockdown. The announcement was made by the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who […]

With this week’s arrest of the Gupta brothers in Dubai, it’s worth watching ‘How to Steal A Country’ – a fascinating and shocking documentary, by an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, on the rise and fall of the Gupta family and how they managed to ‘steal’ South Africa. (Updated 8 June 2022) As hard as it is […]

Any person or small business in the tourism sector, regardless of their skin colour, can apply for financial relief from the Tourism Relief Fund, says Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane. The minister said this following Afriforum’s announcement that it had served the department with court papers calling for the review of the Tourism Relief Fund. There […]

Cape Town has become the biggest city in South Africa to offer commercial and private property owners rates relief if they can prove that their income has been negatively affected by the Coronavirus crisis. In a statement today the leader of the Democratic Alliance John Steenhuisen congratulated Cape Town “for offering much needed property rates […]