Watch South Africa’s President Cyril Ramahosa address the nation tonight, Thursday 3 December 2020. WATCH VIDEO: President Ramaphosa addresses the nation: 03 December 2020 – live streaming https://youtu.be/w7DLEQWrZt0

The Coronavirus continues to spread in South Africa as cases jumped to 796 472 after 4 173 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the death toll has now risen by 65, bringing the tally to 21 709 since the outbreak. Of the latest deaths, 30 were recorded in the Western Cape, […]

The UK has become the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for widespread use. The government has ordered 40 million doses and the first batch of 800,000 doses is expected to be shipped from Belgium – where the vaccine is being made – in the next couple of days. It will be enough to […]

The number of Covid-19 positive cases in South Africa has now exceeded 790,000. According to the SA Health Department, a further 2 302 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday (30 Nov), while 58 more lost their lives due to the deadly virus. This brings the total number of cases since the outbreak to 790 […]

There are 3 069 more people who contracted Coronavirus in South Africa, which pushes the cumulative total of COVID-19 cases to 778 571. Meanwhile, 88 more people succumbed to the respiratory disease, which brings the deaths to 21 289. Of the latest fatalities, 33 were recorded in the Eastern Cape, 25 in Free State, 18 in […]

Three vaccine breakthroughs have sparked hope that the end of the Covid-19 pandemic is close. But vaccinating tens of millions of South Africans is going to be difficult. It would require a massive logistical effort in 2021 for life to return to the way it was before Covid-19. We now have effective Covid vaccines from […]

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, says his department is closely monitoring the Eastern Cape to quell the resurgence of cluster outbreaks in the province. Mkhize is on a two-day visit to the Eastern Cape, which kicked off on Thursday and is set to wrap up on Friday. The visit, Mkhize said, is set to focus […]

As the City of Cape Town has been issued with a Hotspot Alert, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says people in the province must be under “no illusion as to how serious the situation is, and how quickly it can deteriorate further”. Hospitals are already fuller than they were earlier this year during the first […]

South Africa has a long tradition of using plants for medicinal purposes. Some of these, such as Aloe ferox (bitter aloe), Sutherlandia frutescens (cancer bush), Aspalathus linearis (rooibos tea) and Kiggelaria africana, have been studied as sources of useful compounds. But most still need to be scientifically validated as treatments for particular diseases. Medicinal plants are […]

South Africa’s most populated province Gauteng, which has been reporting the least number of active COVID-19 cases and been accused of fake statistics, has been asked by the national Health Department to reconcile its questionable data. “We have brought this to the attention of the province and they have indicated that they are in the […]

South Africa recorded 2 080 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, which pushes the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 769 759. “We have registered a positivity rate of 14%, which is concerning,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize. The Eastern Cape active cases have jumped to 11 099, followed by Free State […]

Another 2 270 people have contracted Coronavirus, bringing the national total to 767 679 since the start of the pandemic. Official statistics show that 20 903 people have died from COVID-19 related illnesses, with 58 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours. Of the additional fatalities, 28 were recorded in the Eastern Cape, 13 in Free […]

The interim results of an Africa-wide study of hospitalised Covid-19 patients shows that the continent is facing far higher mortality rates in intensive care units than other parts of the world, and that the higher death rates are best explained by scarce resources. Covid-19 has produced huge volumes of data in a short period of time, but […]

The number of detected COVID-19 cases has risen to 759 658 after 2 514 infections were reported by the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, on Thursday. A further 115 people succumbed to the novel Coronavirus, which pushes the death toll to 20 671 since the outbreak. The Eastern Cape logged the highest number of additional deaths […]

The number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa is now 754 256 after 1 987 new infections were identified on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the death toll now sits at 20 433 after 119 people succumbed to the respiratory illness caused by the Coronavirus. Of the additional deaths, 42 were reported in Gauteng, 36 in the Eastern […]

The Western Cape has issued an urgent hotspot alert for the Garden Route as COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the area. “This spike is mainly contributing to the notable growth of active cases in the Western Cape,” the provincial government said. Meanwhile, the province has also noted an upward trend in George, Knysna and […]

Seventy-three more people have died from COVID-19 in South Africa, according to the new figures from the SA Health Department. Of the new fatalities, 32 are from the Eastern Cape, 23 from Free State, 11 from the Western Cape and seven from Gauteng. According to the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, 15 lost their lives […]

South Africa’s Health Minister, Dr Zwelini Mkhize, says the country is witnessing COVID-19 cluster outbreaks and needs to guard against a possible resurgence. The Minister called for vigilance during a COVID-19 briefing, which outlined South Africa’s health response to the pandemic and its readiness to deal with a possible resurgence. “We are identifying cluster outbreaks. […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa proudly announced on Wednesday evening that a local South African company has entered into a preliminary agreement with multinational firm Johnson & Johnson, as one of the companies to manufacture and package its candidate COVID-19 vaccine. “In recognition of the country’s manufacturing capability, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world, […]

After months of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country is now transitioning from relief to recovery. Writing in this week’s edition of his newsletter, the President said when the National State of Disaster was declared in March, the immediate priority was to contain the spread of the virus and provide emergency […]

The Basic Education Department has reviewed its COVID-19 exam protocols to allow learners who test positive for the Coronavirus to sit for their final matric examinations. The DBE previously issued a set of guidelines, which indicated that learners who were COVID-19 positive would not be allowed to enter the exam centre. Following a petition by […]

South Africa recorded 1 712 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, pushing the tally to 730 548 since the outbreak. Meanwhile, there are 46 more COVID-19 fatalities, which brings the death toll to 19 585. Of the latest deaths, 24 are from the Eastern Cape, nine from Gauteng, five from KwaZulu-Natal, four from the Western Cape, three from […]

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, is in self-quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. “I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine in the coming days, in line with WHO protocols. […]

South Africa now has 726 823 COVID-19 cases after 1 371 patients were confirmed to have contracted the virus on Sunday. Meanwhile, 135 people succumbed to the disease which brings the death toll to 19 411. Of the latest fatalities, 107 are from Gauteng, 22 from the Eastern Cape, four from the Western Cape and two the […]

Across the world, immunologists who retooled their labs to join the fight against SARS-CoV-2 are furiously trying to explain why some people get so sick while others recover unscathed. The pace is dizzying, but some clear trends have emerged. One area of focus has been the production of antibodies – powerful proteins capable of disabling […]