Katrina Jacobs grew up on a farm in Varkens Vlei, Philippi, where both her parents worked. She was in her twenties, when her father was diagnosed with TB. She saw him coughing up clots of blood. Thousands of community health workers deliver life-saving medicines and support for patients at their homes across the country. Covid-19 […]

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has recently revealed the racial divide in COVID-19 deaths, with Blacks and Coloureds more likely to succumb to the disease in South Africa. “Race is for the first time reported to have an association with in-hospital mortality, with a higher risk of mortality in individuals who were Black […]

Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, how well has South Africa done at limiting infections, and how big a deal is the pandemic anyway? To answer that, we need to think about how the data actually works and doesn’t work. We are not 5th worst Dashboards like Bing and Worldometer report that South Africa has the fifth-highest number […]

A COVID donation of medical material and personal protection equipment from the French government arrived in South Africa today. The donation consists of single-channel infusion pumps, material for intensive care units and medical isolation gowns, worth a total of R 1,8 million, according to a post by the French Embassy on Twitter. “France stands with […]

An increasing trend recently has been the sight of South Africa receiving aid and services from other countries, most of it free, but at least once paid for. A country that should be delivering help to the rest of the continent and further afield is now the one needing assistance. Germany – Technical experts  On […]

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs – Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – has today signed an extension to the already extended National State of Disaster (Covid-19). The State of Disaster was due to end today, but has now been extended a further month to 15 September 2020. According to the Government Notice 765 published in […]

As the number of positive cases of COVID in the Western Cape continue to decline – faster than in the rest of the country – the local government is closing down its field hospital at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, which was built in June and was Africa’s biggest COVID field hospital. “Due to […]

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) says there are hopeful signs that the Coronavirus pandemic may have reached its peak in all the provinces by the end of July 2020. This comes as welcome news to South Africans who are praying, crossing fingers and holding thumbs that Ramaphosa will announce soon – now now […]

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has dismissed allegations that her family is involved in COVID-19 tender procurement. False news has been making the rounds on various social media platforms, alleging the involvement of the Minister’s husband, Dr Mathole Motshekga, in the production of sanitisers for schools. “The allegations are absolutely not true and totally malicious. […]

241 patients came through its doors. But now the temporary Covid-19 field hospital in Khayelitsha will close. It is yet another sign that the Western Cape, at least for now, is beyond the worst of the pandemic, although it is far from over. In March, Khayelitsha was the first township in South Africa to have […]

Russia’s announcement that a fast-tracked COVID-19 vaccine is registered there, with plans for quick distribution in the general population this fall, is being condemned by scientists worldwide. Findings from scientific studies of this vaccine, named “Sputnik V,” are not available. Large safety and efficacy trials are only now getting underway. But despite only two months […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it welcomes the Gauteng Health Department’s arrangement with private hospitals to take public patients with Covid-19 if required. “This is a far more sensible strategy than plans for new field hospitals at Tshwane Expo Centre, Chloorkop and Rand Hospital with a budgeted cost of more than R600 million that are […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it welcomes the statement by Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde on his Government’s resolution to allow for the sale of alcohol and the safe reopening of all businesses. “This is because the Western Cape Government from the very onset of this pandemic immediately set to work in building healthcare capacity […]

South Africa needs an economic miracle in order to recover, says Carte Blanche which this week investigates how both the ANC and Business for South Africa have tabled plans for getting the country out of the quagmire. You can watch the show on Sunday 9 August in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it […]

In the midst of an ongoing avalanche of negative press  questioning his seriousness in dealing with corruption, President Cyril Ramaphosa today announced a committee of six cabinet ministers to deal with allegations of corruption surrounding the country’s response to the COVID pandemic. The public response has been less than positive – more cynical than anything […]

National Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane says an instruction will be issued to government departments across all spheres to halt the emergency procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) as the State tightens the lid against corruption. At a joint virtual meeting of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces Finance Committees on Wednesday, Mogajane said […]

The number of new COVID-19 cases identified on Wednesday is 8 686, bringing the number of infections since the outbreak to 529 877. With 414 new fatalities reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll now stands at 9 298. Of the additional deaths, 135 were recorded in the Eastern Cape, 122 from Free State, 62 from […]

COVID-19 has wrought havoc on poor households in countries across the world. In South Africa, more and more people are facing hunger resulting from mass job losses and small, poorly implemented supplementary cash grants. On top of this the pandemic has put in stark relief the country’s poorly understood food system, in which powerful firms […]

With 8 195 new identified cases, South Africa now has 511 485 people, who have contracted the novel Coronavirus. The country recorded 213 deaths on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 8 366. Of the additional fatalities, the Free State reported 51 deaths, Western Cape 43, Gauteng 40, KwaZulu-Natal 31, Eastern Cape 25 and Limpopo […]

Across the world, the higher education sector is changing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Conversation Africa’s Nontobeko Mtshali asked vice-chancellors from three South African universities to share their insights about what these changes could mean for the country’s higher education landscape. What long-lasting changes to South Africa’s higher education sector has the pandemic brought? […]

After a rapid rise in COVID-19 infections over the last two months, the daily increase in infections appears to be stabilising, particularly in the Western Cape, Gauteng and Eastern Cape… signalling the peak may have been reached. South Africa has recorded more than half a million confirmed cases of Coronavirus. Of the cumulative total of […]

People from various organisations protested in Johannesburg on Saturday. Photo: Zoë Postman Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Central Johannesburg to the Gauteng Legislature on Saturday morning. The protest highlighted government’s failures in response to Covid-19. The protest was divided into groups to ensure physical distancing and marshalls were sanitising people’s hands as […]

This Sunday Carte Blanche Carte Blanche captures the amazing journey of Cape Town-based animation pioneers Triggerfish Studios… the award-winning studio behind two of the five highest-grossing South African Feature Films of all time. The current affairs show also investigates how an Investor’s dream became a financial nightmare, and the impact Covid 19 has had on […]

“If you see a [taxi] driver not wearing a mask during a trip, report him,” warns Themba Kubheka, secretary of the Greater North Taxi Association in Durban. Taxi bosses and associations have warned drivers to wear masks and practise good hygiene during trips. They are encouraging commuters to report drivers who are not adhering to […]

The Cape Town leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series – provisionally scheduled for 4-6 December this year – has been cancelled due to the ongoing and dynamic global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, World Rugby announced on Wednesday. The Dubai leg of the Series – with which the Cape Town event is paired […]