The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX partners are working with a South African consortium to establish its first COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub. The SA consortium comprises Biovac, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of universities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The move follows WHO’s global call […]

As Covid-19 cases rise rapidly, Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi claims that hospitals are “still able to cope with the pressure at this stage”… but it’s an open secret in the province, amongst concerned friends and family, that some patients are being turned away. Others are sitting for two days in a chair, waiting for […]

AfriForum has sent a formal PAIA application to the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 (MAC) and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to obtain documents and information from these organisations that relate to their review of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. As much of the country enters a third wave […]

South Africa’s Deputy President David Mabuza says negotiations with the manufacturers of Sputnik V and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines are at an advanced stage. The Deputy President said this when he responded to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Tuesday. “Further interventions being implemented to save lives are ongoing. Negotiations with vaccine […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa, on the advice of the National Coronavirus Command Council, has tonight announced a move to Lockdown Level 3 as South Africa is suffering under a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. See all new regulations below. What does Level 3 Lockdown mean? The new curfew is 10pm – 4 am Non-essential places […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is addressing the nation Tuesday evening, 15 June 2021, with an update on SA’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The address comes after a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President’s Coordinating Council and Cabinet. EFF Leader Julius Malema has tweeted a prediction that Ramaphosa will be introducing […]

Aspen says it will release 300 000 Johnson & Johnson (J&J) doses earmarked for teachers soon. In a statement released this week, Aspen said it was “extremely disappointed” to learn that specific batches of the J&J manufactured at its Gqeberha production site have to be destroyed. This is due to the good manufacturing practice risk of […]

South Africa recorded 5 552 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, representing an 18.5% positivity rate. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Gauteng continues to drive the third wave with 3 720 new infections reported, accounting for 67%. The province is followed by the Western Cape after 446 people were confirmed to have contracted […]

South Africa detected 7 657 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, representing a 17.2% positivity rate. According to the latest data from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the majority of the new infections were logged in Gauteng after 4 891 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus. Meanwhile, the Western Cape recorded the second-highest […]

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has decided not to release the long-awaited Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines for use in South Africa. However, SAHPRA said about 300 000 doses from batches that have been cleared by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) meet the requirements and will subsequently be released and […]

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has welcomed input from top global health experts, who have dismissed purported links between the COVID-19 vaccine and magnetic fields. This follows a series of viral video footage on social media, shared wildly in South Africa and around the world, where some individuals are seen placing metal coins on the […]

South Africa on Thursday logged 9 149 new COVID-19 cases, which represents a 15.7% positivity testing rate. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), figures from the past seven days show that South Africa is now experiencing the third wave. “South Africa technically entered the third wave today as the national seven-day moving […]

South Africa detected 8 881 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest daily spike since 23 January, when the country recorded 12 271 infections. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the majority of new infections are from Gauteng, which accounts for 58%, followed by the Western Cape with 9%. The latest data show that […]

The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government have worked together to turn the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) into a mass vaccination site… a ‘vaccination centre of hope’. With much of the legwork done and the funding for this important endeavour secured, formal contracts are due to be signed imminently with […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has eased travel recommendations for more than 110 countries and territories, including South Africa. The CDC’s new ratings include 61 nations that were lowered from its highest “Level 4” rating that discouraged all travel to recommending travel for fully vaccinated individuals, the agency […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on special leave, replacing him with SA’s Tourism Minister. Dr Mkhize had requested special leave in order to attend to allegations and investigations concerning contracts between the Department of Health and a service provider, Digital Vibes. The corruption scandal involves a R150-million contract […]

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he believes at least $30 billion is needed annually for an effective global vaccination plan… and he would like this high on the agenda for next week’s G7 Summit in Cornwall, England, where the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada will be meeting. He’s not the only […]

The Eastern Cape Department of Health says it’s boosting efforts to register people for the Covid-19 vaccine who are homeless and over the age of 60. A few homeless people in Nelson Mandela Bay say health officials have neglected them during the pandemic. The people we spoke to say they either did not have a […]

Tim Noakes has a long history of making misleading and false claims, including promoting the debunked theory that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine contributes to autism and promoting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19… writes Eduard Grebe. In a recent tweet, he linked to an utterly misleading BizNews article on the recent release of thousands of emails to and from […]

South Africa has recorded over 5 000 new COVID-19 cases for five days in a row – with another 5 074 new infections detected on Sunday – bringing the total number of infections to 1 696 564. According to Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, the death toll has now increased to 56 974 after 45 […]

Patricia de Lille has tested positive for Covid-19. In a tweet an hour ago (around 10am on Sunday), Patricia said: “Good Morning. I have tested positive for Covid-19. I took the test on Friday after showing some symptoms.” Lille said that as per South Africa’s COVID-10 regulations, she immediately self-quarantined. “I also informed those who […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise, with 5 361 new infections reported on Thursday. The additional cases are from the sample of the 43 776 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, which represents a 12.2 positivity rate. Meanwhile, Health Minster Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, also announced that 54 more people succumbed to the […]

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a new naming system for the coronavirus that uses Greek letters to refer to the different variants. For the variants of concern, B117 (the UK or Kent variant) will now be known as alpha, B1351 (South Africa) will be beta, P1 (Brazil) is gamma and B16172 (India) delta… […]

Tributes have poured in following news of the death in South Africa of acting giant MacDonald (‘Mac’) Ndodana Mathunjwa. Mathunjwa (72) was a talented actor, producer and director, best known for his acting roles in Home Affairs, Generations, Soul City, Intsika and Bones of Bones amongst others. He was also a musician who composed for […]

South Africa has recorded 3 755 new COVID-19 infections, as President Cyril Ramaphosa moved the country to lockdown adjusted level two, with effect from Monday. This means South Africa now has 1 662 825 cases of Coronavirus since the first person tested positive in March last year. Meanwhile, 24 more deaths were reported on Sunday, pushing the tally […]