The Democratic Alliance (DA) has sent condolences to the “family and friends of ‘Oom‘ (Uncle) Alwyn van Zyl who lost his life during a brutal farm attack” in the early hours of this morning in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The DA said that the 79-year-old and his 66-year-old wife “tannie Pauline” (Aunty Pauline) […]

The Cannes Film Festival has announced that it will be postponed until – it hopes – the end of June, beginning of July. The famous festival of the French Riviera had held out as long as it could in the hope that the Coronavirus pandemic would be resolved in time for the festival in May, […]

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says the health department is seeing the successful recovery of people in South Africa who had tested positive for COVID-19. “We are in the process of conducting further confirmation tests and medical examinations then we [will] formally inform the public on the number of recoveries. At this stage, most of the […]

The Eskom board has ordered an independent investigation into allegations of corruption against its chief operating officer (COO) Jan Oberholzer. “In the best interest of Eskom and both the complainant and the COO, the board has engaged the services of an independent senior counsel to investigate the allegations against the COO, and upon conclusion of […]

The Gauteng Health Department has – with immediate effect – imposed restrictions on visiting hours at healthcare facilities across the province. As of Thursday, visiting hours at these facilities were limited to one hour per day between 12h00-13h00. The restrictions follow the declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak as a national state of disaster in terms […]

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in South Africa is likely to increase to just under 200 by today, Friday 20 March 2020. “We are quite certain by [Friday] we would have gone much higher, probably just under 200,” the Minister predicted at a meeting with the South African Medical […]

South Africa has identified 37 sites around the country that can be used as quarantine facilities in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, says Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia De Lille. “One of the key tasks for the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has been to identify state-owned buildings which could possibly be […]

The Methodist Church has cancelled Good Friday and Easter Sunday services to combat the spread of the Coronavirus and the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) has cancelled Friday prayer. In addition, the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) has cancelled its annual Moria pilgrimage. Speaking on Thursday during a meeting with leaders of diverse communities of faith to […]

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spreading across the world. For those who catch it, the vast majority will experience mild symptoms, but for a few, it can cause severe disease and death. Some groups – like older people and those with pre-existing health conditions – are more vulnerable when exposed than others. Because of this, […]

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula says new regulations that came into effect on Wednesday, will see all cruise and passenger ships entering South Africa through its sea ports being prohibited from disembarkation. Briefing the media at the Port of Cape Town on Wednesday, Mbalula said the regulations, which were gazetted on the same day, will assist […]

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, husband of South African expat Charlene Wittstock, has tested positive for COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Royal Palace of Monaco confirmed in a statement on Thursday afternoon, 19 March 2020. Prince Albert is the first head of state to announce he has tested positive for the virus which is sweeping the […]

The South African government has imposed regulations that will limit unjustified price hikes and product stockpiling, to protect consumers, as the number of COVID-19 pandemic cases in SA rises to 150. The regulations, announced by Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel during a press briefing on Thursday, deal with pricing matters during the national […]

In line with market expectation, the Reserve Bank of South Africa has cut the repo rate by 100 basis points to 5.25% per annum, Governor Lesetja Kganyago announced on Thursday. “The MPC decided to cut the repo rate by 100 basis points. This takes the repo rate to 5.25% per annum, with effect from 20 […]

The number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in South Africa has jumped from 116 to 150 as of Thursday. President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement at a briefing following a meeting with faith-based organisations in Pretoria. “The Minister of Health was able to outline to all of us that the level of infection has now risen […]

Following an urgent Mayoral Committee Meeting on Tuesday, the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Geoffrey Makhubo, announced the following interventions on Wednesday which are to be implemented in Johannesburg in response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. As recently released figures by the Department of Health show, the majority of cases […]

South African Police are still hunting for the suspects in the murder of one of the Hawks’ top investigators into organised crime, particularly rhino poaching. Lieutenant Colonel Leroy Brewer was gunned down whilst driving to work on Tuesday morning. According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the incident occurred at around 06h30 on Lydenburg […]

And the People Stayed Home, a prose poem by Kitty O’Meara, has been going viral since early March 2020 since the retired American teacher and chaplain published the beautiful poem on her blog, under the post title: In the Time of Pandemic. An Italian journalist Irene Vella has claimed it is a translation from her […]

It’s good news for more than 1,700 people who were being held quarantine on a cruise liner at Cape Town harbour, as news came this afternoon that six passengers who were tested for Coronavirus have all been given the all clear, testing negative for the COVID-19 virus. The 1,700 passengers and crew of Italy flagged […]

South Africa’s ‘Patient Zero’ – the first person diagnosed with the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in South Africa – has recovered enough to leave hospital. Authorities in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) said today that “South Africa is conquering Coronavirus” and that the patient, along with his wife who was also hospitalised with Coronavirus, have both recovered enough to […]

24-hour news channels are a key source of information on the pandemic both in South Africa and globally, but it’s not always possible or practical to keep a TV running. DStv Now for web browsers has a solution in the form of picture-in-picture to keep a small news window running in the corner of a […]

South Africans Noluthando Makalima and Tracy McKay claimed silver medals in their first appearance at the ISA World Para Surfing Championships in San Diego, completed at the weekend. Makalima, a Khayelitsha surfer with cerebral palsy, typified the type of grit this group is known for when she won her medal in the Women’s Prone 2 […]

As the power generation system is still constrained and vulnerable, the possibility of load shedding still remains, says Eskom. “During peak hours we are utilising emergency generation reserves to supplement supply, and [we] may have to implement load shedding at short notice should the power generation system deteriorate,” said the power utility in a statement […]

More than 1,700 people aboard a cruise liner in Cape Town Harbour are into their fourth day (Wednesday) of being quarantined on the luxury vessel. The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) confirmed yesterday that the vessel – MV AidAmira – as well as another vessel – ironically called MV Corona – which were both in the […]

South Africa now has 116 confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19). “This means that there has been an increase of 31 new cases from yesterday’s announcement,” said the Health Department on Wednesday morning. Among the new cases are two males, one from Gauteng with no international travel history, and one from the Western Cape, who had […]

What a surprise! When the call arrived early Monday morning from the rhino monitoring guard – calling “Mona has got a baby” – we all thought we were still dreaming… writes the team from Thula Thula Game Lodge in South Africa. After despair comes hope. We were all shocked and saddened when Lisa, the daughter […]