South Africa is set to receive initial vaccines from the COVAX facility to cover 10% of its population in the early part of 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced to the nation on Monday evening. The President said SA concluded all the necessary processes to ensure its participation in the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Global Vaccine […]

The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) in South Africa has made it clear that it will rule against companies that make unproven medical claims, even if those companies are not members of the ARB. ARB is a self-regulating authority, and its members join it voluntarily. There has been an ongoing debate dating back to the ARB’s […]

South Africa has officially hit the second wave, with 6 709 COVID-19 new cases reported in the last 24 hours pushing the total number of cases to 828 598. In a special briefing on Wednesday night, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said the country now meets the resurgence criteria formulated by scientists and modelling teams. […]

Vaccine hesitancy is a severe threat to global health, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The term refers to the delay in acceptance or the refusal of vaccines, despite the availability of vaccination services. It’s a serious risk to the people who aren’t getting vaccinated as well as the wider community. Vaccine hesitancy is […]

The number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa has topped 800 000, after 4 400 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus. This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases to 800 872 since the first case was reported in March this year. Meanwhile, 94 more people succumbed to the respiratory disease which pushes the death toll to […]

South Africa faces a quadruple burden of disease: HIV, tuberculosis (TB), non-communicable diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and injuries. South Africa has more people living with HIV than anywhere else in the world. Around 13.5% of the country’s total population has HIV. Many of these patients are co-infected with TB and are also at […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 cumulative number of detected COVID-19 cases is now 708 359, with 85 more COVID-19 related deaths reported. In the last 24 hours, 2 055 new cases were reported. Of the 85 deaths reported, eight occurred in the past 48 hours. The 85 deaths bring the national COVID-19 death toll to 18 741. “We extend […]

South Africa’s Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize and his wife, Dr May Mkhize, have both tested positive for COVID-19. The couple did their COVID19 tests on Saturday after the Minister started showing mild symptoms. “I was feeling abnormally exhausted and as the day progressed, I started losing my appetite. My wife had a cough, […]

The cumulative number of detected COVID-19 cases now stands at 696 414 after 1 877 infections were identified on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the death toll has jumped to 18 151 after 123 people succumbed to the respiratory disease since the last report. Of the latest fatalities, 44 are from the Eastern Cape, 35 from Gauteng, 17 from KwaZulu-Natal, […]

South Africa has recorded 888 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of detected cases to 693 359. “Regrettably, we report 83 more COVID-19 related deaths – 17 from the Eastern Cape, 43 from the Free State, two from KwaZulu-Natal, 11 from Gauteng and seven from the Western Cape. “This brings the total number of […]

As the threat of a COVID-19 pandemic emerged earlier this year, many felt a sense of apprehension about what would happen when it reached Africa. Concerns over the combination of overstretched and underfunded health systems and the existing load of infectious and non-infectious diseases often led to it being talked about in apocalyptic terms. However, […]

The number of COVID-19 deaths in South Africa continues to climb after 160 more people succumbed to COVID-19 on Thursday. Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has expressed his concern about the noticeable spike in the number of deaths in recent weeks. However, according to the Minister, the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) confirmed there […]

As South Africa marks six months since its first COVID-19 case was first reported, the country’s cumulative number of detected COVID-19 cases stands at 681 289. On Sunday, 1 573 new people tested positive for COVID-19, while 38 people succumbed to the virus. Of the latest fatalities, 37 are from Gauteng and 1 from the […]

South Africa has recorded 1 268 new COVID-19 cases bringing the cumulative number of detected cases to 670 766 on Sunday. The Eastern Cape has recorded 88 892, Free State 46 128, Gauteng 219 039, KwaZulu-Natal 118 731, Limpopo 15 270, Mpumalanga 27 021, North West 29 012, Northern Cape 16 243 and Western Cape 110 430. The cumulative number of tests conducted to date […]

South Africa recorded its lowest single-day death toll on Sunday in over four months, while the number of COVID-19 cases rose by 1 579. The recovery rate is almost 90 percent. The 20 deaths recorded on Sunday is the lowest number since 23 May, when 10 people succumbed to the disease. According to the latest […]

South Africa’s recovery rate has now jumped to 88.9% after 573 003 patients recuperated from COVID-19. Meanwhile, novel Coronavirus cases have hit 644 438 after 2 007 infections were identified on Thursday, while the death toll stands at 15 265. Of the latest 97 fatalities, 26 are from Mpumalanga, 21 from Gauteng, 17 from KwaZulu-Natal, 15 from […]