Category: COVID-19 Corona Virus

President Cyril Ramaphosa says 95% of all provincial and national government departments have submitted all information requested to the Inter-Ministerial Committee in relation to COVID-19 procurement.

This comes after Cabinet established a ministerial team to compile and collate a comprehensive report of the details of all tenders and contracts awarded by national departments, provincial governments and other public entities as part of the response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Responding to oral questions in the National Assembly on Thursday, the President said the ministerial team was given the responsibility to ensure that the details of these tenders and contracts are made public.

“Earlier this week, National Treasury started publishing the submissions from these various government departments and entities on their website.

“To date, 95% of provincial and national departments and State entities have submitted all information regarding COVID-19 procurement to the ministerial team.

“This initiative is unprecedented in our country’s history, enabling members of the public to find detailed information about how public funds are being spent,” the President said.

Government believes the initiative will establish an important precedent for future expenditure of this nature.

President Ramaphosa said the publishing of COVID-19 procurement information marks a turning point, and is the start of a new era of transparency and accountability in the procurement of goods and services by public entities.

“The measures that we are taking will definitely lead to procurement reform, which will ensure that we find solutions to the many procurement maladies, including corruption, and ensure that government does not overpay for goods and services and gets value for money.”

The President said the allegations of corruption in the procurement of goods and services for the country’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic has caused outrage among South Africans and the executive.

“It is disgraceful that at this time of national crisis, there are companies and individuals who seek to criminally benefit from our efforts to protect people’s health and save lives.

“As government, we have taken several measures not only to detect, investigate and prosecute such crimes, but also to strengthen measures to prevent corrupt activities.

“To achieve this purpose, I have authorised the Special Investigating Unit to probe any allegations relating to the misuse of COVID-19 funds across all spheres of the State.

“The work of the SIU is taking place alongside the work of the recently-established special coordination centre, which is called the Fusion Centre, to strengthen the collective efforts among law-enforcement agencies to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute COVID-related corruption.

“National Treasury has taken effective steps to tighten procurement regulations. These measures will strengthen the ongoing work of the Auditor General to audit, in real time, all COVID expenditure,” said President Ramaphosa.

If you’re thinking of hitting the treadmill after contracting COVID-19, you might need to take a bit of a break before you can sweat it out.

Gyms are now open under alert level 2 with only 50 people who can exercise at a time.

However, according to General Practitioner and Sports Physician, Dr Etti Barsky, getting back into training is not clear-cut as it is after other viral infections.

“For the past 30 years, we have relied on the ‘neck check’ to decide when an athlete – elite or recreational – can return to sport after a respiratory infection,” she explained.

“This rule would extend to anything from the common cold to complicated pneumonia and if your symptoms are confined to your head and neck, for example, a runny nose, sinus pain or a scratchy throat and you don’t have a fever or muscle aches, then you are most likely clear to train.”

However, Barsky said the criteria does not apply in the COVID-19 scenario.

“There are many reasons for this, but the two that are the most worrying,” she said this week.

According to the physician, someone with mild novel Coronavirus symptoms can deteriorate around day seven of infection.

Also, cardiologists are seeing a higher incidence of heart issues in people infected with the virus.

According to the doctor, there is a 22% higher prevalence of cardiac injury in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 as compared to 1% in patients with other viral infections.

“It is currently not known how far-reaching the effects of the virus are on asymptomatic people; on people who have a mild-moderate infection and are not hospitalised and the long term effects on those who have had severe infection either with or without cardiac involvement,” she explained.

Barsky said international sporting and cardiology experts agree on various stepwise approaches before resuming physical activity.

She said if you are asymptomatic, it is best to wait for two weeks, before starting training again.

Those with mild signs should at least delay exercising until all symptoms are cleared, then rest for a further 14 days before working out.

Meanwhile, people with severe symptoms or those hospitalised without heart issues should take a break until they are showing no signs, relax for two weeks and get a check-up with a doctor.

In addition, you need an evaluation and clearance from a cardiologist after your two weeks rest if you showed severe symptoms or hospitalised and suffer from a heart condition.

“The more high-level athlete you are, the more it is advised to go for a formal check-up which would include an ECG and cardiac enzyme level checks.”

The virus, she said can cause complications in different systems in the body and therefore the best practice is to resume training slowly and steadily.

“You need to pay attention to both the physical and psychological effects of a workout.”

Barsky said there are several discomforts to look out for during, or after, a workout and these include a higher than usual resting and exercise heart rate and longer time to recover.

“Excessive fatigue, this includes knowing that you had a low-intensity workout, and feeling completely exhausted afterwards as if you’d done a much harder workout,” she explained.

Gym fanatics should also pay attention if they are they are feeling dizzy, have chest and muscle pain and palpitations.

“The best way to go about getting going again is to start with a very low-intensity session and gradually build yourself up over a three to four week period,” she said.

There are 618 286 people who have contracted COVID-19 since the outbreak in South Africa, after 2 585 new cases were registered on Thursday.

The most-affected provinces are Gauteng, with 208 156 cases, KwaZulu-Natal 111 585, Western Cape 105 273 and Eastern Cape 85 625.

Free State has 36 419 cases, North West 24 805, Mpumalanga 23 677, Limpopo 12 867 and Northern Cape 9 829.

Fifty remain unallocated.

“Regrettably, we report 126 new COVID-19 related deaths,” Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said.

Of the additional fatalities, 48 are from KwaZulu Natal, 33 from Gauteng, 25 from the Eastern Cape and 20 from the Western Cape, bringing the tally to 13 628.

The Western Cape has the highest COVID-19 death toll with 3 843 fatalities, followed by Gauteng with 3 428, KwaZulu-Natal 2 102 and Eastern Cape 2 853.

“The number of recoveries currently stands at 531 338, which translates to a recovery rate of 86%,” the Minister said.

The data is based on the 3 617 982 tests conducted, 19 009 of which were done in the last 24-hour cycle.

Worldwide, there have been over 24 021 218 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 821 462 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation.

While Cabinet has welcomed the country’s move to alert level 2 of the lockdown, the executive has warned that the fight against the virus could be hindered by the reckless behaviour of some in society.

The view was on Thursday relayed by Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, during a post-Cabinet press briefing.

Mthembu said Cabinet is of the firm view that the move to level 2 from 18 August has resulted in the welcomed relaxation of restrictions on even more socio-economic activities.

This significant transition, he said, will inevitably lead towards the recovery of the country’s economy, as well as the creation of much-needed jobs, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Cabinet acknowledged that while some countries had experienced a second wave of the virus, something that is an ever-present possibility in South Africa, the country’s collective efforts in the next few weeks could quell this threat.

“That will determine how we move [going] forward,” Mthembu said.

Cabinet during its meeting called on every member of society to take further precaution and practice responsible behaviour.

“Do the right thing to avoid a second peak. Government is working with social partners and communities to ensure that districts are adequately resourced and organised to contain the spread of Coronavirus.

“Our nation has made significant strides in fighting the pandemic… It is because of all our… contributions that we have seen infections going down in our country, and we are proud that we have been able to confront this disease,” Mthembu said.

Cabinet, however, agreed that the disease has not been defeated.

“Our work is being defeated by the reckless behaviour of people who refuse to play a role in curbing the spread of Coronavirus.

“Those who drive under the influence of alcohol and behave recklessly are endangering the lives of innocent people.

“As a result of such reckless behaviour, this week we mourn the untimely death of three Tshwane Metro Police Department officers, who lost their lives in a tragic crash with a drunk driver.

“This fatal accident is a wake up call to all of us, individually and collectively, to reflect on what we can do to act responsibly and play our part in curbing alcohol abuse,” said Mthembu.

Cabinet urged South Africans to continue observing health protocols, even during alert level 2.

“That we are in level 2 does not mean the threat of infection has disappeared. We must all maintain social-distancing, wear our masks regularly and regularly wash our hands or use an alcohol-based hand-sanitiser,” said the Mthembu.

This, he said, will see the country make great strides towards avoiding a second wave of infection.

Basic Education Minister Angie Mothsekga has received COVID-19 supplies on behalf of specials schools. The supplies were donated by short-term insurance company, Santam.

Among the items donated are a motorised, pressurised sprayer, gloves, sanitisers, as well as other essential items.

“Santam has donated sanitisers and equipment that should be used when an area has been contaminated. This is very important because in the past, we have seen schools highly disrupted because they did not have their own equipment to disinfect when there is a case of COVID-19 infection.

“It will help us to manage schools. Schools are being trained to use the equipment to disinfect, so there won’t be any major disruptions,” said the Minister.

While the donation is a result of a public-private partnership with Santam, which has a longstanding experience in the space, it also follows the release of a report by the South African Human Rights Commission around issues of safety in special schools.

“It is part of a broad intervention arising from the report that was released by the South African Human Rights Commission on issues of safety, particularly at hostels in special schools.

“Santam was already working in this space and we thought they could be part of the intervention to look broadly at how we could respond to safety issues,” said Jabulani Ngcobo, the Basic Education’s Director for Inclusive Education.

Ngcobo said the initiative, which involves around 81 schools in various provinces, aims to not only  improve the safety in specialised schools but also to combat Coronavirus.

With the costs of decontamination for a school at around R10 000 – R20 000, Ngcobo said this initiative will see schools manage disruption, while saving money.

The National Assembly has passed the Disaster Management Tax Relief Bill and the Disaster Management Tax Relief Administration Bill.

The bills were approved during the National Assembly’s hybrid plenary held on Tuesday.

The bills provide for the deferred payment of taxes, a skills development levy payment holiday, and increasing the tax-deductible amount of donations to the Solidarity Fund from 10% to 20%, amongst others.

The two bills, commonly referred to as the COVID-19 Tax Bill and the COVID-19 Tax Administration Bill, were introduced by the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, together with the Special Adjustment Budget on 24 June 2020.

The adjustment budget was promulgated to deal with and minimise the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, and the resultant economic downturn.

Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said before passing the bills, the National Assembly first had to adopt a resolution to suspend Rule 290(2)(a), which provides, inter alia, that the debate on the Second Reading of the Bill may not commence before at least three Assembly working days have elapsed since the committee’s report was tabled.

“The Standing Committee on Finance, following careful consideration and public participation, adopted and tabled its reports on the two bills with amendments on Friday, 21 August,” Mothapo said.

The two bills will now be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has welcomed the passing of the two bills, noting that the collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Health has been very productive and helpful.

“We have managed to bend the curve of infections, improving recoveries through the process. An economic system is about production, it’s about distribution, it’s about exchange and it’s about oiling the wheels of the economy.

“When we talk about economic transformation, we talk about what we do in agriculture, mining, finance, transport, logistics, government and community services. Therefore, all South Africans need to participate in all the activities.

“In the process of all these economic activities, taxation needs to be raised to finance the major needs and demands of the country. But when we are in crisis, we should also consider how we can use the tax system to support the economy as a whole. This is what we are trying to do by these interventions,” Mboweni said.

Many comments on the bills, said Mboweni, requested additional support, which was followed by the President announcing an expansion of the quantum of the tax relief, which would also apply to a greater number of companies.

“Specifically, the additional employment tax incentive amount was increased from R500 per month to R750 month, and the amount of monthly pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax that could be deferred was increased from 20% to 35%.

“The gross income threshold for which companies could apply for PAYE and provisional tax deferrals was increased from R50 million to R100 million,” Mboweni said.

While the additional employment tax incentive could be claimed for all employees who earned below R6 500 per month, this greatly expanded the number of employees who were eligible, as it removed the age requirement and the criteria for how long the individual had been employed.

“This was on top of a four-month exemption of the skills development levy, a delay in payments for the carbon tax, 90-day deferrals for excise duties for companies in the alcohol and tobacco industry, additional tax deductions for donations to COVID-19 relief organisations and greater access to living annuity funds.

“All companies, including those with gross incomes greater than R100 million, were able to apply to the South African Revenue Service on a case-by-case basis to potentially defer tax payments,” Mboweni said.

South Africa on Tuesday recorded 1 567 COVID-19 cases.

This brings the cumulative total of cases to 613 017 since the outbreak, while the death toll stands at 13 308.

Of the 149 new COVID-19 related deaths, 54 were in Gauteng, 35 in KwaZulu-Natal, 18 in the Western Cape, 16 each in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga, and 10 from the Northern Cape.

“The number of recoveries currently stands at 520 381, which translates to a recovery rate of 84%,” Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said.

To date, 3 578 836 tests have been done, with 10 640 being conducted since the last report.

The hardest-hit provinces are Gauteng with 206 892 cases, KwaZulu-Natal 110 521, Western Cape 104 781 and Eastern Cape 85 311.

The North West has 24 445 cases, Free State 35 603, Mpumalanga 23 336, Limpopo 12 703 and Northern Cape 9 375.

Fifty remain unallocated.

Globally, as of 25 August 2020, there have been 23 518 343 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 810 492 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged countries to desist from the nationalisation of COVID-19 vaccines and has requested that they join a vaccine pact.

The call from WHO comes as countries across the world race to find a vaccine for COVID-19.

Following a letter to all member states requesting them to join the vaccine arm of the Act-Accelerator, WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus announced that 172 countries have signed up to COVAX Global Vaccines Facility.

The facility is a critical mechanism for joint procurement and pooling risk across multiple vaccines so that whatever vaccine is proven to be safe and effective – all countries within the facility will be able to access them.

The facility has both the largest and most diverse COVID-19 vaccine portfolio in the world.

“New research outlines that global competition for vaccine doses could lead to prices spiking exponentially in comparison to a collaborative effort such as the COVAX Facility.

“It would also lead to a prolonged pandemic as only a small number of countries would get most of the supply. Vaccine nationalism only helps the virus,” said Ghebreyesus.

Presently, there are nine vaccines that are part of this dynamic portfolio; which is constantly being reviewed and optimised to ensure access to the best possible range of products.

“Even now discussions are ongoing with four more producers and a further nine vaccines are currently under evaluation for the longer term,” said Ghebreyesus.

The success of the COVAX Facility hinges not only on countries signing up to it, but also filling key funding gaps for both the research and development work and to support lower-income economies within the facility.

“Investing in the COVAX Facility is the fastest way to end this pandemic and ensure a sustainable economic recovery,” said the WHO DG.

Through the allocation framework, COVAX will ensure that low-, middle- and high-income countries all receive the vaccine in a timely way as soon as there is supply of a safe and effective vaccine.

Initially, when there will be limited supply, WHO said those at highest risk around the world will receive the vaccine.

This includes health workers, as they are on the frontlines in this pandemic and critical to saving lives and stabilising the overall health system.

It also includes people over 65 years old and those with certain diseases that put them at higher risk of dying from COVID-19.

As supply increases, the next stage of the vaccine rollout would be expanded based on an assessment of each country’s vulnerability to the virus.

“A number of vaccines are now in the final stage of clinical trials and we all hope we will have multiple successful candidates that are both safe and effective.

“In order to be able to secure enough doses to rollout the vaccines, the next step for the partnership is for countries to make binding commitments in support of the COVAX Facility,” said Ghebreyesus.

While funds have already been committed towards the COVAX Facility, WHO said more is urgently needed to continue to move the portfolio forward.

The goal of the mechanism is to deliver at least two billion doses of safe, effective vaccines by the end of 2021.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa is 611 450 after 1 677 new cases were identified as of Monday, while the death toll is 13 159.

Of the 100 additional fatalities recorded, 36 were in Mpumalanga, 19 in the Western Cape, 14 in KwaZulu-Natal, 12 in Gauteng, 11 in the Eastern Cape and eight in Limpopo.

According to Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, the number of those who have recovered stands at 516 494, which translates to a recovery rate of 84%.

The total number of tests conducted to date is 3 564 065, with 10 640 done since the last report.

Gauteng remains the epicentre with 206 525 cases, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 110 102, Western Cape 104 667 and Eastern Cape 85 240.

The Free State has 35 367 cases, North West 24 371, Mpumalanga 23 163, Limpopo 12 643 and Northern Cape 9 322.

Fifty remain unknown.

Worldwide, there have been 23 311 719 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 806 410 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation.

Mkhize salutes doctors

Engaging doctors and health professionals on Monday, the Minister thanked them for the role they are playing in the face of the deadly pandemic.

“Today is about you, the frontline healthcare workers. The ones in the trenches who hold the human face and render the human touch to all the policies, regulations, science and academic research that has flooded the health service delivery space, as we were confronted with a virus for which we had no precedent and no formula.

“It is the doctor that must examine, test, probe, reassess, worry and dedicate his abilities towards the management of life.”

The Minister said he appreciated the uncertainly under which the doctors are working and the frustrations they face.

“The fear of knowing every time that the next patient could be the one that infects you and not knowing how your own body will respond to the virus.”

Mkhize saluted them for the sheer tenacity and resilience they have portrayed, which has positioned leaders in the global COVID-19 response.

“This battle has not been without its casualties. Over 27 000 of our colleagues have become infected with the virus and tragically it has robbed us of 240 of our talented healthcare workers. We mourn every soul lost to this enemy.”

The Minister assured the healthcare workers that government will continue to engage with structures representing them, as they seek to create a new culture of mutual understanding and respect.

Meanwhile, Mkhize said this is no time to be complacent, as the number of infections drop.

“We have now started to dismantle some of the field hospitals, as we have concluded field hospital beds are no longer necessary. Now, we shift our focus to facility refurbishment and oxygen reticulation,” he said.

However, discussions to foster co-operation between private and public sectors are ongoing.

“This discussion needs to continue, as we have learnt through this pandemic that we are all health service providers and the future will be much better for all South Africans if we continue to operate as a united front,” Mkhize said.

He hopes the crisis will advance the cause of Universal Health Coverage through the National Health Insurance.

Doctors at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town have developed an innovative way to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Thanks to their creativity, medics now have access to modified snorkel masks to help prevent them from contracting the deadly virus while intubating critically ill patients.

“These masks cover the whole face, forming a tight seal and are usually used for snorkelling in tropical waters,” the hospital said.

“They have been modified with the addition of a breathing filter where the snorkel would usually be. Using these full-face modified snorkel masks, the doctors are now completely protected from breathing in the COVID-19 virus whilst performing highly contagious airway procedures.”

The idea originated in Europe when engineers changed the snorkels into medical masks after hospitals ran out personal protective equipment at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Tygerberg Hospital’s neonatologist and paediatrician, Dr Lizelle van Wyk, bought into the idea when she heard about it.

Van Wyk, who is an avid diver, then approached her colleagues Dr Jack Meintjies and Professor Pierre Goussard to modify and approve this mask.

“The modified snorkel masks are now routinely used by the paediatricians for intubation and bronchoscopy in children suspected of being COVID-19 positive,” the hospital said.