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South Africa’s COVID-19 deaths have passed 41 000 as the country works around the clock to contain the further spread of the virus.

This comes after 243 more COVID-19 related deaths were reported on Monday, which brings the tally to 41 117.

Of the latest fatalities, 65 are in the Eastern Cape, 60 in KwaZulu-Natal, 57 in the Western Cape, 33 in Gauteng, 18 in Free State and five each in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.

“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased patients,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

Meanwhile, the country has recorded a total of 1 417 537 Coronavirus cases, of which 4 551 were identified in the last 24 hours.

The recovery rate now stands at 87.6% after 1 241 421 patients recuperated from the respiratory disease.

The data is based on the 8 019 239 tests with 26 113 conducted since the last report.

Globally, there have been 98 794 942 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2 124 193 deaths, reported to the World Health Organisation.

With South Africa gearing to receive its first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines, President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated that government’s mass vaccination campaign strategy would reach all corners of the country, prioritising those most in need.

The President emphasised the commitment in the latest edition of his weekly newsletter on Monday.

In coming weeks, the country will receive a batch of 1.5 million Astrazeneca vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer.

This, wrote the President, will signal the start of a mass vaccination campaign that will be the most ambitious and extensive in the country’s history.

“It will reach all parts of the country and will be phased to ensure that those most in need are prioritised. The first vaccines to arrive will be provided to health care workers, who will be targeted in the first phase.

“The second phase will include essential workers, teachers, the elderly and those with co-morbidities. The third phase will include other adults in the population,” President Ramaphosa said.

The comprehensive rollout strategy and an accompanying logistical framework will be implemented in partnership with the private sector, civil society, traditional leadership, the religious sector and others.

“It is vital that this is a society-wide campaign, in which everyone is involved and no-one is left behind,” he wrote.

“A year after the novel coronavirus started spreading around the world, the arrival of the vaccine gives great hope for our country’s social and economic recovery – and, most importantly, for the health of our people.”

The President said given the unprecedented global demand for vaccine doses, combined with the far greater buying power of wealthier countries, South Africa had to engage in extensive and protracted negotiations with manufacturers to secure enough vaccines to reach the country’s adult population.

“South Africa has engaged closely with the global COVAX facility and the African Union’s Vaccine Acquisition Task Team as part of the collective effort to secure vaccines for the world’s low- and middle-income countries. The doses that South Africa will receive through its participation in these initiatives, together with the agreements being made directly with manufacturers, are expected to ensure that the country has sufficient vaccines to contain the spread of the virus,” he said.

“From the moment the Coronavirus first reached our shores in March last year, we have acted swiftly and decisively, and informed by the best available scientific evidence, to save lives and protect livelihoods. Through the measures we have taken, we have been able to contain infections, protect our health system and prevent an even greater loss of life,” said the President.

He said: “Understanding that vaccines are essential if we are to overcome the pandemic, government has been working, both through multilateral initiatives and direct negotiations with manufacturers, to ensure South Africa can make the best use of vaccines when they become available”.

Regarding concern that government has not been sufficiently transparent about these efforts, President Ramaphosa said as government did with the announcement on the Serum Institute, the details of deals with manufacturers will be released as and when negotiations are concluded and we are released from the communications terms of the non-disclosure agreements.

“This is commonplace in such circumstances, and most governments have had to comply with similar restrictions,” he said.

“We recognise that it is important that the public must be kept abreast of developments on vaccine acquisition at all times. And government must be held to account for all the decisions it makes in this regard.”

Throughout the pandemic, he said, government has been open and transparent with the South African people on the health measures it is taking to secure the safety of people.

“We have sought to explain all our decisions, to listen to people’s concerns and to continuously update the country on the state of the disease,” he said.

He added: “All of us need to be part of this national effort and not allow the spread of rumours, fear and mistrust. False information and fake news can and does put lives at risk. We all need to work together to build confidence in the vaccine, to demonstrate its effectiveness and its safety – and to emphasise its vital importance in overcoming this deadly disease”.

For its part, he wrote, government will work to improve all its channels of communication, to keep the public regularly informed on the development of the vaccination programme, to provide information that is accurate and factual, and to continue to engage with and listen to the broad range of voices in society.

“We have a massive task ahead of us, probably far greater than any of us has ever undertaken before. But if we work together, if we support and trust each other and if we keep the lines of communication open, we will certainly succeed,” said the President.

The Department of Basic Education says it is working with Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) to ensure that all qualifying education assistants and general school assistants — who were employed in December and have submitted all the required documents — are paid this month.

In a statement, the department said some PEDs  experienced challenges in processing the December stipends due, in part, to incomplete paperwork submitted (in some instances), which had to be returned to the affected schools for rectification.

“This happened at a time when schools were busy dealing with the administration of the end-of-year examinations, and preparations for the 2021 academic year, including finalising work related to 2021 post provisioning,” the department said.

The department said the Provincial Education Departments are aware of the non-payment of some of the December stipends, and are working with education districts to ensure that all the necessary requirements are met “in order for everyone who qualifies to receive their payments”.

The department said it is also working with Provincial Education Departments to implement the Presidential Employment Stimulus, through the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI).

The Presidential Employment Stimulus is an initiative that seeks to address youth unemployment, while simultaneously addressing the devastation of COVID-19 on households. For most young people employed under this initiative, this forms their first form of formal employment.

“The initiative aims to create temporary employment opportunities for 300 000 youth between the ages of 18 and 35 years old. Of these, 200 000 are education assistants and 100 000 are general school assistants.

“The second objective of the Presidential Employment Stimulus is to save jobs. As such, another aspect of the BEEI pertains to the saving of School Governing Body (SGB) funded posts in fee-paying schools and posts at government-subsidised independent schools,” the department said.

To date, the department said 22 526 jobs have been saved and PEDs are adjudicating more applications to support saving more posts.

Over 4 000 Temporary Disability Grant reapplications have been assessed in KwaZulu-Natal, since the process commenced this year.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) in KwaZulu-Natal said more beneficiaries are heeding the call to visit the offices to reapply for Temporary Disability and Care Dependency Grants in the province.

The reapplication process, which commenced on 5 January 2021, follows the suspension of 43 861 medically related grants that lapsed in December 2020, comprising 40 875 Temporary Disability Grants and 2 986 Care Dependency Grants.

Regional Executive Manager of SASSA KwaZulu-Natal, Themba Matlou, said as of 15 January 2021, the region has assessed 4 007 Temporary Disability Grants and 1 829 Care Dependency Grant cases.

“The local offices are currently finalising the application process. Other responding clients have been booked to see the SASSA contracted doctors for assessment purposes,” Matlou said.

During his recent visit at the SASSA local office in Pietermaritzburg to assess progress being made in the reapplication process, Matlou said the region has introduced shift work of not more than 50% of staff in the office to allow for social distancing, and to curb the spread of COVID-19 infection.

He said the region also plans to finalise the reapplication for all lapsed grants by the end of March 2021.

“This could be finalised even earlier than the set date if the surge subsides. The region is planning to work extended hours and even weekends to finalise these cases before end March 2021.

“We encourage affected citizens to continue reporting to the nearest SASSA office, with a detailed referral report from their treating doctor, which confirms the impact of the medical condition or disability,” Matlou said.

Who qualifies for disability grant?

A disability grant may be awarded as either a permanent grant, which may or may not be subject to a medical review after a certain period of time.

Permanent disability grants are awarded for conditions that impact on the applicant’s ability to work for a period longer than 12 months.

Where the disability or medical condition is likely to improve with treatment or other interventions, the grant may be awarded for a temporary period of between six and 12 months.

After this time, the grant lapses, in accordance with the conditions set in the Social Assistance Act, 2004.  If, on lapsing of the grant, the client is still unable to be employed as a result of the disability or medical condition, s/he needs to re-apply for the grant.

For enquiries, beneficiaries can contact SASSA call centre numbers: SASSA National Call Centre 0800 601011, and KZN Regional Office Call Centre  033 846 3400.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) says plans are in place for the imminent impact of Tropical Cyclone Eloise.

“Tropical Cyclone Eloise has been in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region for a while and has mainly been over the island States, with the possibility of hitting Mozambique, with initial indications being that it would impact primarily Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana, with very little impact on South Africa, if any,” the department said.

The department said the reality unfolding is that there will be impact in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

The department warned that the resultant floods could also affect KwaZulu-Natal.

“The cyclone has been upgraded to a Category 2 storm. It was expected to reach the coastal town of Beira in Mozambique on Saturday morning. The DWS rain gauges have not as yet indicated any rainfall in the north-east of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, but rather cloud coverage over the same areas.

“The DWS has done planning for possible risks in this regard from hydrological, operations and construction perspectives, considering the kind of infrastructure the DWS is responsible for. Where gaps were identified, immediate actions were put in place to address these,” the department said.

According to the department, a number of high risk areas have been identified. These include Tzaneen, Blyderivierpoort, Klaserie, Nandoni and Albasini Dams.

The department said the relevant departmental officials have been actioned to apply the necessary measures to monitor and manage these areas very closely.

“There are also teams on standby to respond to any situation that might arise. Part of the teams’ responsibilities will include ongoing engagement with stakeholders that might be affected within the identified areas.

“These interactions will include cautions/alerts when the possibility or reality of dam sluices/gates being opened to release water and reduce pressure on the infrastructure. The releases could lead to possible flooding downstream of the dam/s,” the department explained.

The department has advised that it is always important that those that operate downstream of dams respond quickly and positively to all warnings of possible flooding.

“This will reduce loss of lives, livestock for farmers, property and equipment, which could be moved in time.”

While Eloise will impact mainly Limpopo and Mpumalanga, the department has also reminded people within the Vaal and Orange River Systems that it is still important for everyone to be vigilant.

“The Gariep (the biggest dam in the country) and the Vanderkloof (the second biggest) are already full and spilling, with Bloemhof also at capacity. The high inflows into the country’s biggest dams has meant that the possibility of flooding in [those areas] remains.

“The prediction of rainfall is unreliable. Therefore, the release of water from these dams is not top of mind at the moment. It is critically important for all those who would be affected by such floods to already begin moving away from the floodlines,” the department said.

The main objectives for the DWS are to ensure the safety of infrastructure (dams), minimise damage, and ensure at least 100% full dams at the end of the flood.

“Tropical Cyclone Eloise… will be a difficult test for the DWS flood preparedness but the department remains steadfast in the belief and trust of the DWS Flood Preparedness Plan,” the department said.

The department annually puts together a flood preparedness plan in anticipation of high levels of rainfall, especially during the summer rainfall period.

The plan is meant to enhance monitoring of rainfall, inflows into rivers and dams, as well as to raise alarm bells timeously, in case of impending danger through floods.

More rain expected in Mpumalanga, Limpopo

After widespread flooding reports from Mpumalanga and Limpopo, the South African Weather Service has warned that more rain is expected in those provinces.

The Weather Service said disruptive rain is expected over the escarpment and lowveld areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, and the eastern highveld from Sunday until Monday.

“A warning has been issued for the eastern parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga for [Sunday] into [Monday] due to persistent heavy rain, and more heavy rain is expected [on Monday night] into [Tuesday]. This will cause serious strain on emergency services.

“Take extreme caution in these areas,” the Weather Service warned.

South Africa recorded 8 147 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, along with 300 related deaths.

The country has now reached 1 412 986 confirmed infections, while the death toll now stands at 40 874.

Of the latest fatalities, 105 are in the Western Cape, 70 in KwaZulu-Natal, 45 in Gauteng, 43 in the Eastern Cape, 15 in Free State and 14 in the North West.

Meanwhile, six occurred in Mpumalanga and two in the Northern Cape.

“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased patients,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

“Our recoveries now stand at 1 230 520, representing a recovery rate of 87%,” he added.

South Africa has 141 592 active cases, with the hardest-hit province including KwaZulu-Natal with 48 482 patients who are currently battling COVID-19.

KwaZulu-Natal is followed by the Western Cape with 25 901 active cases, Gauteng 21 941 and 13 682 in Free State.

The information is based on the 7 993 126 tests, of which 46 119 were performed since the last report.

The World Health Organisation is reporting 97 464 094 confirmed global cases of COVID-19, including 2 112 689 deaths, to date.

South Africa logged over 12 000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time this week, after recording fewer than 10 000 infections a day in the past few days.

According to the latest data, the total number of COVID-19 cases identified is 1 369 426 after 12 714 were confirmed to have contracted the virus on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the active cases are now at 170 160, of which 53 442 are from KwaZulu-Natal, while 35 558 can be found in Gauteng and 32 366 in the Western Cape.

The North West currently has 13 868 patients who are infected, 9 438 in Free State, 8 314 in Mpumalanga, 7 954 in Limpopo, 4 968 in the Eastern Cape and 4 252 in the Northern Cape.

“Regrettably, we report a further 566 COVID-19 related deaths,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of fatalities after 218 people succumbed to the respiratory disease in the last 24 hours.

The province is followed by the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape provinces, which had 104 deaths each.

Meanwhile, 80 occurred in Gauteng, 46 in Free State, eight in the Northern Cape and six in Mpumalanga.

This brings the total figure to 38 854 deaths, Mkhize added. “We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated these patients.”

The recovery rate is now sitting at 84.7% after 1 160 412 patients beat COVID-19.

“The cumulative total of tests conducted to date is 7 762 073 with 62 054 new tests conducted since the last report.”

The KwaZulu-Natal government said the province continues to rank number one in the country in terms of the number of active cases.

“The province is witnessing death on a catastrophic scale that has never been seen in living memory,” the province said.

The provincial government is once again asking please to “mask up” and social distance to limit the further transmissions.

According to the World Health Organisation, there are 94 963 847 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2 050 857 deaths, to date.

The City of Ekurhuleni has temporarily halted the process of handing over serviced stands, and the repair of damaged water and sanitation installations at Daveyton Extension 14 due to repeated community disruptions and vandalism.

According to the city, the disruptions have resulted in financially unviable costs to the city, including contractor standing time payments, and recurrent repairs due to vandalism.

Spokesperson for City of Ekurhuleni, Nhlanhla Cebekhulu, said before the disruptions, the city had repaired damaged geysers and bathroom equipment to make the stands ready for allocation.

“To that effect, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Human Settlements, Lesiba Mpya, has held successive community consultation meetings on 18 October and 29 November 2020 in preparation for a smooth allocation of the stands to the rightful beneficiaries.

“A preliminary allocation to 16 beneficiaries was done before the community disruptions and intimidation of beneficiaries started. The beneficiaries were mainly backyard dwellers of Daveyton,” Cebekhulu said.

Cebekhulu said once all the issues that held back the completion of the project and handover of the serviced stands are resolved, the city will resume its work.

“The contractor will therefore hand over the site to security officials to prevent further vandalism of property, while the city intervenes to prepare for the resumption of the smooth allocation of stands.

“The Daveyton Extension 14 serviced stand project has a yield of 483 units, and 96% of the stands are ready for occupation,” Cebekhulu said.

The project comprised zoned stands with piped water, flushing toilets, water geysers, and sewer and storm water infrastructure.

The stands have title deeds to be handed over to the beneficiaries to secure their right of ownership.

South Africa’s six key priorities of the African Union (AU) have had to take a backseat due to COVID-19, with President Cyril Ramaphosa leading the continent’s response to the pandemic and ensuring collaboration in this important battle.

While 2020 has been an unprecedented year, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, believes that the COVID-19 initiatives have led to a unified Africa.

Pandor said one of the outcomes of this collaboration was the inception of the COVID-19 African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), established by President Ramaphosa in support of the Africa Vaccine Strategy.

“This was an [initiative to make]… vaccines… a global public good… President Ramaphosa and the AU are working hard to secure vaccines for Africa,” the Minister said.

In his capacity as the AU Chair, President Ramaphosa has reported to a special meeting of the AU Bureau of the Assembly that the organisation has secured a provisional 270 million vaccine doses for African countries, with at least 50 million said to be available for the crucial period of April to June 2021.

“These efforts complement the COVAX facility, a World Health Organisation and Gavi Vaccine Alliance initiative to help low- and middle-income countries secure access to vaccines on a fair and equitable basis,” said Pandor.

The Minister was reflecting on South Africa’s two-year non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the country’s chairship of the AU during a virtual programme hosted by the London Chatham House on Wednesday.

“President Ramaphosa’s focus remains premised on the principle that no country should be left behind,” said Pandor.

Peace and security

She told delegates that government was dedicated in its UNSC term to the legacy of President Nelson Mandela, whose values and commitment to peace were commemorated on the centenary of his birth in 2018.

“South Africa believes peace is critical to development and progress in Africa.  We hoped that our election would support the African objective of silencing the guns in Africa.”

Pandor said the country also used its term to promote the peaceful settlement of conflicts through preventive diplomacy, inclusive dialogue and post-conflict reconstruction and development.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded these challenges and has necessitated us to work together as a collective with all countries across the globe to combat the virus, and ensure that we are able to rebuild a safer world, where the development needs of all its people are fulfilled.”

South Africa has advocated for strengthened partnership and closer cooperation between the UN Security Council and the AU’s Peace and Security Council.

“However, a challenge in this relationship has to do with the financing of the AU peacekeeping missions authorised by the Security Council,” Pandor said, noting that  the African members of the Council are continuing with efforts to secure commitments for consistent and sustainable financing of these AU Missions.

“Through our cooperation, we also stressed the need to address the root causes and drivers of conflict in Africa, including focusing on the challenges of development and governance.”

Pandor said the country continued to consistently express solidarity with the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara in their quest to achieve self-determination, fundamental freedom, equality, justice and dignity.

“We further advanced the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security and the Youth, Peace and Security agendas.”

Multilateralism

Following the end of term on the Security Council, South Africa will continue its dedication to multilateralism and work with other bodies of the United Nations to pursue these goals.

“We remain committed to a rules-based order, characterised by inclusion and equity.  There is a lot of ground lost in multilateralism in the past four years and we need to rebuild trust and co-operation,” Pandor said.

She reminded delegates that South Africa took over the chairship of the AU under the them: ‘Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development’.

“We emphasised an existing AU goal through the adoption of this theme. Of course, all our careful planning was altered by COVID-19,” she stressed.

On peace and security, Pandor said many Africans still face instability, violence and conflict. She cited Libya, the Sahel, Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, South Sudan, and the east of the DRC.

“We are also concerned by the recent developments relating to the situation in Western Sahara. Greater attention to peace in these countries is critical, as well as support for the solution from the AU and the UN,” she added.

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) is collaborating with global healthcare companies for research on genetic diversity in Africa.

According to the SAMRC, this comes after the council successfully applied to facilitate the administration of a project jointly funded by multinational pharmaceutical companies, GSK and Novartis in 2019.

The partnership will see the SAMRC, through its Grants, Innovation and Product Development (GIPD) platform, facilitating the administration of Project Africa GRADIENT.

GRADIENT, short for Genomic Research Approach for Diversity and Optimising Therapeutics was initiated in 2018 as a collaboration between GSK and Novartis.

“Its primary aim is to establish a consortium to collaborate with expert academic centres and organisations in Africa to support high-quality research on African genetic diversity of relevance to drug therapeutics.”

Its focus is to evaluate genetic diversity as the contributing factor to the way patients on the African continent respond to drugs used to treat malaria and tuberculosis (TB).

GIPD unit manages external grant funding and innovation activities within the SAMRC through several business units, platforms and programmes.

GSK and Novartis committed combined funding of US$ 3.6 million (R53 593 128) over five years.

SAMRC President and CEO, Professor Glenda Gray, has welcomed the exciting news.

“We are delighted that partners are now seeking to address the challenges of Africa by their quest to understand the fundamental differences between the genetics of Africa and the rest of the world.”

She believes that this move will build on to the already existing partnership with the two pharmaceutical companies over the years.

“In 2017, the SAMRC together with the then Department of Science and Technology (DST) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Novartis which amongst others sought to build scientific capability and potentially lead to breakthrough innovations in South Africa,” Gray added.

In addition, as part of its Africa NCD Open Lab initiative, GSK collaborated with the SAMRC and the UK Medical Research Council to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa in 2014.

The SAMRC President said not only is this partnership in line with the strategic goals of the SAMRC of becoming a globally competitive and locally responsive research organisation, but it also demonstrates the need for greater collaboration.

She said she is always encouraged by collaborations that are designed to improve the health and quality of the lives of the people of South Africa and the broader African continent.

Project Africa GRADIENT comprises three funding mechanisms to support which include fellowships, investigator-sponsored research and seed-fund.

GSK Senior Vice President, Pauline Williams, said human genetics is a core pillar of the company’s research and development strategy.

“Genetic diversity is greater in Africa than in any other continental population resulting in some African patients having varying response to treatments. We are excited to launch Project Africa GRADIENT which aims to catalyse the best science in the continent to optimise treatment responses for malaria and tuberculosis, two infectious diseases that disproportionately affect African populations,” Williams added.

The Request for Application (RFA) for Project Africa GRADIENT is now open and are welcoming proposals from researchers based at African (North, West, East, Central, and Southern Africa) universities, science councils and other public research organisations to submit their proposals.

“For the first phase, priority will be given to proposals collating new and available genetic data regarding drug response to malaria and TB treatments by populations of Africa using existing databases, biorepositories or any other data in the public domain among others. Data could contribute to the building of an Africa genetic database.”

Researchers across Africa are invited to express their “intent to submit” through the SAMRC website https://www.samrc.ac.za/request-for-applications/project-africa-gradient.

Final award recipients are expected to be announced by end of 2021.