South Africa

South Africa Begins Human Trial Of COVID-19 Vaccine

South Africa Begins Human Trial Of COVID-19 Vaccine

June 25, 2020 1:13 pm

South Africa began on Wednesday human trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine as cases continue to rise and concerns grow over potential access to life-saving treatments.

The trial, conducted by Oxford University with local partner University of the Witwatersrand, will consist of 2,000 volunteers from 18 to 65 years of age.

The volunteers will also include some HIV positive patients.

They will be monitored for 12 months after vaccination to asses how well the vaccine guards against COVID-19.

Read Also: South Africa Leads As Africa COVID-19 Cases Hit 321,855

“Once 60% of the population, especially the adult population, becomes immune, …

South Africans Cheer As Alcohol Goes Back On Sale

South Africans Cheer As Alcohol Goes Back On Sale

June 1, 2020 2:58 pm

Long queues have formed outside shops selling alcohol in South Africa after restrictions on its sale, imposed two months ago as part of measures to fight Covid-19, were lifted.

Social media posts showed people, who had braved the morning chill, cheering as buyers emerged with their bottles.

The alcohol ban was to allow police and hospitals to better focus on tackling the coronavirus, the authorities said.

Alcohol-fuelled violence is a huge problem in South Africa.

Doctors and police say the ban has had a dramatic impact, contributing to a sharp drop in casualty admissions.

But the country’s brewers and wine …

South African President Says Farm Attacks ‘Not Genocidal’

South Africa Loosens Lockdown Despite Coronavirus Heavy Caseload

June 1, 2020 9:00 am

South Africa sought to revive its economy on Monday with the partial lifting of a coronavirus lockdown, letting people out for work, worship or shopping, and allowing mines and factories to run at full capacity.

But resumption of schools has been postponed by a week.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was widely praised when he ordered a strict lockdown at the end of March.

But the measures have battered the economy of Africa’s most industrialised nation, which was already in recession before the coronavirus.

South Africa’s central bank expects the economy, which has been hard hit by the impact of power cuts …

South Africa’s Daily COVID-19 Cases Surpass 1,000 Mark

South Africa’s Daily COVID-19 Cases Surpass 1,000 Mark

May 23, 2020 8:53 am

South Africa on Thursday reported 1,134 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the highest daily record since the country recorded its first case in early March.

With the newly-added cases, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa stood at 19,137, the highest on the African continent.

“Regrettably, we report 30 more COVID-19 related deaths – this brings the total national deaths to 369,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in his daily update.

Read Also: Coronavirus Cases Surpass 10,000 In South Africa

According to Xinhua, the new deaths also broke the daily record since March 5 when the country’s first …

Lockdown Leads To Massive Looting In South Africa

Lockdown Leads To Massive Looting In South Africa

April 15, 2020 12:50 pm

A number of food and liquor stores have been looted in South Africa amid a strict national lockdown that was put in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Incidents were reported in several locations on the outskirts of Cape Town near the Gugulethu township, where many people lived in poverty even before the lockdown restricted people’s movements and affected their livelihoods.

“It is a struggle for many to put food on the table,” Albert Fritz, minister of community safety for the Western Cape province, said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.

“At present, we find ourselves …

Nigeria, South Africa Going Into Recession - World Bank

Nigeria, South Africa Going Into Recession: World Bank

April 10, 2020 7:15 am

The World Bank Group said on Thursday that Coronavirus will drive many African countries, such as Nigeria, South Africa and Angola into recession, the first for Sub-saharan bloc in 25 years.

In a statement, the bank said growth in Africa will fall sharply from 2.4 per cent in 2019 to -2.1 to -5.1 per cent in 2020.

“While most countries in the region have been affected in different degrees by the pandemic, real gross domestic product growth is projected to fall sharply, particularly in the region’s three largest economies like Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa, as a result of persistently

…
Curfews In Senegal, South Africa Over Coronavirus

Harsh Curfews In Senegal, South Africa Over Coronavirus

March 24, 2020 5:49 am

Senegal and South Africa issued curfews Monday as part of measures against the novel coronavirus, which has claimed more than 16,000 lives worldwide.

Following a nine-hour-long meeting, Senegalese President Macky Sall said a state of emergency was declared in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, adding free movement would be limited for the next three months.

Sall said demonstrations and rallies were prohibited, public spaces would be closed, and a curfew would be in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. while transportation between cities has been restricted and could be completely banned if necessary.

Read Also:

…
Difficulties Of Virus Testing In South Africa

Difficulties Of Virus Testing In South Africa

March 20, 2020 11:45 am

Peter Serati rolled down the car window and opened his mouth as a lab worker reached in to take a swab at a drive-in coronavirus testing centre in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city.

Working swiftly behind a face mask and protective goggles, the tester took swabs from Serati’s wife and daughter on the back seat before neatly sealing the sample tubes into ziplock bags.

There are around 50 coronavirus testing sites in South Africa, the second-most affected country on the continent after Egypt, with 202 cases recorded to date.

South Africa’s public healthcare facilities are poorly equiped to handle …

Coronavirus- SA's President Ramaphosa Warns Of Crisis

Coronavirus: SA’s President Ramaphosa Warns Of Crisis

March 5, 2020 4:26 pm

 

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that the coronavirus will turn into a “national crisis” and its impact will be “huge”.

His warning came after the first case of the coronavirus was detected in South Africa.

The patient is a 38-year-old man who visited Italy with his wife.

This brings to 27 the number of coronavirus cases reported in Africa. Algeria is worst-affected, with 17 cases, 16 of them in the same family.

The South African couple, who have two children, were part of a group of 10 who returned from Italy on 1 March, Health Minister Zweli …

HIV

Africa: The Search For An Effective HIV Vaccine Continues

February 17, 2020 1:17 pm

 

An HIV vaccine trial that started in 2016 in South Africa was halted in February 2020. The study sponsors made the call after interim results showed that the vaccine, known as HVTN 702, did not prevent HIV. This result was disappointing, but the search for an effective HIV vaccine continues. Anatoli Kamali speaks to The Conversation Africa’s Ina Skosana about other developments in the field.

Why do we need an HIV vaccine?

HIV remains a dangerous pandemic. The number of new infections remains high – about 1.7 million new cases every year. Young people, particularly young women, account for

…
Kaitano Tembo

Zimbabwe: Kaitano Tembo Set For English Premier League

February 14, 2020 4:22 pm

South Africa-based Zimbabwean coach Kaitano Tembo is set to enhance his football knowledge by visiting some of the top clubs that are campaigning in the English Premier League in a study tour being organised by his current club SuperSport United.

SuperSport United Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Stanley Matthews revealed Thursday that the Tembo will embark on a journey to England next month.

“We’ve had good coaches with big ambitions in the past. We had Pitso Mosimane who has achieved big in his career. That’s the same pride with Gavin Hunt. It is the same pride that we would love to …

Isuzu

Isuzu Begins Export Programme For Sub-Saharan Africa

February 10, 2020 2:50 pm

Isuzu Motors South Africa in Port Elizabeth has started supplying knocked down (KD) Isuzu D-MAX pick-up kits for assembly purposes to its Isuzu manufacturing facility in Kenya. 

This represents the first intra-continental regional trade exchange of its kind for Isuzu on the continent and is aligned to its strategy for its South African vehicle assembly plant to serve as a hub for growing its overall volumes in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Isuzu Motors Limited, majority shareholder of Isuzu East Africa, regards the opportunities in Africa, based on infrastructural investment, to be significant. The East African operation previously focussed only on truck and …

TRENDING

Breaking

𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬, 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤, is a nonpartisan online news portal founded on the truth to provide you with weekly, insightful articles written with precision and current updates on current events from Africa in particular and the rest of the world in general. All of our reports undergo extensive fact-checking to ensure their veracity, and we adhere strictly to the facts, no matter whose ox is gored.

follow on social media

Facebook Twitter Youtube Telegram Linkedin

subscribe to newsletter

© 2018 - 2020 Africa digital news, New York
Powered by

People and Polity