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LIVE | A glimpse into what life after lockdown could look like

2020-04-16 05:30

News24 team

Stay up to date with the latest news, views and analysis as the number of coronavirus cases in SA increases.

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Last Updated at 07:01
07:00
What does the US funding cut mean for WHO's fight against coronavirus?

US President Trump's decision could mean as much as $720m in health programmes could go unfunded in 2020-21.
06:41
Coronavirus morning update: A harsh truth, Trump vs the WHO, and an annual Covid-19 season?

Your latest coronavirus news: A top SA expert says after lockdown, our lives won't be the same; anger and concern after US president freezes World Health Organization funding; and researchers predict that the virus is likely to be around for years to come.
06:36

A glimpse into what life after lockdown could look like

Covid-19 has drastically altered the way we live now, and it will continue to do so in the future as people become more aware of the everyday preventative measures they need to take.

Professor Salim Abdool Karim, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist working with the government in the fight against the coronavirus, says there will be no return to normal. 


"We are going to have to learn to live in a way where we will lose that soft touch that comes from being close to those we love, those we care about, because in order to protect them we are going to have to keep some distance,” Karim said.


Read more: Covid-19 in SA: Life is not going to be what it once was, says Prof Karim


Various groups are also trying to figure out what rules should be in place when the South African economy restarts, but while the risk of Covid-19 still looms.Current recommendations – which could become rules – include taking staff temperatures, and developing a plan for what to do if someone shows symptoms while at work.
06:10
Experts weigh up new methods to measure Covid-19 spread as questions over data remain

The government will have some indication of how well the lockdown has worked at the end of this week, but it is too soon to make definitive conclusions on infection rates.
05:54

IMF okays almost $230 million in coronavirus aid for Niger, Burkina

 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved emergency aid totalling nearly $230 million to help two Sahel countries fight coronavirus.
05:53

Government data tracking during Covid-19 poses risks, says researcher

Telecommunication lockdown regulations aimed at fighting Covid-19 and aid contact-tracing efforts pose the risk of being misused, according to Murray Hunter who is an independent researcher and information rights activist.
05:52

Covid-19: Meet the entrepreneurs who are making masks

 

The government recommended and endorsed the use of masks on 10 April to help the fight against the spread of Covid-19. With a huge shortage of surgical and N95 masks, which are reserved for health workers, a number of enterprising people have now got into the homemade face mask business, GroundUp reported.
23:53
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, an internationally-recognised epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist who is working as an advisor for the government for the Covid-19 outbreak, sat down with News24 on Wednesday for an in-depth interview on the country's response to the coronavirus.

Here are some important points he made:

- South Africa's timeous response to the Covid-19 pandemic was a reflection of our strong academic and research capability

- South African experts were able to draw from experiences of how they dealt with other viruses like HIV and TB

- While there were some similarities, Covid-19 was much more dangerous than the flu

- There is no evidence that any treatment is effective against the coronavirus

- In the limited time the world has had to study Covid-19, there have been no reports of re-infection

- South Africa was able to decide on what an effective approach would be to fight Covid-19 by drawing on the approaches taken by other countries

Read our full story filed by Azarrah Karrim

Watch the full interview



Here are some our top stories of the day:

Covid-19 in SA: 7 people die in less than a week

6 new coronavirus cases confirmed at East London prison

Motaung: SA 'forever indebted' to those who fight Covid-19

South Africa getting special 3 digit phone number for Covid-19 emergencies

Govt establishes 'hi-tech' process to tackle fake news

LISTEN | Coronavirus: Has lockdown in SA worked so far?

Here's a wrap of the biggest coronavirus stories from around the world:

Scientists turn the coronavirus structure into music - here's why and what it sounds like

MIT scientists turned the coronavirus structure into music to help them better understand it. A musical representation of spikes in the virus particles was created and is played by al-generated flutes, strings and bell chimes.

Arsonists in the UK targeted a 5G mast serving a newly built coronavirus hospital

Arsonists have targeted a mobile phone mast serving a newly-built hospital in the UK as conspiracy theorists pushing the false claim of a link between 5G technology and the coronavirus trigger a wave of attacks across the country.

WATCH | WHO says 'reviewing the impact' of US funding halt

The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday it was reviewing what impact the US decision to halt funding would have, and said it was looking to others to help fill financial "gaps".


Study shows Iceland got it right with early, widespread virus testing

Iceland has provided a textbook example of how to get out ahead of a looming pandemic: per capita, it has tested more people for coronavirus than any other country on earth and it got started a month before the first case was even confirmed in the tiny Nordic island nation.

Stay healthy and entertained during the national lockdown. Sign up for our Lockdown Living newsletter. Register and manage your newsletters in the new News24 app by clicking on the Profile tab.
22:14
South Africa alarmed by US decision to cut funding to the WHO

The department of international relations expressed its concern on Wednesday by the US announcement that it will immediately stop funding the World Health Organization (WHO).

"South Africa is particularly alarmed that decision is made amid a global health crisis that requires a full capacity World Health Organisation to provide support in combatting the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

"It is alarming that this very regrettable decision is announced as this deadly virus strikes Africa and the poorest and most vulnerable states," Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said in a statement.

Lack of funding from the US will have a "significantly adverse impact" on programmes by the WHO to fight and eliminate the coronavirus.

He said it is now more than ever that the international community should stand together and work together in the spirit of human solidarity.

"We are hopeful that the government of the United States will reconsider its decision and rejoin the international community in fighting this pandemic," Monyela said.
21:17
As the extent of the economic devastation wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic begins to emerge, economists have warned that the effects will likely set the economy back by more than six years – a worse impact than was seen in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.
21:15
Hunger in a time of protests, looting: 'People are looking all over for food

A day of stone throwing and looting in some parts of Cape Town could explain how some people are battling to find food during the lockdown, a Cape Town councillor on the Cape Flats said on Wednesday.

"A man told me 'I would rather die of Covid-19 than of hunger'," ANC Ward 22 councillor Bongani Ngcani told News24.

"People are looking all over for food."

19:42
The Gauteng provincial government has put forward R80 million toward a feeding scheme to fight hunger during the lockdown - and the province will receive an extra R43 million from the national government for relief efforts.

Acting Social Development MEC Panyaza Lesufi said the province has awarded a tender for food parcels worth R80 million for food parcels.

He said the national Solidarity Fund, together with the national Department of Social Development, will give Gauteng R43 million as part of the process to fight poverty.

He, however, warned those who wanted to disrupt the initiative and chance-takers to stay away from the department's plan to distribute food parcels to the needy.

Watch here:
19:18
Six relatives test positive for coronavirus in Port St Johns

Six members of a Port St Johns family are confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus, the OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape said on Wednesday.

Mayoral spokesperson Mntuwoxolo Ngudle said the family was in self-isolation as provincial health officials traced with whom they had been in contact.
18:48
SA's resilience will help it survive coronavirus - IMF

South Africa is resilient enough to overcome the impact of coronavirus pandemic as long as its policies are recalibrated toward economic growth once the crisis has passed, according to the International Monetary Fund.

"The country’s big strength is that it has very deep and liquid domestic capital markets relative to most other emerging-market countries" and generates most of its financing domestically and in rands, Abebe Aemro Selassie, the director of the lender’s African department, told reporters Wednesday.
18:36
With seven new deaths recorded, the total is now at 34.
18:24
18:20
17:58
17:55
Here’s how coronavirus nose and throat swab tests really work

A test for Covid-19 starts by reaching deep inside a person's nose and throat to extract sputum - the gunk that gets ejected through coughing, sneezing, spitting, and even singing. That throat gunk, in turn, can be tested for the presence of some of the coronavirus' tell-tale genes.
17:48
17:24
17:18
Qatar confirms first virus cases at World Cup sites

The Gulf nation has reported a total of seven deaths, 3 711 Covid-19 infections and 406 recoveries since 6 March  but had not previously disclosed any cases at World Cup sites.

Qatar reported five coronavirus cases among workers on three World Cup stadiums on Wednesday, the first to be confirmed among those involved in 2022 tournament projects.
17:07
16:56
Critical week ahead to measure impact of lockdown - Prof Salim Abdool Karim

The next week will be critical to determine whether the lockdown has been effective.

Professor Salim Abdool Karim, an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist working with government to fight Covid-19 said as South Africa enters its third week under lockdown "a true reflection of cases recorded from the start of the lockdown will reflect".
16:32
Two million coronavirus cases recorded, Tour de France postponed, Malawi announces 21-day lockdown

More than two million cases of the new coronavirus have been officially registered around the world, half of them in Europe, according to a tally compiled by AFP at 10:00 on Wednesday based on official sources.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Many countries are testing only the most serious cases.
16:10
Emirates launches first rapid virus test for passengers

Aviation giant Emirates has launched a 10-minute coronavirus blood test for passengers departing from its Dubai home base, in what it claimed on Wednesday as a first for the industry.

The airline resumed limited passenger flights earlier this month after the United Arab Emirates grounded all commercial aircraft.

The flights are open to foreign citizens who wish to leave the country, but no incoming passengers are allowed.

"Passengers on today's flight to Tunisia were all tested for COVID-19 (respiratory disease) before departing from Dubai," the airline said in a statement.

- AFP
15:46
15:34
Working from home may be the new normal after lockdown

This trend is likely to continue well into the future even after the pandemic is erased, posing possible threats to the property industry as offices become accessible in one’s dining room or workstation at home.

According to venture capitalist and former FNB head, Michael Jordaan, operations are unlikely to be the same again after the lockdown and working from home will become the norm for many businesses.
15:33
Covid-19: Four test positive in military community - SANDF

In a statement confirming the four cases, the SANDF said three of the cases were detected in the Western Cape and the fourth was in Gauteng.
15:17
14:55
Why some cases of Covid-19 are more severe than others

One of the big mysteries surrounding the current pandemic is why some people who test positive for the novel coronavirus exhibit mild symptoms - or none at all - while others have more severe outcomes.

A growing body of research suggests gender, race, genetics, and other factors may also impact a patient's outcome.
14:47
14:34
14:32

Some quotes from Professor Karim's interview:

"We are working on very limited research on coronavirus. We need to draw on our experience from other viruses and other diseases."

"Because we have never seen anything like it before, there will be many mistakes en route to dealing with the coronavirus."

"We cannot escape people getting infected, but we need time to up our health care facilities in terms of ventilators."

"Life is not going to be the same. Our lives have changed since we saw that first case on 5 March."
14:18
13:57
Controversy as Limpopo's testing and screening for Covid-19 kicks off

The launch of Covid-19 mass screening and testing in Limpopo on Tuesday was marred by controversy over lack of necessary equipment for the 10 000 volunteers, and an accusation by the DA that the exercise was a political campaign.
13:47
13:40
Lockdown will lead to irrecoverable financial costs - Sacci survey

The chamber on Wednesday released its trade conditions index for March, which showed that expectations for the trading environment were significantly worsened by the impact of the pandemic.

The national lockdown instituted to slow the spread of the coronavirus will lead to irrecoverable financial losses for SA businesses and compromise trading conditions for the remainder of 2020, according to the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 
13:37
13:36
Cash flush PSG Konsult to continue paying dividends despite coronavirus impact

As more companies suspend dividends in anticipation for tough times ahead this year, the financial services arm of the PSG Group, PSG Konsult, has paid a dividend for the year ended in February, and has no plans to stop returning capital to shareholders yet.
13:26
UN Secretary-General rebukes Trump over plans to halt funding for WHO

The UN Secretary-General said "now is not that time," in a rebuke to President Donald Trump's call to halt funding to the World Health Organisation.

Trump claims WHO mishandled the coronavirus outbreak and was too sympathetic to China.
13:20
13:17
One million cases reported in Europe, China 'seriously concerned' by US freeze of WHO funds, Spain's daily death toll falls with 523

More than one million cases of the coronavirus have been detected in Europe, just over half the global total, according to a tally compiled by AFP from official sources at 08:30 on Wednesday.
13:02
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, South Africa's chief coronavirus scientist on Wednesday told News24 that there is no evidence yet that any treatment is effective against coronavirus.

Karim said the biggest challenge has been dealing with a virus where such limited research exists.

Karim is "leading the team" of scientific advisors to the government, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. The committee’s role is to respond to government's request for information.

To date, said Karim, there is "no evidence that any treatment is currently effective against coronavirus".

In mentioning that there is no getting around people getting infected, Karim said the focus was to capacitate the health system with ventilators in order to "manage" the impact of the virus on people.

"Life is not going to be the same - in any shape or form - from when we woke up on the 5th of March."
11:58
11:51
11:30
11:21
SANDF announces Covid-19 "within the military community".

None are members of uniformed officers "nor members deployed in support of the SAPS".
11:18
International Covid-19 update | Aussie man first jailed for breaking quarantine to visit girlfriend, Danish schools reopen, China reports more imported cases

An Australian who repeatedly sneaked out of coronavirus quarantine, reportedly to visit his girlfriend, was jailed for a month on Wednesday.
11:17
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