Coronavirus morning update: Personal care services back, latest on dexamethasone, and WHO warning

The official rules for legal hair cuts, manicures, or tattoos; what local experts say on dexamethasone; and the WHO warns the world is in a "dangerous phase" of the pandemic.

Covid-19 breakthrough: SA in good position to immediately roll out dexamethasone

The national Department of Health says South Africa is in a "favourable" position to immediately roll out dexamethasone to all seriously ill Covid-19 patients.

On Friday evening, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the department had checked its stock and currently had around 300 000 ampoules, or vials, in the country.

The Covid-19 death toll has hit 1 831, while the number of cases now sits at 87 715.

The total number of recoveries is now 47 825.

Here are today’s top stories

It’s official! Hairdressers, barbers, beauty therapists, masseurs and tattoo and piercing artists will be allowed to operate by the time you read this, after the government gazetted new regulations. All need to follow strict protocols like wearing protective gear.

Pharmaceutical giant Aspen Pharmacare is set to scale up production of dexamethasone, after some research found it to be effective in reducing mortality rates among Covid-19 patients under ventilation.

Meanwhile, local experts have given their thoughts on dexamethasone, which this week was hailed as a possible breakthrough treating Covid-19. They say the medical fraternity is cautiously optimistic, but is waiting for further data.

World-renowned restaurant Wolfgat has been left feeling the strain of the pandemic. The restaurant, in Paternoster, outside Cape Town, shot to prominence when it was voted the world’s best restaurant. However, the lockdown has left the restaurant counting its losses.

As the Western Cape continues to account for the bulk of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the country, residents of Khayelitsha have spoken of their fears, with some saying they refuse to allow people to enter their yards.

The Department of Transport has allocated more than R1 billion of relief money to the taxi industry, which has had its operations hampered during the pandemic. Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said this money was not for losses of revenue the industry felt during lockdown, but rather assistance from government.

Stay informed with News24

Special report | We remember those who died of Covid-19.
New Level 3 regulations | Here’s what will be allowed going forward.
Stay safe | Advice for keeping safe in supermarkets, schools and on public transport
FAQs | News24 answers all your questions
Checklist | These are the first symptoms
Rolling coverage | All the latest Covid-19 news in one place

- Compiled by Kerushun Pillay

Health dept to offer dexamethasone immediately

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says his department is in a position to immediately offer patients dexamethasone, saying that the department has stock of about 300 000 ampoules - a vile containing a sample. 

Mkhize says the country has a good capacity of the medication, adding that it is manufactured here. 

He said the Ministerial Advisory Committee has issued an advisory to recommend the drug, or a similar medication, to patients on ventilators. 

News24 published earlier an article which said pharmaceutical giant Aspen Pharmacare is set to scale up production of dexamethasone, after some research found it to be effective in reducing mortality rates among Covid-19 patients under ventilation.

Meanwhile, local experts have given their thoughts on dexamethasone, which this week was hailed as a possible breakthrough treating Covid-19. They say the medical fraternity is cautiously optimistic, but is waiting for further data.

Here are the official rules for legal hair cuts, manicures, or tattoos

Personal care services – including hair salons – may legally open again from Friday night, after the publication of rules they must follow in the Government Gazette.

The rules are immediately in force, which means more than 80 days of prohibition on such services has also ended immediately.

All must follow the same strict hygiene protocols required of other businesses, albeit with some unique twists – and a handful of strange provisions.

UIF coronavirus payouts: Companies in revolt with 725 000 workers left unpaid

With applications for R3.2 billion in coronavirus payouts to more than 725 000 workers still left unpaid, employers and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) are at loggerheads about who’s to blame.

Workers who are put on leave, have been laid off temporarily, or whose employers can’t afford to pay their full salaries due to the coronavirus crisis are entitled to Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) payouts.

Will Mboweni's emergency budget be a rejig of public finances, or an 'audacious' stimulus plan?

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will table an emergency budget next week, which will provide details on plans to fund responses to the Covid-19 crisis.

This is no time for a "timid" or "underwhelming" budget, and the government will have to rise to the occasion to rebuild the economy, said Matthew Parks, parliamentary coordinator for labour federation Cosatu.

WATCH | Coronavirus through the eyes of South African children

Grade 7 students at Johannesburg's City Kidz Pre & Primary School share how they feel about the coronavirus, life during lockdown and their socially-distanced return to school.

Covid-19 wrap: Virus already in Italy by December, UK unveils 1 billion schools 'catch-up' plan

- The coronavirus was already present in northern Italy in December, over two months before the first case was detected.

- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said English schools would receive $1.2bn in funding to help pupils catch up.

- Shops and cafes reopened in Singapore as measures were relaxed - but were warned "not to go overboard celebrating".

More than 25% of tenants are not paying rent – but that’s actually not as bad as predicted

From 82% before the crisis, the percentage of tenants who are paying their rent fell to 73% during lockdown.

While this is a big deterioration, it is not quite as bad as expected, says the CEO of TPN, the biggest credit bureau that tracks tenant payments.

Lockdown: Asylum seekers and special permit holders can now receive Covid-19 relief grant

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has granted a court order that allows asylum seekers and special permit holders to receive the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant, Scalabrini Centre said.

The order allows them to receive the grant subject to Sassa's criteria and even if their documents expired during the lockdown.

Covid-19: AU hails 'African jewel' as continental medical supplies platform launched

African leaders have lauded the launch of the continent's first medical supplies platform as the "jewel in the crown of Pan-African cooperation".

On Thursday, African Union (AU) chairperson President Cyril Ramaphosa, AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki and the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Dr John Nkengasong held a media briefing, giving an update on the platform.

Masks, taxis and fear: How Covid-19 has changed Khayelitsha

The novel coronavirus has swept through Khayelitsha in the Western Cape. 

But so has fear. 

An elderly couple refuses to allow people to enter their yard.

"If we get Covid-19, it won’t be from someone entering our house," they said. 

What local experts say about dexamethasone - labelled as a 'breathrough' in Covid-19 treatment

A trial found dexamethasone to be life-saving for critically ill Covid-19 patients. But can we fully trust this drug to treat patients?

Three experts weigh in.

Coronavirus antibodies may disappear 2 to 3 months after people recover, a new study found

People who develop coronavirus-fighting antibodies might not keep them very long, especially if they didn't have symptoms.

After just a few months, recovered coronavirus patients may rapidly lose antibodies - blood proteins that fight off the virus and can prevent reinfection - according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature Medicine.

Coronavirus morning update: Latest on Western Cape testing, as peak gets 'closer and closer'

The Western Cape government has announced that it has cleared the province's Covid-19 testing backlog, as the province gets "closer and closer" to the peak.

Lockdown | 'We don't trust the government': DA on why it is going ahead with court bids

The DA says it is wary about the government making a U-turn on the decision to reopen salons and the personal care industry, lest "what happened with tobacco sales happens again."

The Covid-19 death toll has hit 1 737, while the number of cases now sits at 83 890.

The total number of recoveries is now 44 920.

Here are today’s top stories

The Western Cape - the country’s Covid-19 epicentre - is expecting to hit its peak of cases in the coming weeks, the provincial government has said. Meanwhile, the province has managed to clear its testing backlog, which was reportedly around 96 000 tests.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape government believes the influx of tourists in the province may have led to it seeing an faster peak of Covid-19 cases in relation to the other provinces.

Limpopo is facing a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases, and this has prompted questions about whether people and organisations have been properly adhering to safety protocols.

Covid-19 outbreaks at Western Cape retirement homes is taking a toll on the elderly and staff members. Care workers told us that they were struggling with the stress of keeping elderly residents and staff safe.

A fifth nun has died at an Eastern Cape convent which is suffering a Covid-19 outbreak. The Precious Blood Sisters convent, which doubles as an old age home, has now been turned into a quarantine site.

China has restricted travel for a section of its population as it attempts to rein in a possible second wave of Covid-19 outbreaks. The country has already locked down parts of Beijing and made several restrictions to curb a possible outbreak.

And finally, some local casinos will be removing the seat of every second slot machine and enforcing physical distancing - and hotel staff will not handle luggage, as those sectors prepare to reopen. Some establishments will do temperature screenings and disinfect rooms once patrons check out.

Stay informed with News24

Special report | We remember those who died of Covid-19
New Level 3 regulations | Here’s what will be allowed going forward
Stay safe | Advice for keeping safe in supermarkets, schools and on public transport
FAQs | News24 answers all your questions
Checklist | These are the first symptoms
Rolling coverage | All the latest Covid-19 news in one place

- Compiled by Kerushun Pillay

No flowers, disinfected chips and paper menus — here’s how Sun hotels, casinos will re-open

After being closed for almost three months, Sun International hotels and casinos are preparing to re-open. On Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announced that restaurants and casinos can do business during Level 3 of lockdown. 

No date has been given for when these establishments will be allowed to open. Sun International will stagger the re-opening of its hotels and casinos – including Sun City, Boardwalk, Carnival City, The Maslow Sandton, Wild Coast Sun, GrandWest and The Table Bay Hotel – as soon as the date is announced.

In preparation, every second seat at casino slot machines and tables has been removed to create space between customers.

Pictured: Two showgirls pose for a photo at the reopening of Flamingo Las Vegas. (Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment)

Trevor Manuel's mother, Philma, dies of Covid-19, aged 94

Philma Manuel turned 94 on Sunday. She died on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the ANC in the Western Cape, Philma Manuel was a garment worker who was widowed when her husband died in 1969. At the time, Trevor Manuel was 13.

She raised Trevor and his sisters, Pamela, Beryl and Renecia, as a single parent.

Health workers sound alarm bells as virus spirals

Health workers across the Western Cape and Eastern Cape are struggling with a surge in coronavirus patients as the country hurtles towards an expected disease peak in July.

The Eastern Cape has recorded the third-highest number of coronavirus infections in South Africa, accounting for nearly one in seven cases.

Health officials claim the disease spread from neighbouring Western Cape province, home to almost 60% of cases and around three-quarters of registered deaths.

Ramaphosa takes 'rain check' when quizzed about Covid-19 corruption

President Cyril Ramaphosa took a "rain check" when asked how many ANC councillors have been arrested for Covid-19-related corruption and challenged any Chapter 9 institution to approach the Constitutional Court if they feel the executive interferes in their functioning.

Ramaphosa was responding to questions during a hybrid sitting of the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon when DA interim leader John Steenhuisen asked him how many ANC councillors have been arrested for corruption with the distribution of food parcels.

Malema accuses Ramaphosa of putting profits before people

EFF leader Julius Malema has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of putting profits before lives by easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Malema said: "We are more than convinced that we are not following any scientific advice. You are following business to maximise profits all the time. You are sitting comfortably in your home and you tell children to go to school. Do you have any advice how many people are going to die of this pandemic?

Ramaphosa: SA's economic recovery must be 'state-led'

Likening the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic to those of a war, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that SA's economic recovery must be "state-led".

The president was replying to a question about what form SA's economic recovery would take in the National Assembly via a virtual platform. 

Springboks assist with packing food parcels in Cape Town

A delegation of eight national players and coaches, which included the Springbok captain Siya Kolisi packed food parcels for the poor. Kolisi said that they are eager to make a difference and help those struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Our presence here is just a thank you, really, and to help out where we can as a team and to say to the people of South Africa that we are with you," said Kolisi.

Makhura not ruling out closing sectors in Gauteng if infections become uncontrollable

Gauteng Premier David Makhura says his government would be in a "difficult position" if it were to push for the closure of certain sectors, but it would do so if Covid-19 infections became uncontrollable.

He told the Gauteng legislature during a sitting on Thursday that the country's economic hub would be in the midst of the pandemic's surge within the next two months. He expected it to be "tough".

RUNDOWN | Lockdown was 'correct decision', says Ramaphosa as economic recovery plan gets going

During the hybrid sitting of the National Assembly on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa was called on time and again to explain the rationale behind the initial nationwide lockdown, and the subsequent easing of the various alert levels of lockdown.

"Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been informed by the advice of scientists of diverse disciplines belonging to the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC); underpinned by the experiences of other countries, as well as guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NCID)," he said.

ANC MP and chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health Sibongiseni Dhlomo asked what would have happened if the country not been placed under lockdown.

Ramaphosa answered that infections and deaths would have been substantially higher.

"It was a collective decision, and it turns out it was the correct decision," he said.

He also said that in deciding on when to begin the gradual and systematic easing of the lockdown, government was guided by the views of the scientists, the experience of other countries and broader consultations.

He would repeat some of these answers during supplementary questions from several MPs.

Ramaphosa began by revealing that government has started a process of implementing an economic recovery plan, which will focus on preserving the livelihoods of South Africans and saving lives.

"It is important that we approach [the economic recovery plan] through the balanced strategy that we have decided on: to save lives on the one side, and also to preserve livelihoods. It becomes a very delicate balance but it is a balance that has to be struck because in the end, we cannot overemphasize the one at the expense of the other," he said.

Economists have predicted that the economic shock of the pandemic will cause South Africa's GDP to decline by between 5% and 10%, exacerbating South Africa's already dire unemployment rate.  

"I have often said we need to look at the post-Covid economic landscape as being equivalent to a post-war economic landscape." 

"The state has to play a critical role. Even in your more conservative countries in the world are saying the state now needs to play its role."

To that end, next week, the president will be meeting with funders, policy markets, state-owned enterprises, academics and members of the private sector to look at investment opportunities in infrastructure.  

"We should see infrastructure investment as a mobiliser of growth," he said. 

Infrastructure would make up a "significant part" of the stimulus SA's economy needs, he added.  

Covid-19: No information was withheld from public, Ramaphosa tells Parliament

President Cyril Ramaphosa has denied that Covid-19 information was withheld from South Africans. This comes after DA interim leader John Steenhuisen described the lockdown as the "longest, hardest and most brutal lockdown in the world".

"There is just no reason why any information – modelling or otherwise – shouldn't be disclosed," Ramaphosa said. He said they hadn't shied away from differing opinions from the scientific community either.

Eastern Cape health dept turns convent into quarantine site as fifth nun dies

Another elderly nun has died after contracting Covid-19 at the Precious Blood Sisters convent in Mthatha, bringing the death toll to five in a space of nine days.

This has prompted the Eastern Cape department of health to turn the convent into a quarantine site.    

Covid-19 wrap: Hong Kong Disneyland reopens, Chinese county limits travel as Beijing fights outbreak

- Hong Kong Disneyland has reopened after nearly five months of closure during the coronavirus pandemic.

- Japan's government has urged citizens to install the coronavirus-tracing app, launching on Friday, pledging that the system’s not invasive. 

- Activists say single-use plastic waste in Thailand ballooned during the coronavirus lockdown as demand for home food deliveries soared.

Mixed views from opposition parties as Ramaphosa opens more sectors of the economy

Political parties have criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to open more sectors of the economy under Alert Level 3 of the lockdown.

The president delivered an address to the nation on Wednesday evening, announcing that several sectors, including the personal care industry, restaurants, cinemas, casinos and non-contact sport, could go back to work, provided that they adhere to safety and prevention protocols to combat the spread of Covid-19.

Covid-19 wrap: US daily deaths below 1 000, Honduran president hospitalised after testing positive

- The United States recorded 840 deaths from the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

- Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez is undergoing treatment in hospital for pneumonia after he tested positive for Covid-19.

- Turkish authorities ordered that people wear masks in public in Istanbul and the capital Ankara as new coronavirus cases rose sharply.

'I'm on my knees every day, praying': Covid-19 lockdown taking its toll on retirement homes

When Legato retirement village in Durbanville lost one of its residents to Covid-19, it hit residents hard as they had not had a single case for the first two months of the lockdown. The resident, understood to have been in her nineties, died last month. Another, who had tested positive for the virus during a hospital stay, also died. Two others and six staff members had to self-isolate and go into quarantine.

Illegal cigarettes are 'more profitable than heroin'. Here's how they're getting into SA

Smugglers have an extensive network already set up for moving illicit tobacco products around the country, experts say, and that is how illegal cigarettes are still appearing in spaza shops and corner cafés, even after more than 80 days of sales being banned.

EXPLAINER | Easing lockdown: 10 things you need to know from Ramaphosa's speech

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday evening announced that restaurants and hair salons, among others, will be allowed to reopen under Level 3 of the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa.

Junior miners fight for survival in coronavirus storm

While the mining industry overall was hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, it is junior miners who sustained the heaviest blows - with some fighting to survive as their viability is threatened.

Coronavirus morning update: Lockdown latest - further easing of Level 3 restrictions

The president has announced the further easing of lockdown regulations - with casinos, theatres and hairdressers to return.