UIF Covid-19 payouts have been extended into August

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 were entitled to payouts in April, May and June. Previously the UIF and government confirmed that the scheme would end after the June payments were made. 

UK budget deficit swells to record on coronavirus stimulus

The UK government borrowed over twice as much last quarter than it did in the whole of the previous fiscal year, amid the towering cost of supporting the economy through the coronavirus crisis.

The budget deficit stood at £35.5 billion in June, taking borrowing in the first three months of the fiscal year to a record £127.9 billion, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Debt climbed to 99.6% of GDP - the highest since 1961.

Covid-19 wrap | Coronavirus vaccine possible, India, Philippines, Indonesia infections

The University of Oxford's possible Covid-19 vaccine could be rolled out by the end of the year but there is no certainty that will happen, the lead developer of the vaccine said on Tuesday.

The experimental vaccine, which has been licensed to AstraZeneca, produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, preserving hopes it could be in use by the end of the year.

Minister Nxesi hospitalised after testing positive for Covid-19

Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi was hospitalised on Monday evening due to Covid-19 symptoms, Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu announced on Tuesday.

Nxesi tested positive for the coronavirus almost a week ago. Mthembu said Nxesi had, until last night, been in self-quarantine at home.

What the latest positive news on a leading Covid-19 vaccine candidate means

The early results from a Covid-19 vaccine trial are promising, so what next? The next phase of the trial is already under way, and supply deals have already been made.

German scientists are hosting a concert for 4,000 people to study how Covid-19 spreads in big groups

German scientists are throwing a concert - using fog machines, fluorescent hand sanitiser, and contact tracer devices - to work out if it's possible to hold large indoor events during the pandemic without spreading the coronavirus.

Brazil set to test Chinese coronavirus vaccine

Brazil will begin advanced clinical testing of a Chinese-made vaccine against the new coronavirus on Tuesday, issuing the first doses to around 900 volunteers, officials said.

The coronavirus vaccine, developed by private Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, is the third in the world to enter Phase 3 trials, or large-scale testing on humans - the last step before regulatory approval.

Voting in a pandemic: Political parties will have to decide way forward

For the first time since the dawn of democracy, South Africans face the prospect of having to go to the polls in circumstances vastly different to previous elections.

The 2021 local government elections (LGE) is set to take place between August and November and while electoral bosses are preparing for the polls "as usual", there remains the possibility that Covid-19 could severely impact voting day.

The Minister of Employment and Labour, Mr Thembelani ‘Thulas’ Nxesi has been admitted to hospital due to Covid-19, says Cabinet Spokesperson Phumla Williams.

The Minister tested positive for the coronavirus almost a week ago and has, until last night, been in self-quarantine at home. 

His admission to hospital comes on the advice of his medical doctors, in order for him to have access to better medical attention and proper monitoring. 

Minister Nxesi is the second member of Cabinet to be admitted to hospital after Minister Gwede Mantashe. 

Covid-19: Situation in SA 'a warning' for the rest of the continent - WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) voiced alarm on Monday at the spread of Covid-19 in Africa, warning that South Africa's surging numbers could be a "precursor" for outbreaks across the continent.

"I am very concerned right now that we are beginning to see an acceleration of disease in Africa," WHO's emergencies chief told a virtual press conference.

As of today, a cumulative total of 373 628 confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa have been recorded.

There have been 140 new Covd-19 related deaths. This brings the cumulative number of deaths to 5 173.

The number of recoveries currently stands at 194 865 which translates to a recovery rate of 52%.

The total number of tests conducted to date is 2 505 646 with 33 899 new tests conducted since the last report.

Here are some of our top stories:

First human trial of leading vaccine candidate shows promise

AstraZeneca's experimental Covid-19 vaccine was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials in healthy volunteers, data showed on Monday.

Cyril Ramaphosa | There is a silver lining in the Covid-19 crisis

Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the ingenuity shown by young South Africans in setting up businesses and says more of this is needed as the economy takes a downturn due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

WATCH | Explainer: When will the lockdown end in SA?

Durban woman contracts Covid-19 twice within three months, NICD keeps watch on patient's case

Gwede Mantashe hospitalised after testing positive for Covid-19

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has been hospitalised on Monday, government has confirmed. 

Emergency Covid-19 hospital accepts first 10 patients in Cape Town's e-commerce district

The emergency field hospital built in a high-tech e-commerce precinct in the Western Cape, has admitted its first 10 Covid-19 patients.

Emergency Covid-19 hospital accepts first 10 patients in Cape Town's e-commerce district

The emergency field hospital built in a high-tech e-commerce precinct in the Western Cape, has admitted its first 10 Covid-19 patients.

Brackengate lies just off the R300 highway in Cape Town, amid ultra-modern distribution centres for some of the retail sector's biggest names.

Over R300 million lost every day alcohol was first prohibited

South Africa's liquor industry lost R20 billion in sales in the first nine weeks of the national lockdown, according to data analytics company Nielsen. 

Nielsen said that according to its research, the industry lost about R304 million every day during the first round of prohibition. It is set to lose around R10 billion for every month the ban continues.

The Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal education departments have suspended the return of Grade 3 and Grade 10 pupils to school.

The grades had been due to to return on Monday, along with several grades from schools for pupils with severe intellectual disabilities and those with autistic pupils.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga had specified that these grades be phased in, in directions published in the Government Gazette amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Durban doctor has reported having a Covid-19 patient who has been re-infected three months after her initial infection.

Dr Yuvan Maharaj, who runs a practice in Prospection, said the patient had initially received her positive results on 9 March, a negative test two weeks later, and then a positive result on 14 July.

Covid-19 forces ICC to postpone T20 World Cup in Australia

The T20 World Cup due to take place in Australia from 18 October has been postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the International Cricket Council announced Monday.

Officials said they now hoped to stage the tournament from October to November 2021.

ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: "We have undertaken a comprehensive and complex contingency planning exercise and through this process, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the sport.

Parliament and the ANC expressed its sadness after ANC MP Martha Mmola died due to Covid-19 on Saturday.

Mmola was a member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) as a permanent delegate from Mpumalanga. She was elected a member of the National Assembly in 2014.

Parliament's presiding officers, National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise and NCOP chairperson Amos Masondo, said in a joint statement that they have learnt with sadness of her untimely death due to a Covid-19 related illness.

Happiness levels in SA took a dive after alcohol ban reimposed - study

Researchers analysing South Africans' moods say we are generally displaying higher happiness levels since the beginning of the national coronavirus lockdown, but reimposing the ban on the sale of alcohol led to an immediate decrease.

The research is being done by Gross National Happiness, which is the first index of its kind and measures the real-time sentiment of a country by analysing tweets.

SA Rugby boss on Kaunda Ntunja: We will miss his voice and 'broad smile'

Ntunja was considered one of the most animated and popular commentators in South African rugby and was a household name through his work as the anchor on SuperSport's Xhosa commentary team.

As a player - he played flank - Ntunja captained the SA Schools side in 2000 and was a part of the Free State Cheetahs side that won the Currie Cup in 2005.

Lockdown booze ban: Fewer trauma cases since new crackdown, says KZN Premier Zikalala

- KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala says there is an easing of pressure on the province's trauma units since the alcohol ban.

- He also revealed that more than 1 500 health care workers have tested positive for Covid-19 in total.

- This makes up for around 4% of all cases in the province.

Covid-19 wrap | Johnson not keen on second UK lockdown, 'breakthrough' coronavirus treatment

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis worldwide.

Covid-19: Alcohol ban will increase ICU capacity, but is not a long term solution – experts say

Evidence suggests that the reinstatement of the ban on the sale of alcohol will have a significant impact on trauma and hospital capacity in the coming weeks.

Ramaphosa lauds young entrepreneurs as 'silver lining to the dark Covid-19 cloud'

 - President Cyril Ramaphosa has written in his weekly newsletter that young South Africans are offering "home grown" solutions to the pandemic. 

- The government made progress in extending support to 1 000 youth-owned businesses and said this initiative would reach this target by August.

- South Africa's already-high official unemployment rate is expected to surge as a result pandemic's impact on businesses, and youth unemployment is particularly acute.  

EXPLAINER | When will the lockdown in SA end? We ask historians

Historians believe a lockdown typically ends before a pandemic ends. 

However, Covid-19 differs from past pandemics because it is longer in duration. 

The coronavirus pandemic has been raging in South Africa for more than three months without the peak being reached, while the Spanish Flu lasted around six weeks. 

'It's wrong for the DA to try and politicise Covid-19 responses' - Mkhize

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has called on the DA to refrain from politicising the battle against the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

"Partitioning across party lines is destructive and we want to dissuade the DA from doing this. The government has intervened whenever there was a need in any part of the country, and we are always ready to support any province that is experiencing problems," he told News24.

Coronavirus morning update: Questions around PPE tenders and Cuba celebrates no local transmissions

Your latest coronavirus news: The DA raises questions around PPE tenders in Eastern Cape and Cuba has had no local Covid-19 transmissions for the first time in four months.

The DA in the Eastern Cape says it has approached the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to probe "potential impropriety" in the awarding of several tenders to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

The party said it had come to its attention an "ANC-affiliated" company, Kaziforce, was awarded a tender to deliver face masks to the embattled metro.

Presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko confirmed to News24 a media advisory being distributed on social media, which states President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Sunday at 20:00, is fake. 

The fake statement includes the phrase: "The suspension of alcohol has caused cabinet to revaluate [sic] the decision taken last week." 

Ramaphosa will not address the nation on Sunday and the statement was not issued by the Presidency as claimed.

Teachers' unions have reportedly proposed that matrics return to school on 17 August and that other grades return on a later date, subject to the evolution of the novel coronavirus.

According to a Sunday Times report, the resolution by the country's five unions that schools close amid a peak in Covid-19 infections was included in a document Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga tabled at a meeting with the CEM on Saturday.

A group of South African scientists working from a KwaZulu-Natal lab is using faecal matter to detect and track Covid-19 hotspots.

GreenHill Laboratories in Hilton, where SA's first positive Covid-19 South African was disclosed, detected SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) in sewage early in June as part of a full-service virus risk forensic programme.

ANALYSIS | Covid-19: Inconsistent info in daily updates makes it hard to track full picture

Inconsistencies in some of the key measurables in the health department's daily Covid-19 updates, especially in the early weeks of the pandemic, have raised questions about whether the public has had a complete picture.

'It's a hoax' say California's anti-mask proponents

For Davey, a resident of the city of Huntington Beach in southern California, the requirement to wear a mask to curb the spread of coronavirus is not something he takes seriously.