Liquor ban: Govt again urged to consider balancing saving lives and livelihoods

A number of liquor traders met in Soweto on Friday where they decided that government must consider their financial needs when shutting down their businesses.

On 12 July, President Cyril Ramaphosa banned the sale of alcohol in the country with immediate effect.

Traders complained that government didn’t give them enough time to prepare for the ban as some had just taken loans to purchase new stock to kickstart their businesses after the first sales ban.

Opposition sceptical about Cabinet committee to investigate Covid-19 contracts

Opposition parties reacted with cynicism to President Cyril Ramaphosa's appointment of a six-member Cabinet committee to deal with all allegations of corruption related to Covid-19 procurement.

Cabinet on Wednesday approved the establishment of this team.

DA interim leader John Steenhuisen described the committee as "window dressing to create the illusion of action".

Coronavirus morning update: WC govt calls for alcohol ban to be lifted, and no flu season for SA

The Western Cape government warns over jobs in the alcohol sales and wine producing sector; and for the first time in 36 years there will be no flu season in South Africa.

With 7 292 new coronavirus infections recorded the country has a total of 545 476 cases.

305 new deaths bring the total to 9 909.

The number of recoveries currently stands at 394 759 which translates to a recovery rate of 72%.

Here are some of our top stories:

Not everyone who goes to restaurants drinks alcohol - Dlamini-Zuma

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has disputed a claim by a group of restaurants that people are not frequenting restaurants solely because no alcohol can be sold with meals. 

Lockdown: Western Cape wants alcohol ban lifted urgently

The Western Cape government wants the alcohol sales and wine producing sector reopened urgently to prevent a jobs bloodbath.

It believed that although the pandemic was not gone, the peak had passed in the province, and with safety precautions followed, alcohol sales could resume safely. 

Alcohol ban: Liquor traders losing an estimated R300m a day

Liquor traders are losing an estimated R300 million daily due to the ban on the sale of alcohol.

Spirits producing company Diageo's director for corporate relations Sibani Mngadi revealed this during a public dialogue by female alcohol traders in Soweto on Friday.  

Not all schools in Gauteng were able to open for returning Grade 12 pupils this week. 

According to a presentation by Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi during the weekly Provincial Coronavirus Command Council (PCCC) update on Friday, 598 public schools with Grade 12 reopened, while 24 remained closed.

The Western Cape will soon consider if all its field hospitals will remain open, Premier Alan Winde said in a series of tweets.

Coronavirus has now infected more than one million people in Africa, but hopes that the pandemic may be peaking in some countries are mingled with fears of a second wave.

Nations across the continent have recorded 1 011 495 infections and at least 22 115 deaths, accounting for around five percent of global cases, according to an AFP tally as at 11:00 GMT Friday.

The makeshift facility that was used as a "flu clinic" at Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg, where 67-year-old Sibusiso Khumalo died, had been standing for more than a month, KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu has said.

This after two senior officials were placed on precautionary suspension, and the acting CEO, who was on sick leave, was "redeployed" to her original position following the outcry over the facility.

For the first time in 36 years there will be no flu season in South Africa

Every year, for the past 36 years, the flu season started around mid-July.

This year, most likely due to Covid-19 prevention measures, no influenza has been detected by three sentinel surveillance programmes, which are designed to monitor influenza outbreaks annually.

Cigarette ban is 'impoverishing' decent citizens – British American Tobacco SA

British American Tobacco South Africa says that the fight to get the ban on cigarette sales lifted has been "long and extremely frustrating", and it is looking forward to the matter being swiftly resolved by the courts.

South Africa's largest cigarette manufacturer lodged a case to challenge the state's ban on the sales of cigarettes and tobacco product which has been enforced since the start of lockdown in late March. The government says the ban is necessary due to health reasons.

Meet the 38-year old South African involved in a R6 billion mask disaster in the UK

A 38-year old South African now finds himself at the centre of a storm over a disastrous £252 million (R6 billion) contract to supply 43 million masks to United Kingdom government hospitals.

Nathan Engelbrecht is co-founder of Ayanda Capital, which in April won a contract with the UK government to supply the masks to the British National Health Service (NHS).

Covid-19: What's happening with hydroxychloroquine?

Scientific studies overwhelmingly agree that hydroxychloroquine is ineffective against Covid-19.

Who would have thought that a drug primarily used to treat malaria would cause such controversy amid the Covid-19 pandemic?

Hydroxychloroquine's rise to fame began when Chinese researchers found the drug to have some anti-inflammatory and anti-viral effects against the coronavirus in a lab setting.

How the great Covid-19 race debate played out on social media

South Africans came together as a nation when the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic first struck. Then, as the devastation of the pandemic deepened, we started drifting apart. We soon began clashing openly. As the virus tightened its grip, the discourse become more divisive. Issues around race and nationality emerged as a major fault line.

Mboweni gives municipalities 2-month reprieve to submit financial statements

Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni has given South Africa's 278 municipalities and their municipal entities - such as the City of Joburg's waste removal entity Pikitup - a two-month extension to submit their annual financial statements in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The exemption was granted in terms of section 177(1) (b) of the Municipal Financial Management Act, which says the minister may "delay the implementation of a provision of this act for a transitional period not exceeding five years from the date when this section takes effect".

Covid-19: Recoveries continue inching up and now at 72%

Seventy-two percent of people who contracted coronavirus have recovered so far, a slight increase from 71% on Wednesday, the minister of health said on Thursday.

Gauteng had recorded 187 631 cases, still the highest in the country, followed by the Western Cape, where more than a third of deaths have been recorded, KwaZulu-Natal with 90 115 infections and the Eastern Cape with 81 014.

Show me one leader of the ANC who hasn't done business with the state - Ace Magashule

Amid mounting criticism that families of ANC politicians were benefiting from government emergency procurement during Covid-19, party secretary-general Ace Magashule insisted that there was no law prohibiting this. 

He told News24, during a sit down interview on Thursday, that no such decision was ever taken by the ANC since coming into power in 1994. He further explained that there were many other leaders in the party who had also done business with the state.

Coronavirus morning update: 'Not yet safe to lift cigarette ban', and extra R6bn for Covid grants

Government to lift cigarette ban when it’s safe to do so; extra R6bn provided for Covid-19 relief grant; and alcohol ban causes SAB to cancel R2.5bn of investments.

With 8 307 new cases, the number of coronavirus infections now stand at 538 184.

The death rate is at 9 604 after 306 fatalities were reported.

The number of recoveries currently stands at 387 316 which translates to a recovery rate of 72%.

Here are some of our top stories:

KZN expected to peak in coming weeks - Zweli Mkhize

KwaZulu-Natal is set to have more Covid-19 infections than the Western Cape during its peak, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday.

Cabinet 'disappointed' by Covid-19 related corruption

Cabinet is disappointed by "recent reports of acts of corruption and theft of the much-needed resources that government has allocated to save lives and livelihoods during the Covid-19 pandemic".

This is according to a statement on Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, delivered by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola on Thursday.

Ride in a crammed taxi, but minister worried about smoking once you're home - BATSA lawyer

Short-haul taxis are now allowed to be filled to 100% capacity, but Minister of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma seems to have no problem in terms of the possible impact on the number of ICU beds required during the coronavirus pandemic due to people spending, for example, two hours a day in a taxi.

SA Rugby aiming for mid-September return for local rugby

Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby has welcomed the fact that rugby has been given the green light to return by Nathi Mthethwa, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture.

This will only happen if certain conditions are met, however.

Sassa says it is winning the fight against fraud

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) says it is winning the fight against fraud following several successful arrests and sentences. 

A recent case is that of a couple who was sentenced to eight and 10 years in jail by the Mbizana Regional Court in the Eastern Cape, Sassa said in a statement on Thursday. 

The UK bought 50 million masks for nurses - from a firm with a SA exec - that don't fit properly

The FF2 respirators were supplied to the National Health Service (NHS) by Ayanda Capital as part of a £252 million (R5.8 billion) deal, signed in April, to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to health workers, court documents show.

However, the government has said that the masks use fastenings around the ears rather than the head, meaning they may not fit tightly enough, the BBC reported.

Nelson Mandela Bay speaker blames Covid-19 as one of the reasons for not holding mayoral elections

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipal council does not see the urgency of appointing a mayor due to Covid-19 regulations, its speaker, Buyelwa Mafaya, has argued.

Mafaya was responding to a High Court challenge by the DA to force her to call a council meeting to elect a mayor. 

Govt allocates R6 billion more for special R350 Covid-19 grant

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu revealed in response to a written parliamentary question from Freedom Front Plus MP Tamarin Breedt that the initial allocation for the R350 grant from May to October was R3 457 696 700. 

Breedt wanted details on whether her department has made any additional resources and/or funding available to assist with the growing number of applicants for the grant.

The question was posed in light of the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruling that extended the Social Relief of Distress Grant to asylum seekers and special permit holders.

Govt aware of economic harm of cigarette sale ban - but will lift when safe, court told

The minister has indicated that the aim of the ban is to stop people smoking so that they do not get Covid-19 in a more severe form, leading to more ICU beds being needed and potentially over-burdening the health system during the pandemic.

"Government has demonstrated a gradual easing of restrictions and will lift the ban entirely as soon as it be done safely," Advocate Andrew Breitenbach SC said in court on Thursday.

Covid-19 corruption: Ramaphosa appoints Cabinet committee to deal with tenders

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a six-member Cabinet committee to deal with all allegations of corruption related to Covid-19 procurement. 

In a leaked letter to ministers, Ramaphosa said following Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, he had appointed the committee which would be chaired by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola. 

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the ban on alcohol will be reconsidered when there is less strain on health facilities.

Mkhize said he spoke to a doctor in an intensive care unit who said that since the ban the number of trauma cases dropped and it has made it easier for doctors to work.

When the pressure for beds is not so threatening to the lives of people the ban will be reconsidered.

"We haven’t come to that point yet," Mkhize said.

"We are dealing with the lives of people, let’s focus on that as South Africans."

'Thieves were waiting at the door': Mboweni ends emergency PPE procurement

National Treasury has ended the emergency procurement process for Personal Protective Equipment and protective clothing, saying it's back to business as usual for government suppliers.

No sooner had Treasury announced the Covid-19 budget, than thieves were already assembled at the door, waiting to steal, said Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.

The minister made the remarks at a briefing along with Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane on Wednesday. 

ANALYSIS | Has the virtual Parliament done its job?

Over the past four months, Parliament has had to change the way it does its work due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

To continue its work, it went online, like many other legislatures across the world, and held committee meetings through virtual conferencing and hybrid sittings.

The second term came to an end on Tuesday, when the National Council of Provinces passed the adjustment budget.

Covid-19: Understanding immunity and what it means for a vaccine

Immunity to Covid-19 is much more interesting and much more complicated than simply something you do or do not have.

Immunity, according to Head of Immunology at the University of Cape Town, Professor Clive Gray, refers to some level of protection, be it natural or by way of a vaccine. Naturally, our bodies are already equipped to fight off acute viral infections like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease Covid-19, through a combination of innate and adaptive immune responses. 

Gambia coronavirus cases surge over 60% in last 7 days

Authorities attributed the rise to people relaxing their guard on protective measures that had so far kept Gambia's case total the lowest in Africa. 

Coronavirus cases in Gambia, mainland Africa's smallest country, have surged over 60% in the last seven days to nearly 800 cases, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.

The health ministry said six people who were confirmed cases are still at large, while two other positive cases have fled from a treatment centre in the capital.

Will extended lockdown prove beneficial to Boks, SA rugby?

A surge in injuries in Super Rugby Aotearoa has seen questions raised over New Zealand's rushed return to play. In South Africa, professional franchises have not yet started taking contact at training.

In South Africa, where the coronavirus crisis has demanded far more drastic government regulation, professional franchises are still training in groups of no more than five players at a time, with no contact allowed. 

There is currently no confirmed date regarding a return to play in South Africa, with a Currie Cup that could start in September the likeliest avenue. 

For the first time, Facebook removed a Trump post because of 'harmful Covid misinformation'

For the first time, Facebook has completely removed a post by US president Donald Trump for violating its policies against Covid-19 misinformation.

"This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from Covid-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful Covid misinformation," a Facebook spokesperson told Business Insider.

FEEL GOOD | One of SA’s oldest Covid-19 survivors, 103, eager to get walking again

She is currently recovering at home, where, aside from having her meals prepared for her, she continues to take care of herself.