LIVE | Covid-19 deaths in South Africa nearing 48 000

As of today, the total number of confirmed #COVID19 cases is 1 490 063 the total number of deaths is 47 821 and the total number of recoveries is 1 385 996. pic.twitter.com/XZFCvxsbpu

— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) February 13, 2021

China defies WHO team probing Covid-19

The team had requested raw patient data on 174 cases that China had identified from the early phase of the outbreak in the city of Wuhan in December 2019, as well as other cases, but were only provided with a summary, said Dominic Dwyer, an Australian infectious diseases expert who is a member of the team.

Such raw data is known as "line listings", he said, and would typically be anonymised but contain details such as what questions were asked of individual patients, their responses and how their responses were analysed.

"That's standard practice for an outbreak investigation," he told Reuters on Saturday via video call from Sydney, where he is currently undergoing quarantine.

He said that gaining access to the raw data was especially important since only half of the 174 cases had exposure to the Huanan market, the now-shuttered wholesale seafood centre in Wuhan where the virus was initially detected.

"That's why we've persisted to ask for that," Dwyer said. "Why that doesn't happen, I couldn't comment. Whether it's political or time or it's difficult ... But whether there are any other reasons why the data isn't available, I don't know. One would only speculate."

China refused to give raw data on early Covid-19 cases to a World Health Organisation-led team probing the origins of the pandemic, says one of the team's investigators.https://t.co/fbC1YKui8f

— News24 (@News24) February 13, 2021

No end to pandemic without fair access to vaccine

Developing new Covid-19 vaccines will not end the pandemic unless all countries receive doses in a fast and fair manner, disease experts warned on Saturday.

As several nations consider implementing vaccine passports when international travel resumes, the authors of a letter published in the Lancet medical journal said vaccine stockpiling in wealthier countries would only prolong the global health emergency.

Coronavirus strain found in Polish mink can pass to humans

A strain of the coronavirus discovered in mink on a farm in northern Poland can be transmitted to humans and vice versa, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday.

Covid-19 was found in mink in Kartuzy county late last month, in what agriculture officials said was the first such case in Poland, raising fears of costly culls in an industry that counts over 350 farms in the country.

"Data obtained from the chief sanitary inspectorate and last year's experiences in Denmark and the Netherlands clearly indicate that also in Poland, this virus can spread from mink to humans and vice versa," the ministry said in a statement.

Denmark's entire herd of some 17 million mink, one of the world's biggest, was ordered to be culled in early November after hundreds of farms suffered outbreaks of coronavirus and authorities found mutated strains of the virus among people.

In August, the Netherlands decided to order the closure of more than 100 mink farms after several employees contracted Covid-19.

Following the discovery of Covid-19 at the farm in Kartuzy county, Polish authorities said all mink there would be culled.

- AFP

Gauteng Premier David Makhura said the province is ready to roll out the vaccine, with the virus set to be around for a while and the need to manage it.

“Vaccines are game-changing ways. Our plan will be adapted and have health workers who are trained, and our facilities are ready. Depending on how many doses we will get of [the] Johnson & Johnson vaccine, we are ready to vaccinate 215 000 healthcare workers.

“We need to bring Covid-19 under control,” said Makhura.

Makhura said they were disappointed following the announcement that the vaccination programme would not be launched as expected.

More than half of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape may have had Covid, blood donor tests show

A study published on Friday, led by authors from the National Blood Service, shows that a large percentage of the population has likely already been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that there are striking differences in prevalence between black and white people.

Over seven days between 7 and 25 January, 4 858 blood donors were tested for antibodies to the virus that causes Covid-19.

These antibodies help the body neutralise the effects of SARS-CoV-2 and we have them only if we have been previously infected.

Coronavirus likely here to stay, EU health agency chief says

The world should be prepared for the coronavirus to continue to circulate long-term despite the roll-out of vaccines, the head of the EU's ECDC health agency, Andrea Ammon, told AFP on Friday.

"We should be prepared that it will remain with us," the head of the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in an interview.

"It seems more likely that it would stay. It seems very well adapted to humans," she said.

"It wouldn't be the first virus that is with us forever, so it's not an unusual feature for a virus."

While vaccines dramatically reduce the risk of contracting the illness caused by Covid-19, scientists have not yet established with certainty whether vaccines also reduce transmission of the virus.

There is also particular concern that the vaccines may not be as effective against some variants of Covid-19, especially the South African and Brazilian ones.

"The question is what it then means in terms of the changes of the virus for the vaccine effectiveness," Ammon said, citing the seasonal flu as an example where vaccines are adapted annually.

"It might turn out that (the coronavirus) goes the same way, or that at one point it remains stable and we can use one vaccine for a longer period," she told AFP.

-AFP

More than 2 000 Gauteng pupils will miss a week of learning as they are yet to be placed in schools

A total of 2 404 Gauteng pupils will be at home when the 2021 academicyear begins in Gauteng next week.

Kazakhstan approves Russia's Sputnik V shot for use - vaccine's official Twitter account

Kazakhstan has approved Russia's Sputnik V shot for use against the coronavirus, the vaccine's official Twitter account said on Friday.

It said 27 countries had approved the vaccine for use so far.

- Reuters

Hungary to start using Russian virus vaccine in EU first

Hungary will on Friday become the first EU nation to start using Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus, the country's chief medical officer said.

"Today we are beginning to vaccinate with the Sputnik V vaccine, this is taking place in the designated vaccination stations," Cecilia Muller told a daily press briefing.

Hungary broke ranks with the EU last month by becoming the first bloc member to approve Sputnik V, ordering two million doses to be delivered over three months, enough to inoculate one million people.

- AFP

Canadian province postpones spring break to curb Covid

Canada's most populous province on Thursday postponed the spring break student holiday by a month to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Ontario's two million public elementary and high school students were looking forward to the vacation in March but will now have to wait until 12 April, state education minister Stephen Lecce told a news conference.

Teaching unions and some parents had called on the government not to change the week-long break but the decision, said Lecce, was made on the advice of public health officials to "protect teachers and students".

- AFP

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 9 860 - RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 9 860 to 2 320 093, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.

The reported death toll rose by 556 to 64 191, the tally showed.

- Reuters

Spate of Lunar New Year bookings cheers Australia restaurant amid virus fight

Sydney unveiled on Friday two new Ox lanterns, signifying the name of the year in the Chinese zodiac, at the entrance of its Chinatown precinct.

Sydney's festivities, which drew nearly 1.5 million visitors in 2019, are among the world's largest, although virus curbs and closed borders have reduced numbers.

"Last night we were fully booked and today we have to call for more seafood," said Eric Wong, explaining that the Lunar New Year had got off to a good start, with diners flowing in despite the nation's battle against the coronavirus.

Wong, who runs the city's Golden Century seafood restaurant, is looking past the disease, however.

- Reuters

We are more than ready says Makhura.  

We have had a setback, but the premier encourages the population to remain hopeful.  

School re-opening is fraught with anxiety and second wave is under control

We have to adapt the vaccination plans, says Makhura.  

"We must vaccinate when the time for everybody to get the vaccine comes."  

Our message is: Get ready

He says that containment of the second wave doesn't mean the province is "out of the woods".  

He highlights the behaviours of people to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions.  

But the focus shifted to the vaccination programme  

Credit Suisse offers coronavirus tests for staff - paper

Credit Suisse is offering free coronavirus tests to all of its staff who do not work from home, Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported on Friday.

Although the majority of bank's employees are currently working from home, around 15% are still working at company premises.

These can now have voluntary and free saliva tests, as a precautionary measure, a bank spokesperson told the newspaper.

- Reuters

Group of health practitioners take Sahpra to court to fight for use of ivermectin

A group of 55 health practitioners have filed an urgent application to allow for the use of ivermectin.

The coronavirus is going to stick around forever. Get ready for the new normal

As the pandemic approaches its second year, the coronavirus has morphed into a tougher foe than ever.

Hungary PM says rise in infections due to British strain of coronavirus - radio

Coronavirus infections have started to rise again in Hungary, probably due to the spread of the British strain of the virus, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday.

Orban said there was no need for further lockdown measures to curb the spread of infections, as a planned acceleration of vaccinations with Russian and Chinese vaccines could offset the rise in new Covid-19 cases in coming weeks.

- Reuters

SONA 2021: Ramaphosa thin on vaccine details, heavy on business

While beating Covid-19 is his government's overarching priority for the year, President Cyril Ramaphosa was thin on the details of the vaccination plan.

UK economy shrinks record 9.9% in 2020 on virus - data

Britain's economy shrank by a record 9.9% last year on the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, despite a 1% gain in the fourth quarter, official data showed Friday.

"Over the year 2020 as a whole, GDP contracted by 9.9%, marking the largest annual fall in UK GDP on record," the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

- AFP

Pandemic showcases Belgium as Europe's Vaccine Valley

A small country with an outsize reputation in research and pharmaceuticals, Belgium has emerged with a strategic role in the world's battle against the coronavirus.

The drugs giants racing to develop and produce new vaccines at scale in record time are international, but many of their global supply chains intersect here.

In 2019, before the pandemic, Belgium accounted for 13%  of EU biopharmaceutical exports and 10% of research investment, with just 2.5% of the European Union's population.

Biopharma - the extraction of a drug product from a biological culture - is used in the production of many of the vaccines that governments are rushing to secure.

In Wavre, just outside Brussels, British multinational GSK already produces an adjuvant to be used in future vaccine candidates from France's Sanofi and Canada's Medicago.

Now, it is also leaping into the production of a promising jab from German start-up Curevac, which is in clinical trials and could be approved in the EU by May.

"We're putting part of our production capacity at the service of other companies in order to move more quickly," GSK Vaccines managing director Patrick Florent told AFP at the plant.

- AFP

China reports 12 new Covid-19 cases vs 2 a day earlier

China reported 12 new mainland Covid-19 cases on 11 February, official data showed on Friday, up from two cases a day earlier but there were no new locally transmitted infections as the Lunar New Year holiday began.

All of the new cases were imported infections, the National Health Commission said in a statement. New asymptomatic infections, which China does not classify as confirmed Covid-19 cases, fell to eight from 16 a day earlier.

China saw a major resurgence of the disease in January, when a cluster emerged in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing.

The disease spread to northeastern Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces in the country's worst outbreak since March 2020, prompting an aggressive package of measures including lockdowns in the worst-hit areas to curb the spread of the virus.

- Reuters

New Zealand plans to start Covid-19 vaccinations next week

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday the country's Covid-19 inoculation programme will likely begin on 20 February, brought forward by the earlier receipt of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine than originally anticipated.

Pressure has been mounting on Ardern to start vaccinations for the country's five million people to take advantage of its rare position of having virtually eliminated the virus domestically.

"Last year we indicated the vaccine would arrive in quarter two, and earlier this year we updated that to quarter one," Ardern told reporters.

"It's pleasing to be receiving doses this early in quarter one."

Both New Zealand and neighbouring Australia have formally approved the vaccine jointly developed by US drugmaker Pfizer Inc and Germany's BioNTech.

Australia has said it expects to begin inoculations by the end of this month, without giving a specific date.

- Reuters

US acquires 200 million new doses as vaccine drive begins in pharmacies

US President Joe Biden announced plans to vaccinate most Americans by the end of July with the help of 200 million newly acquired doses, as the country's inoculation campaign kicked off a new phase in drugstores and supermarket pharmacies, some of which will offer shots as of Friday.

Even as the Biden administration inked deals to acquire "100 million more Moderna and 100 million more Pfizer vaccines" and Covid-19 cases fall in Europe, the World Health Organisation warned against rash reopenings, in a sobering reminder of the long global battle ahead in taming the pandemic.

"The decline in cases conceals increasing numbers of outbreaks and community spread involving variants of concern," said WHO Europe director Hans Kluge.

"At this point, the overwhelming majority of European countries remain vulnerable," he added, pointing out the "thin line between the hope of a vaccine and a false sense of security."

- AFP

Mexico reports 10 677 new coronavirus cases, 1 474 deaths

Mexico's health ministry on Thursday reported 10 677 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 1 474 more fatalities from Covid-19, bringing the overall total to 1 968 566 cases and 171 234 deaths.

The government says the real number of infected people and the death toll in Mexico are both likely significantly higher than reported levels.

- Reuters

Covid-19: SA's death toll increases by 237 and number of infections by 2 488

South Africa recorded 2 488 new Covid-19 infections by Thursday, along with 237 new Covid-19-related deaths, taking the confirmed death toll to 47 382.

Understanding immunology can help health practitioners treat long Covid-19

Researchers say that long Covid-19 symptoms are linked to dysregulation of the immune system.

Provinces say they are prepared for reopening of schools despite unions' concerns

This week, News24 spoke to education departments in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State who all said various strategies have been put in place for Covid-19.

First Covid-19 vaccines arrive in Japan from Pfizer - media

The first batch of Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Japan on Friday, local media reported, with official approval for the shots expected within days as the country races to control a third wave of infections ahead of the Olympic Games.

A government health panel is due to deliberate on the vaccine later on Friday, when it is expected to green-light the shots for formal approval.

Kyodo News reported that approval would come on Sunday.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said vaccinations would begin from the middle of next week, starting with health workers, and the government hopes to have secured enough supplies for the whole populace by mid-year.

A Japanese health ministry official said he could not confirm the reports of the vaccine's arrival due to security reasons.

- Reuters

EU close to seal supply deal with Novavax for Covid-19 vaccines - sources

The European Union could sign a supply deal with Novavax this week or next for the US company's Covid-19 vaccine candidate, two EU officials involved in the talks with the firm said.

The EU concluded in December preliminary negotiations with Novavax for the supply of 100 million doses and an option for another 100 million.

"Talks with Novavax have intensified and we aim to agree the contract this week or next," one EU official said.

A second EU official, involved in talks, confirmed that possible timetable for a deal, but added that discussions with the company's lawyers were still underway, declining to elaborate on what were the outstanding issues.

Last week Europe's drug regulator said it had launched a real-time review of Novavax's vaccine to speed up potential approvals.

- Reuters

Pfizer to apply for Covid-19 vaccine registration in Ukraine on Thursday - TV

Pfizer plans to file the registration application for use of its Covid-19 vaccine in Ukraine on Thursday, Ukrainian television quoted a health ministry official as saying.

Ukraine's authorities have said the country expects to receive its first batch of 117 000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in February within the framework of the Covax programme.

- Reuters

Hungary to receive 500 000 doses of Chinese Sinopharm's vaccine - PM's chief of staff

Hungary expects to receive 500 000 doses of Chinese Sinopharm's vaccine next week and plans to start vaccinations with them soon, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Thursday.

Gergely Gulyas also told a government briefing that Hungary had decided to launch a document proving coronavirus immunity for those who had been inoculated, those who have recovered from the infection and those who take a blood test proving the presence of antibodies.

- Reuters

AstraZeneca expects Covid-19 vaccine capacity of 200 million a month by April

AstraZeneca expects to produce more than 100 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine - developed with Oxford University - this month, ramping up to more than 200 million a month by April, Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said on Thursday.

Mene Pangalos, head of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at the British drugmaker earlier said the company expects much-anticipated data for the late-stage US trial of its vaccine before the end of March.

A read-out on data is "only weeks away", he said on a media call after release of the company's 2020 results.

- Reuters

Ireland's third virus lockdown set to last to April

Ireland's virus lockdown is set to be extended until April, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said Thursday, as the country battles to get infection rates and deaths down.

"Certainly we are looking at a continuation of high levels of restrictions until the Easter period," Martin told state broadcaster RTE.

Restaurants and pubs across Ireland have been shut since Christmas Eve and the non-essential retail sector has been closed since New Year's Eve.

Children did not return to school in January after the festive break, and residents have been told to stay at home as Dublin dramatically stepped up domestic and international travel curbs.

- AFP

Russia reports 15 038 new Covid-19 cases, 553 deaths

Russia reported 15 038 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, including 2 040 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 4 027 748 since the pandemic began.

Authorities also reported 553 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the country's death toll to 78 687.

- Reuters

Hong Kong holds scaled-down Lunar New Year fairs amid Covid-19, China crackdown

Hong Kong's Lunar New Year fairs, usually an opportunity to sell creative merchandise critical of the government alongside festive foods and decorations, are subdued this year amid coronavirus restrictions and a sweeping national security law.

Last year in January, fairs sold a variety of items carrying pro-democracy slogans popularised by mass demonstrations in 2019, from tote bags and T-shirts to coasters and temporary tattoos.

But protests evaporated as the coronavirus pandemic prevented large gatherings.

Then China imposed a sweeping national security law in June and Hong Kong authorities began arresting activists and opposition politicians.

- Reuters

Putting out fires: Can Ramaphosa inspire hope for a future beyond Covid-19?

President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday, which is expected to provide an update on responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.

AstraZeneca sees growth picking up, even without Covid-19 vaccine

AstraZeneca expects profit growth to pick up this year after the Covid-19 vaccine developer beat forecasts for quarterly drug sales, with demand for its cancer and other therapies cushioning the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Last year was a crucial one for the Anglo-Swedish company. It teamed up with the University of Oxford to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, and struck its largest ever deal by buying US drugmaker Alexion.

AstraZeneca said on Thursday it expects 2021 revenue to increase by a low teens percentage, with "faster growth" in core earnings to $4.75 to $5.00 per share.

That translates to 18%-24% growth in earnings, following 15% in 2020.

- Reuters

UK presses EU on finance deal for post-Covid recovery

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey on Wednesday pressed the EU to agree a post-Brexit financial services deal by next month for the sake of pandemic recovery on both sides of the Channel.

The costs of the City of London's lack of access since Brexit were laid bare in new data showing Amsterdam last month overtook London as Europe's top share trading hub.

Rebutting some of the demands made by Brussels in return for the City to regain access to EU states, Bailey said Britain had no intention of creating "a low-regulation, high-risk, anything-goes financial centre and system".

"We have an opportunity to move forward and rebuild our economies, post-Covid, supported by our financial systems. Now is not the time to have a regional argument," the UK central banker said in a speech.

Financial services - a key driver of the British economy - were largely omitted from the last-minute Brexit trade deal agreed between London and Brussels in late December.

- AFP

Mexico approves Chinese Covid vaccines CanSino and CoronaVac

Mexican regulators gave emergency approval Wednesday to the Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines CanSino Biologics and CoronaVac.

The approval was announced by deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell as Mexico struggles to manage the pandemic.

"I have given the authorisation for emergency use of both vaccines," Lopez-Gatell, who serves as the spokesperson for the government's pandemic coordination, said during a press conference.

In addition to CanSino and Sinovac's CoronaVac, Mexico has authorized three other Covid-19 vaccines: those from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Russia's Sputnik V.

- AFP

Covid may have killed 1 in 300 in the Eastern Cape - perhaps the worst rate in the world

The latest data released by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) show South Africa's excess deaths during the pandemic have reached 137 731, but have now started to subside.

SA pivots, and 80 000 doses of J&J vaccine due next week - as WHO says to use AstraZeneca

The Covid-19 vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is still not approved for use in South Africa. But by next week there will be enough of the single-dose shots in the country to inoculate 80 000 people, Business Day reported, citing "independent sources".

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 10 237 - RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 10 237 to 2 310 233, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday.

The reported death toll rose by 666 to 63,635, the tally showed.

- Reuters

US CDC says fully vaccinated people need not quarantine after Covid-19 exposure

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday people who have been given full doses of the coronavirus vaccine no longer need to quarantine after an exposure to someone with the Covid-19 disease.

"Fully vaccinated persons who meet criteria will no longer be required to quarantine following an exposure to someone with Covid-19," the CDC said.

The criteria include that the people exposed to Covid-19 were fully vaccinated, exposure was within three months following receipt of the last dose, and they have remained asymptomatic since the current exposure, according to the agency.

- Reuters