Daily Covid-19 update: 1,778 new cases identified in SA

As of Sunday, 9 May, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases is 1,596,595 with 1,778 new cases identified, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has confirmed.

11 more Covid-19 related deaths were reported, with 1 from Eastern Cape, 1 from Free State, 8 from Gauteng, 1 from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), 0 from Limpopo, 0 from Mpumalanga, 0 from North West, 0 from Northern Cape and 0 from Western Cape.

This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 54,735.

ALSO READ: Indian virus variant is in SA – What is it and what now?

Recoveries now stand at 1,516,256 representing a recovery rate of 95%.

A total of 10,887,709 tests have been completed with 26,098 new tests conducted since the last report.

Meanwhile, the total number of vaccines that have been administered stands at 382,480.

As of today, the total number of confirmed #COVID19 cases is 1 596 595 the total number of deaths is 54 735 the total number of recoveries is 1 516 256 and the total number of vaccines administered is 382 480. pic.twitter.com/71YYsmuU8Z

— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) May 9, 2021

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

India’s rocketing records

India reports a record new Covid-19 daily death toll of over 4,000 and more than 400,000 new cases as the country grapples with the world’s worst coronavirus surge.

Members of the opposition call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order a national lockdown as the country’s official death toll to date hits 238,270.

‘No doubt’ US undercounting deaths

The United States, which has reported the world’s worst overall Covid-19 death toll, has “no doubt” been undercounting fatal cases, top pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci says.

The country has officially lost over 581,000 people to the disease but a University of Washington study estimates deaths at more than 900,000.

EU still to renew AZ vaccine order

The European Union has not yet renewed its contract for the supply of Covid-19 vaccines with AstraZeneca beyond June and is not certain it will, the bloc’s internal market commissioner Thierry Breton says, a day after a new contract with Pfizer is announced.

The EU last month launched legal action against the pharmaceutical giant for vaccine delivery shortfalls, while public confidence in it in the bloc has taken a blow over worries of links to very rare blood clots in the brain.

Party-time in Spain

Spain lifts a state of emergency in place since October, allowing Spaniards to travel between regions for the first time in months.

“It’s like New Year’s,” says 28-year-old Oriol Corbella in Barcelona, where the lifting of the curfew was met with shouts, applause and music.

Freedom for fully vaccinated Germans

People fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are now exempt from many restrictions in Germany after the government passed new legislation to restore some freedoms.

Curfews and limits on social contacts no longer apply to the more than seven million people who have both jabs.

They will also no longer have to present a negative test result to access certain services such as hairdressers and “click and meet” shopping appointments.

France ‘playing politics’ with virus?

A group of 20 doctors and researchers accuse the French government of playing politics rather than following the science as it begins to ease partial lockdown measures.

They have called for the authorities to focus on the health issues at a time when the statistics for infections, deaths and hospitalisations are still high across the country.

Jabs with Dracula

Visitors to Romania’s forbidding Bran Castle, the inspiration for the lair of Dracula, are being jabbed with needles rather than vampire fangs this weekend in a coronavirus vaccination drive.

The government has turned to local vaccination drives and 24-hour “marathons” at such major venues to immunise as many citizens as possible.

First Laos death

A Vietnamese woman is Communist Laos’s first Covid fatality. The reclusive, landlocked country had appeared to escape the brunt of the pandemic in 2020, but a community outbreak uncovered last month has sent the number of cases soaring — from 49 in early April to 1,302 in less than a month.

Tunisia introduces more restrictions

Tunisia begins a week of coronavirus restrictions covering the Eid holiday.

Until next Sunday, mosques, markets and non-essential shops must close, gatherings and family or cultural celebrations are banned, and people are forbidden from travelling between regions

Almost 3.3 million fatalities

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 3,286,376 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1830 GMT on Sunday.

At least 157,653,764 cases of coronavirus have been registered.

The United States is the worst-affected country with an official toll of 581,516 deaths from 32,686,462 cases.

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