Health workers are seen at the Nasrec Field Hospital for Covid-19, 25 January 2021. Picture: Michel Bega
As of Monday, 01 February 2021, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases is 1,458,948 with 2,649 new cases identified, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has confirmed.
547 more Covid-19 related deaths were reported, with 68 from Eastern Cape, 30 from Free State, 91 from Gauteng, 143 from Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), 134 from Limpopo, 9 from Mpumalanga, 3 from Northern Cape and 69 from Western Cape.
This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 44,946.
Mkhize noted that the deaths confirmed in Limpopo were captured from retrospective audits between 6 September 2020 and 29 January 2021.
Recoveries now stand at 1,318,504 representing a recovery rate of 90%.
Meanwhile, a total of 8,329,691 tests have been completed with 28,942 new tests conducted since the last report.
100 million vaccinated
More than 100 million vaccines have been given around the world, an AFP tally from official sources found Tuesday.
But none of the world’s 29 poorest countries has formally started mass vaccination drives, while the richest nations have provided more than two-thirds of jabs administered.
Russian jab has ‘high efficacy’
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6 percent effective against symptomatic Covid-19, says an analysis published in The Lancet.
Independent experts say the preliminary findings allay transparency concerns over the jab, which Moscow is already rolling out.
Black Americans miss out
A study suggests Black Americans have not received jabs at a rate proportionate to their population in the US even though they are almost three times more likely to be hospitalised by the virus and twice as likely to die.
Fake shot gang busted
Chinese police arrest more than 80 people involved in a scam selling saline solution as vaccine as the country races to give shots to 50 million before the Lunar New Year holiday on February 12.
Japan jabs EU
Japan says a rule requiring European Union drug-makers to seek approval before shipping vaccines to non-EU countries is holding up its vaccination plan.
Emergency extended
Tokyo Olympics president Yoshiro Mori insists the Games will go ahead no matter what even as Japan extends its state of emergency less than two months before the Olympic torch is due to arrive.
BP pummelled
BP says it tumbled $20.3 billion (16.8 billion euro) into the red last year with oil hit hard by the pandemic.
UK variant in Nigeria
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says six new cases of the British variant were found in the West African nation at the weekend.
Dubai bars shut
Dubai orders bars to close and restricts hours and capacity at restaurants, cafes, shops, cinemas and sports venues to suppress a spike in cases, after tourists flock to the emirate.
‘Ambush lockdowns’
Hong Kong’s leader defends “ambush lockdowns” — where neighbourhoods are sealed off and residents tested — after a spate of overnight operations uncovered no new cases.
Austria eases lockdown
Shops, museums and zoos in Austria will be able to reopen and meetings of people from more than two households will be allowed, but mask-wearing and increased testing are required.
Care improved
A study shows Covid-19 treatments and improved hospital care around the world have reduced death rates in intensive care by more than a third since the early months of the pandemic.
South Africa cricket tour out
Australia pulls out of their South African cricket tour citing “unacceptable” risk as a new variant accelerates the outbreak in the continent’s worst-affected country.
More than 2.2 million dead
The coronavirus has killed more than 2,237,990 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.
The countries with the most deaths are the US on 443,365, Brazil 225,099 and Mexico 159,100.
The global death toll, calculated from official daily figures published by national health authorities, is an underestimate and does not include later revisions by statistics agencies.
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