Daily Covid-19 update: SA death toll tops 53 000, 437 new cases
In this file photo taken on January 26, 2021 a posed photograph taken as an illustration shows syringes arranged around a used vial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at the vaccination centre set up inside Brighton Centre in Brighton, southern England. - A British trial of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on children has been paused, Oxford University said on April 6, 2021, as global regulators rush to assess its possible link to rare blood clots in adults. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP)
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South Africa passed the 53 000 death toll mark yesterday as another 37 deaths resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic were reported.
The official number of deaths according to government records now stands at 53 032 and an additional 437 new cases were reported, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
With just over 16 000 new tests conducted yesterday, South Africa is now just shy of 10 million completed Covid-19 tests.
The recovery rate remains at 95% and 272 438 vaccinations have been administered to health care workers.
Oxford University announces it has paused trials of the AstraZeneca vaccine on children, pending guidance from Britain’s medicines regulator on its possible link to blood clots.
The European Medicines Agency says it is still deciding whether the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine causes blood clots after a top official said there was a clear link. The World Health Organisation says the risk-benefit balance for the vaccine is “still largely positive”.
President Joe Biden is set to announce that all adults across the United States will be eligible for Covid-19 vaccines by April 19 — well ahead of the already ambitious previous target.
Accelerated vaccinations and a flood of government spending, especially in the US, have boosted the outlook for the global economy, which should grow by 6.0 percent this year after a 3.3-percent contraction in 2020, the IMF says.
India’s capital New Delhi imposes an overnight curfew after more than 100,000 new cases are recorded nationwide on a single day for the first time. Financial hub Mumbai introduces similar restrictions.
Spain and France charter planes and ferries to bring home thousands of their nationals stranded in Morocco, which from Tuesday suspended all passenger flights to and from the two countries to slow the spread of the virus.
Iran announces a new daily record number of 17,430 cases, as authorities warn of a “major increase” in infections to come as the Middle East’s hardest-hit country faces its fourth wave.
Germans in the tiny border state of Saarland return to cafes, cinemas and cultural venues even as the rest of the country faces tighter restrictions amid rising case numbers.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan says it was “not proper to ignore” the pandemic, marking a policy shift from her late Covid-sceptic predecessor John Magufuli.
Botswana resumes its controversial trophy-hunting season, including issuing licences to kill 287 elephants, after big game hunting was halted by the pandemic last year.
France converts its biggest stadium, the Stade de France, known for major sporting events and pop concerts, into a giant vaccination centre as the government scrambles to keep its promise of a giant leap in jabs.
English Premier League leaders Manchester City largely blame a £126 million ($175 million) net loss last season on the virus.
At least 2,864,292 people have died of Covid-19 around the world since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally from official sources at 1830 GMT. The US is the worst-affected country with 555,735 deaths, followed by Brazil with 332,752, Mexico with 204,399, India with 165,547 and Britain with 126,882.
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