Daily news update: Covid-19 stats, ‘Devil’ vaccine remarks haunt Mogoeng and Sunshine Tour postponed

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Daily Covid-19 update: 806 more deaths takes total up to 35,140

As of Wednesday, 13 January 2021, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases is 1,278,303 with 18,555 new cases identified, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has confirmed.

806 more Covid-19 related deaths were reported, with 150 from Eastern Cape, 24 from Free State, 211 from Gauteng, 235 from Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), 14 from Limpopo, 14 from Mpumalanga, 7 from Northern Cape and 151 from Western Cape.

This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 35,140. Recoveries now stand at 1,030,930 with a recovery rate of 80,6%.

JSC refers Mogoeng ‘devil’ vaccine remarks to judicial conduct committee

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng speaks at a media briefing on 11 December 2020, Noordwyk, Midrand, to unpack the release of the 2019/2020 Judiciary Annual Report following the release of Judiciary Annual Report on Tuesday, 8 December 2020. PIcture: Tracy Lee Stark

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has referred a complaint to the Judicial Conduct Committee against Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng over his Covid-19 vaccine remarks.

JSC secretary Sello Chiloane confirmed to News24 it had received a complaint against Mogoeng from health advocacy organisation the African Alliance.

The African Alliance said it had filed a complaint following Mogoeng’s “false and dangerous” Covid-19 vaccine claims he made last year.

SA’s total outlay for vaccinations could be no more than R8,6 billion

The studies, published in The Lancet medical journal, constitute a major step on the road towards a COVID-19 vaccine that is effective and safe for widespread use. AFP/File/CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN

While South Africans are waiting with bated breath for the first vaccines to become available, there has been a lot of talk about the cost of the vaccine, and whether the country will be able to afford it.

The good news, according to an analysis by a group of scientists from Wits University, is that we can in fact afford it and they have done the math.

SA unemployment will worsen due to Bheki Cele’s mask arrests, says NGO

Photo for illustration: iStock

South Africa’s already frail labour market may crumble as Covid-19 and some regulations set by the government ravage the chances of stalling the worsening unemployment rate.

This is according to Howard Dembovsky, chairperson of Justice Project South Africa, after Police Minister Bheki Cele announced that about 7000 people had been arrested countrywide for not wearing masks.

Dlamini-Zuma: It is difficult to give certainty on how long regulations will last

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Picture: Twitter / @governmentza

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says it is difficult to give certainty on how long Covid-19 lockdown regulations will last.

“If we were to say we give certainty and give a date that these regulations will not apply, what if the infections have not dropped sufficiently to allow that,” she said during a question and answer session following a virtual briefing on Tuesday.

Applications for IDs, passports, marriage services suspended

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi briefs media on department of Home Affairs services under lockdown alert level 2, 28 August 2020. Picture: GCIS

Home Affairs Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi has temporarily suspended certain critical services, including applications for new IDs and passports.

Only matriculants may apply for an ID, while passport applications will only be accepted from those who are allowed to travel under the amended regulations.

Human rights group calls for temporary disability grants extension until backlog fixed

Picture for illustration. Residents from Olievenhoutbosch can be seen queuing and practicing social distancing to collect their Sassa grants at the local mall, 30 March 2020, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles

The Black Sash has called on the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) to extend the lapsed temporary disability grants for another three months while the agency fixes the problems causing the long queues of people sleeping outside its offices.

The organisation also wants Sassa to expedite the system of medical assessments and communicate the requirements properly.

Western Cape’s second wave peak does not mean people can relax, warns Winde

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde. Picture: Courtney Africa

During a virtual meeting attended by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, Western Cape health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo, head of health Dr Keith Cloete and the province’s director-general Harry Malila, it was tentatively confirmed that the province had entered the peak of the second wave of Covid-19 infections. 

Early signs of stabilisation had been observed, with many districts, such as the Garden Route, seemingly beginning to combat the amount of hospitalisations and new cases. 

However, the province’s biggest concern remained non-adherence to protective behaviours. 

Zondo postpones ex-Eskom CFO Anoj Singh’s testimony over ‘fatally defective’ summons’

Anoj Singh. Picture: Moneyweb

A “fatally defective summons” issued by the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture to former Eskom chief financial officer Anoj Singh led to the commission’s chair, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, postponing Singh’s testimony at the inquiry to a date that will be determined in due course.

Zondo ordered that Singh file a comprehensive affidavit by close of business on Monday, 18 January and that the commission’s legal team ensure that the summons to be issued against him is not defective.

Distressed woman in Wentworth Hospital dies, family considers legal suit

Picture: iStock

The family of an elderly woman, who was seen in a video screaming for help at Durban’s Wentworth Hospital, says it is considering legal options against the KwaZulu-Natal department of health following the news of her death.

It is unclear as to when Rowena Hawkey died after she was admitted to the hospital on 4 January.

Another earth tremor recorded in Gauteng

Picture: iStock

A 2.2 magnitude tremor has been recorded near Randfontein in Gauteng on Wednesday.

According to preliminary data recorded on the Council for Geoscience website, the tremor took place at 2.31am.

Pandemic-driven shift to home work carries risks, UN says

Through its flagship study representing 2.6 billion consumers globally, GWI provides consumer insights across 46 markets to the most renowned brands, agencies and media organizations. Picture: iStock

The shift to home-working triggered by the coronavirus pandemic looks set to endure long-term, making it vital to protect employees’ rights and avoid blurred lines between on-the-clock hours and personal time, the United Nations said Wednesday.

Issues facing home workers and their employers need greater attention, including better safeguards and more awareness of the rights and risks involved, the UN’s International Labour Organization said in a report.

Information Regulator engaging with Facebook SA over WhatsApp update

EPA-EFE/HAYOUNG JEON

After many WhatsApp users raised their concerns over the application’s privacy policy update, Information Regulator South Africa (SA) has stepped to discuss the matter.

In a statement, the Information Regulator confirmed that it made contact with Facebook South Africa to discuss WhatsApp’s privacy policy, which was revised on 4 January, and that engagements were still ongoing.

‘I want to do South Africa proud!’ – Shudufhadzo Musiḓa reacts to Miss World prediction

Miss South Africa Shudufhadzo Musiḓa poses for photographs for ‘The Citizen’ on 3 December 2020, following an interview at the Black Brick hotel and apartment building in Sandton. Picture: Michel Bega

It seems there is one beauty pageant organisation besides Miss South Africa (SA) that thinks Shudufhadzo Musiḓa’s chances at this year’s Miss World are pretty high.

Miss Osology has predicted that Shudu stands a strong chance at winning the 70th Miss World. They published their front runners earlier this week.

Start of Sunshine Tour postponed due to Covid concerns

Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge winner Merrick Bremner – his seventh Sunshine Tour victory. Picture: Getty Images/Sunshine Tour

The Sunshine Tour has announced the postponement of its 2021 schedule by one month in light of the current nationwide rise in Covid-19 cases.

Thomas Abt, commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, revealed on Wednesday that the planned February start of the top-flight domestic golf campaign had been pushed back until March.

Covid impact: Comrades and Two Oceans races again under threat

Namakoe Nkhasi wins the men’s 21km half marathon of the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon 2016 starting at Main Road, Newlands and finishing at the University of Cape Town. Picture: Gallo Images

Though race organisers and athletics administrators remain hopeful that mass participation events will resume this year, the road running calendar could be scratched once again unless there is significant progress in the ongoing battle against Covid-19.

“Under level three (lockdown regulations) we all know what that means,” Athletics South Africa (ASA) president Aleck Skhosana said on Wednesday.

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