Preparations are under way outside the Parliament of South Africa in Cape Town ahead of the State of the Nation address, 12 February 2020. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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Source: Department of Health
As of Wednesday, 27 January 2021, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases is 1,430,648 with 7,707 new cases identified, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has confirmed.
753 more Covid-19 related deaths were reported. This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 42,550.
Recoveries now stand at 1,263,476 representing a recovery rate of 88,3%.
President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: GCIS
The annual State of the Nation Address (Sona) will have no red carpet or opportunities for outrageous fashion statements, and will likely cost significantly less due to its virtual nature, thanks to Covid-19.
This was revealed during a virtual media briefing where Parliament provided tentative details into how Sona 2021 would take place. The address must still adhere to regulations laid out in the Disaster Management Act.
Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize visits Charlotte Maxeke as part of his oversight visit, 19 January 2021. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
After a long wait, watching while millions of people around the world received their various vaccinations against the novel coronavirus, a million doses of the Oxford University developed AstraZeneca vaccine will finally land in South Africa on 1 February.
However, said Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, it would be between 10 and 14 days before the vaccine left quarantine, as specified by law.
Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane delivers the welcoming remarks during the official service for Jackson Mthembu. Picture: Twitter/@GovernmentZA
Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane has traded minutes without a mask for a potential 10 years with a criminal record.
The premier sparked public outcry on Sunday, when she was filmed without a mask on at the late Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu’s funeral in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga.
General views of the SABC building in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, on 18 November 2020. Picture: Michel Bega
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)’s board has agreed to consider alternatives to retrenchments.
The public broadcaster has been in the process of retrenching around 300 employee in order to reduce their wage bill and make the organisation financially sustainable.
Small “wine windows” were created in 16th-century Florence for landowners and wealthy families to pass alcohol that they had produced directly to customers. AFP/Tiziana FABI
Wine produce representatives, Vinpro has revealed that it will be approaching the Western Cape High Court to force the government’s hand to lift the blanket ban of alcohol.
The organisation says that the government has not been transparent in its reasons for the continued ban on alcohol.
EFF leader Julius Malema. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
As South Africa prepares for local government elections later this year in the midst of a pandemic, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema was trending on Twitter on Wednesday with a video highlighting his party’s undeterred spirit to influence the country’s political landscape.
Ivermectin. Picture: Hospital Nacional Hipólito Unanue
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has resolved to facilitate a controlled, compassionate use of Ivermectin to treat Covid-19.
Doctors who register for its use will have to report to Sahpra on its rollout. Sahpra is yet to publish the guidelines for its use.
A view of the overflowing Hans Merenskydam that has been spilling over after heavy rains following cyclone Eloise making landfall in Mozambique, 24 January 2021, Limpopo. Picture: Jacques Nelles
At least four people in South Africa have died in the wake of tropical storm Eloise as it swept through the country, causing flash floods and heavy rain.
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Monday four people had died following heavy rain, including a five-year-old boy who was swept away by floods in Mpumalanga and a 14-year-old who drowned in KwaZulu-Natal.
A photo shows empty bottles of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the Emile Muller hospital in Mulhouse, eastern France, on January 8, 2020. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)
As South Africans eagerly await the start of mass inoculations in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a lot of confusion around the procurement of the vaccines and how they will be distributed and administered once they arrive in the country.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize have also promised that the country will receive its first shipment of vaccines from India soon.
Herman Mashaba addresses the media at a press conference at the Johannesburg city council, 21 October 2019. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba on Wednesday clarified his party’s reasons for excluding the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) from their proposal of a multi-party engagement platform to respond more effectively to the Covid-19 crisis in the country.
Mashaba announced on Tuesday that he had written to several leaders of opposition parties about the platform, but he deliberately excluded the EFF and the governing ANC.
Former South African president Jacob Zuma appears at the Pietermaritzburg High Court in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 23 June 2020. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK
The Constitutional Court will hand down judgment in the case between secretary of the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture and former president Jacob Zuma on Thursday.
It will rule on whether Zuma is legally obliged to appear and give evidence before the commission.
Picture: iStock
Safe Citizen Campaign has come out guns blazing against the government following blockbuster allegations at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture on Tuesday that the State Security Agency (SSA) allegedly unlawfully gave guns to “non-members.”
The revelations were made exactly four days before the closing date of the amnesty period for gun owners with expired licenses to return them or face prosecution upon failure to do so.
Hellen Zille at a Workers’ Day celebration on the Midvaal near Meyerton, South Africa on May 1, 2012. (Photo by Gallo Images / Foto24 / Lucky Maibi)
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has announced that it will proceed with it court action to get the full details of the Covid-19 vaccine procurement and roll-out strategy from President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
This was confirmed on Wednesday by the party’s federal chair, Hellen Zille.
King Goodwill Zwelithini addresses thousands of his subjects at an imbizo in Ulundi, 4 July 2018. The king called the imbizo to address the issue of communal land held under the Ingonyama Trust. Picture: ANA
Members of the parliamentary portfolio committee on agriculture, land reform and rural development have expressed outrage at the lack of financial accountability at the Ingonyama Trust (IT) and the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB).
Shonisani Lethole. Picture: Twitter/@BusiLethole
Health Ombud, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, on Wednesday said one of his findings into the death of businessman Shonisani Lethole at Tembisa Tertiary Hospital last year was that his severe Covid-19 infection was “compounded” by medical negligence.
Acting minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. Picture: Twitter
Following the abrupt death of Cabinet minister Jackson Mthembu last Thursday, a new acting minister has been appointed.
Minister of Small Business Development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has been appointed as acting minister in the Presidency, President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed on Wednesday.
Vaal Dam. Picture: Vaal Weekblad
The Vaal Dam is more than 10% fuller currently than it was around the same time last year.
This as steady rainfall across Gauteng continues to fill up the Integrated Vaal River System’s (IVRS’s) 14 dams that provide water to parts of the province, and industries such as Eskom and Sasol. The Vaal Dam is currently at 78.1%, up from 76.6% last week.
Advocate Kemp J Kemp. Picture: Gallo Images/Foto24/Emile Hendricks
Senior advocate and former legal representative of former president Jacob Zuma, Kemp J Kemp, has died of Covid-19. The news was confirmed to The Citizen by the Society of Advocates of KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday morning.
‘Podcast and Chill’ host MacGyver Mukwevho. Picture: YouTube
Earlier this week, Twitter users were outraged by distasteful comments made by media personality MacGyver Mukwevho, popularly known as MacG and his co-host Sol Phenduka on his Youtube podcast called Podcast and Chill.
The comments were labelled transphobic and homophobic by members of the LGBTIQ+ community and their allies.
Whatsapp seen on an iPhone, 14 January 2021. Picture: Neil McCartney
Messaging platform WhatsApp has joined WhatsApp stories in a bid to communicate changes directly with customers.
This after a frenzy of panic among the app’s users earlier this year when it was announced that changes to their terms of use and privacy policy would give Facebook free rein to snoop around their conversations in order to allow for better-targeted ads on other Facebook-owned platforms.
Head coach Gavin Hunt still has still one just one DStv Premiership match since joining Kaizer Chiefs. Pic: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Kaizer Chiefs coach, Gavin Hunt has hinted that his team may just stand a chance of clinching the coveted DStv Premiership title should they keep their points rate as is or better it.
Amakhosi have collected 11 points out of a possible 15 in their last five games, which has seen then jump from 14th to seventh on the log standings.
Sharks flyhalf Curwin Bosch was in excellent form on Friday as he helped his team get passed the Cheetahs in Durban. Picture: Getty Images
Expect the prolific kicking boot of Sharks flyhalf Curwin Bosch to play a crucial role in Saturday’s Currie Cup final against the Bulls at Loftus – especially if the surface is wet and slippery.
This is the opinion of former Springbok flyhalf prolific goal-kicker Braam van Straaten, who nowadays travels the country helping kickers with their technique.
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