Month: January 2022

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In The News

SA reports 2 597 new Covid-19 cases

South Africa recorded 2 597 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 3 559 230 since the outbreak.

The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape after 721 people tested positive, followed by 602 in Gauteng, 547 in KwaZulu-Natal, 167 in the Eastern Cape, 129 in the Northern Cape and 122 in Limpopo, while the rest of the provinces logged less than 100 infections.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the latest increase represents a 10.6% positivity rate.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health reported 86 deaths due to the ongoing audit exercise, of which only 25 occurred in the past 24 to 48-hour reporting cycle.

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Inside Church Worldwide

Rev. Dr Susan Durber: “We belong to one, highly interconnected, world”

As the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity fast approaches, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission Rev. Dr Susan Durber reflects on the theme “We saw the star in the East,” and on what unity means for the world today.

Rev. Dr Durber: Sometimes I hear Christianity described as a ‘Western religion’, but my experience of the world church has taught me that it is not. Missionaries in the early Church first went East and some of the earliest churches are very far from the Western world. And in the heart of the infancy stories we have this tale of those who saw the star ‘in the East’ and came to worship the Christ child. I have been formed in a culture that has tended to exoticise ’the East’, in what the Palestinian philosopher Edward Said famously called ‘orientalism’. 

This story and theme reminds me that ’the East’ is more than a source of spices and colours for my Western life, but denotes a wealth of culture and wisdom which is offering gifts to us all.

Photo: Albin HIllert/WCC

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In The News

President Ramaphosa: We need to protect our Constitution

As South Africa entered the new year, we were confronted by two profound events that reminded us, in different ways, of what brings us together as a people.

On the first day of 2022, the nation gathered in spirit to bid farewell to Archbishop Desmond Tutu at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. It was a moment of great sadness as we recalled the life and contribution of a beloved compatriot who was, in many ways, the moral conscience of our nation. At the same time, his funeral was a celebration of the values he stood for. It was a celebration of the great unity and diversity of our people, and a reminder of the sacrifices made by so many to achieve our democracy.

On the second day of 2022, the country watched on in horror as a huge fire engulfed our Parliament, just a hundred metres from where we had gathered the day before to pay our last respects to Archbishop Tutu.

Photo: GCIS

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In The News

Western Cape, KZN and Gauteng lead new COVID-19 cases

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported at least 5 920 new COVID-19 infections in South Africa over the past 24-hour reporting period; bringing the cumulative number of cases to at least 3 546 808.

This is indicative of a 14.3% positivity rate which is lower than the previous reporting cycle’s 15.5%.

The provincial breakdown shows that the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng continue to report the majority of new cases:

  1. Western Cape – 1491
  2. Gauteng – 1198
  3. KwaZulu-Natal – 1142
  4. Eastern Cape – 559
  5. Limpopo – 524
  6. North West – 293
  7. Mpumalanga – 278
  8. Free State – 218
  9. Northern Cape – 217

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In The News

Africa’s new COVID-19 cases show steady decline but vaccinations lag behind

The number of new COVID-19 cases in Africa is continuing to decline despite the Omicron variant overtaking Delta as the leading variant on the continent.

This is according to World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa Region Emergency Director, Dr Abdou Salam Gueye.

Cumulative COVID-19 cases across the continent have crossed the 10 million mark, with 230 000 people losing their lives due to complications related to the virus.

“Over the past week, cases plateaued as compared to the week before. Infections have also declined in three of Africa’s five sub-regions. Only North and West Africa are currently witnessing an increase in cases.

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Inside Church Worldwide

Pope Francis: ‘Economy must serve people and planet, not profits’

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development hosted an online conference on Wednesday, in conjunction with the Vatican Covid-19 Commission and Deloitte, a multinational professional services network.

Entitled “Preparing the Future: Building a sustainable, inclusive, regenerative economy”, the event brought together leaders in the areas of business, finance, development economics, and academia.

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Inside Church Worldwide

Norwegian Church Aid, WCC focus on role of church leaders amid world’s challenges

WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca met with the following leaders from Norwegian Church Aid: general secretary Dagfinn Høybråten, international director Arne Næss-Holm, and program coordinator for Global Programs Anne-Grete Larsen.

Sauca was accompanied in the meeting by WCC director of Communication Marianne Ejdersten, responsible contact person for the Nordic  churches in the WCC; and Rev. Nathan Day Wilson, WCC manager of Income Monitoring and Development, Planning, Evaluation and Reporting.

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Photo: Albin Hillert/LWF

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In The News Inside Church

The world’s religions face a post-pandemic reckoning

According to The Economist, A poll of practising Christians in America in 2020 found that 14% had switched churches, 18% were attending more than one church, 35% were attending only their pre-pandemic church and 32% had stopped going to church altogether.

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In The News Inside Church

Egyptian parliament to approve new law on status of Christians

A long-awaited law on the personal legal status of Christians in Egypt is expected to be approved soon by the Egyptian Parliament.

According to a member of the parliamentary legislative committee, the draft law should be discussed shortly after Parliament opens its new session on 23 January.

The drafting of the new legislation, which includes provisions on sensitive issues relating to family law, has been a long process that started in 2014 and in which all Egyptian Churches have been involved.

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In The News

SA records 6 762 new COVID-19 cases, 181 deaths

South Africa has recorded 6 762 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hour reporting cycle, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 540 891. 

According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), this increase represents a 15.5% positivity rate. 
A further 181 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 92 830 to date.

“The majority of new cases today are from the Western Cape (28%), followed by Gauteng (22%). KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 18%, Eastern Cape accounted for 11%, Limpopo 5%; Free State, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and the North West each accounted for 4% respectively of today’s new cases,” the NICD said in a statement on Wednesday.

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