South Africa conducted 16 067 COVID-19 tests in the past 24 hours, of which 1 228 were positive.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), this means the positivity rate now stands at 7.6%.
Gauteng accounted for 41% or 498 new cases recorded, followed by 166 in Mpumalanga, 155 in the Western Cape and 145 in KwaZulu-Natal.
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Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 21:00 tonight until 05:00 on Tuesday.
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The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) announced on Monday that it has registered the MC Pharma also known as Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine.
Initially developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, the local drug watchdog said the Chinese two-dose COVID-19 jab is administered at an interval of two to four weeks apart.
“This authorisation is based on acceptable safety, quality and efficacy data submitted by MC Pharma Pty (Ltd) to SAHPRA as a rolling submission over the period 23 July 2021 to 22 December 2021,” the organisation explained.
In March last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) listed Sinopharm for emergency use, giving the green light for this vaccine to be rolled out globally.
According to the WHO, vaccine efficacy for symptomatic and hospitalised was estimated to be 79%, all age groups combined.
The watchdog has also registered the Pfizer vaccine under section 15 from section 21, meaning it is now fully registered to be given to people 12 and older.
“This authorisation is based on acceptable safety, quality and efficacy data submitted by Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Ltd to SAHPRA as a rolling submission over the period 3 February 2021 to 17 January 2022,” the statement read.
In South Africa, 22 791 139 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have already been administered.
The authorisation is, however, subject to some conditions for both vaccines. These include that the vaccine is supplied and administered by the National COVID-19 vaccination programme, SAHPRA explained.
“Further conditions relate to the reporting of the results of ongoing studies and conformance with pharmacovigilance activities as outlined in the approved risk management plan, including the submission of periodic safety updates.”
In addition, adverse effects of the Sinopharm and Pfizer vaccines, as outlined in the clinical trial evidence submitted by the applicants, were usually mild or moderate and cleared within a few days.
They include injection on-site, headache, tiredness, muscle pain, nauseous, while Pfizer reported two additional side effects – muscle pain and chills.
So far, SAHPRA has registered the Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Sinopharm and also authorised Sinovac vaccines.
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“South Africa’s constitutional democracy guarantees citizens certain basic human rights. But the regulations that attended South Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited some of those rights. These include the right to freedom of movement and assembly, and the right to work or trade,” the Conversation reported.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a State of Disaster in March 2020, and placed the country under lockdown, in a bid to combat the pandemic. The lockdown regulations (or “levels”) changed from time to time, becoming more or less restrictive. These included the controversial “ban” on alcohol and cigarettes during the level 5 lockdown, restrictions on leisure and social activities, the closure of schools and universities, restricted attendance of funerals and other gatherings and a curfew.”
“Because the need for the state to limit freedoms for the common good is likely to recur, it is crucial to understand how supportive the public has been of the suspension of their human rights and freedoms.”
Click here to visit more on The Convesation.
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As South Africa’s two-year chairship of the African Peer Review Forum came to an end over the past weekend, South Africa has received favourable reviews for the rule of law, oversight bodies like Chapter 9 institutions, the advancement of women’s rights and strong refugee protection, among others.
The Forum is one of the structures of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which aims to promote and protect human rights, consolidate democracy and advance good governance and the rule of law among African countries.
Addressing the country in his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa was one of the first countries to join the APRM in 2003 and has undergone two assessments.
He said the most recent assessment was last year, where the country was assessed on democratic and political governance, economic management, corporate governance, socio-economic development and state resilience.
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Cape Town police are probing the circumstances surrounding a fire in the basement of the St George’s Cathedral in Wale Street Cape Town during the early hours of this morning.
At around 01:53 a member of the public noticed the fire and alerted the security on duty. The fire was extinguished and no injuries were reported. A case of arson has been registered and arrests are yet to be made.
Click here the read the official statement.
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Hermien Grobler, snake catcher, spoke to Bible Media about a boomslang caught at Wierdepark Primary.
“So the snake was first seen on the 31st of January at the Wierdapark Primary School. I was phoned and immediately responded. At the same time the call came through on our rescue group. Three of us arrived at the school but unfortunately the snake already went up the tree.
“We confirmed that it was indeed a boomslang. Boomslang do not occur in this area, so we came to the conclusion that it must have hitched a ride in a vehicle. Due to the denseness of the tree we lost sight of the snake and had to let it be.
“On the 2nd of February I was called to say the snake was back, but now at the church opposite the school. Luckily it made its way safely over the road. I found the snake between the door and the security gate. I gently removed the snake which was not aggravated at all and safely removed it. It is now at a place of safety,” she said.
State power utility Eskom says it will review the possibility of lifting load shedding on Friday afternoon.
This as the power utility implemented Stage 2 load shedding from Wednesday until Monday morning, following several trips at power stations and a depletion of emergency generating reserves.
Eskom Chief Executive, Andre De Ruyter, said the power utility had made progress in replenishing these reserves, however, a decision on whether to lift power outages will be taken after careful consideration.
Click here to read more.
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Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, has warned that the COVID-19 fifth wave is likely to hit South Africa in winter or earlier, depending on the variants of concern.
“Only high coverage vaccination will reduce the emergence of more variants,” he said on Friday, during a media briefing.
The Minister announced that the country has now administered over 30 million vaccine doses as of Wednesday night.
“It took longer than we had wished for but it’s a significant milestone,” he added.
As of Thursday, government has given 30 100 000 doses to 18 604 643 individuals with at least one jab. This means 46.7% of adults in the country are now vaccinated, while 41.61% are fully jabbed.
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As a precaution, Nestlé South Africa is initiating a voluntary recall of a limited number of KIT KAT milk chocolate products due to the possibility that they may contain glass pieces.
To date, we have not received any complaints or reported injuries. We are taking this action out of an abundance of caution having discovered the presence of small pieces of glass during our quality and safety checks.
The affected products were produced over a limited period and this voluntary recall covers only products with specific production codes that you can find on the label.
The voluntary recall is limited to products with the production codes listed above only. No other sizes and variants of KIT KAT products (Dark chocolate and White chocolate) are affected by this recall. Milk chocolate KIT KAT products with different production codes from those listed here are not affected by this recall either.
Consumers who may have purchased the products listed above should not consume them but should instead return them to the place where they were purchased, for a full refund. To locate the production code, consumers should look on the side panel of the package.
If you are not sure how to find the production code, or how to return the product, please call or WhatsApp 0860096116 or email [email protected] or reach out to us via our social media platforms.
If you have a concern that you or one of your family might have consumed one of the affected products, please consult a medical professional who will be able to provide you with the best advice and guidance.
We are currently investigating what went wrong. Having spotted the problem, we took steps immediately to fix it. We have put in place extra measures to further strengthen our quality and safety checks to make sure it does not happen again.
The quality and safety of our products are the top priority for our company. We understand that people will be concerned and apologize unreservedly to them. We regret very much any inconvenience caused by this recall.
We are working closely with the National Department of Health – Food Control Directorate and will continue to cooperate with them fully on this voluntary recall.
