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Now that's a shot in the arm. Mzansi's Sisonke vaccine trial has confirmed that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can severely blunt 'breakthrough infections'.
The president also stressed the importance of keeping the economy open after months of stifling movement restrictions.
He urged citizens not to drop their guard and continue adhering to the health rules, such as wearing face masks and respecting curfew times.
South Africa has recorded just over 800,000 coronavirus infections - more than a third of the cases reported across the African continent - and over 20,000 deaths.
AFP
There's nothing more special than enjoying a wine where it was produced. Here's how UK buyers can relive the experience.
SA and England will meet for the first time since the 2019 Rugby World Cup final when they clash on the Springboks’ end of year tour.
In the early weeks and months of the coronavirus pandemic, medics and health professionals working in hospitals around the world noticed that Covid-19 was hitting men harder than women. Now, a global analysis of over 3 million Covid-19 cases from January to June has found that male patients with the disease have 'almost three times the odds' of requiring admission to intensive care than female patients. What's more, men were almost 1.4 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than women - although both sexes have an equivalent risk of infection. The researchers analyzed data from 90 reports involving 46 countries and 44 US states. This data showed that, among the cases in the study, about 1.57 million were women and about 1.53 million were men. Yet when it came to data on over 12,000 admissions to hospital intensive care units, about 8,000 of those were men and 4,000 were women, the researchers found. And among the over 200,000 Covid-19 deaths included in the study, about 120,000 were men and 91,000 were women. The study, which published in the journal Nature Communications on Wednesday, didn't examine the reasons for the disparity. But the researchers - from the University College London and the University of Cape Town in South Africa - suggested the explanation is more likely due to biological differences than behavioral or socioeconomic ones. The many parts of the immune system that work together to defend the body against viruses do not operate exactly the same way in men and women, and the study said that more research is needed to determine which specific biological factors may be driving these differences. 'Men and women have differences in almost all arms of the immune system. These range from the early immune responses to viral infection, to T cell responses, B cell responses and immune memory,' said study author Dr. Kate Webb, a consultant pediatric rheumatologist at the University of Cape Town and The Francis Crick Institute in London. 'There are many potential reasons for these differences in immunity: hormones have immunological effects and women have two X chromosomes compared to one in men. X chromosomes are packed full of genes which code for immunity.' -CNN
Ramaphosa assured the public that government is doing its utmost to ensure that a vaccine, when available, will be widely distributed to all.
DIRCO Minister Naledi Pandor told
a virtual UN session that there are currently 17 territories whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government across the globe.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said they had recorded a high number of COVID-19 infections amongst people aged between 15-19, in the previous two days
Judith February On December 5 we marked the seventh anniversary of the late former South African President Nelson Madiba Mandela’s passing, while 10 December marked the 24th anniversary of the final Constitution which was signed into law by him at Sharpeville in 1996. Somehow it seems fitting that these important events are five days apart on the calendar even if separated by 17 years. The adoption of our final Constitution was a significant milestone, though 24 years are not the same as 25 and so 2021 will doubtless be the year where we look at the making of our Constitution and the road we have travelled, more carefully. While the Constitution remains a lodestar to those who believe in the constitutional democracy we wrought, it has now become fashionable to blame Madiba and the Constitution itself for lack of transformation within our society. It is a limited argument that ignores the politics of the day and the corruption and mismanagement that lies at the heart of our inability to ensure basic rights are protected. A more expansive notion of constitutionalism was proffered by former Chief Justice Pius Langa when he said: “Transformation is a permanent ideal, a way of looking at the world that creates a space is in which dialogue and contestation are truly possible, in which new ways of being are constantly explored and created, accepted and rejected and in which change is unpredictable but the idea of change is constant. This is perhaps the ultimate vision of a transformative constitution . . . It envisions a society that will always be open to change and contestation, a society that will always be defined by transformation.” Most democracies find such mature contestation tricky to navigate. South Africa is no different. Given the challenges South Africa faces, it is easy (and perhaps inevitable) to slip into reductionist thinking on the Constitution itself, that it is an imported liberal concept and not worth the paper it is written on. But in a world of cheap populism and easy answers, now more than ever we need to dispel what is reductionist and ahistorical. Former Constitutional Court judge Justice Albie Sachs is a charming storyteller. He talks of his debates on constitutionalism with his old friend, the late Kader Asmal, with humour and relish. Sachs never misses an opportunity to explain the African National Congress (ANC)’s debates on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. In these confusing times of noisy debate about constitutionalism, his recollections are worth pondering. Sachs describes the pre-1990s rights debates within the ANC as difficult and often fierce. Is the fight for human rights a “luxury” when one is fighting for national liberation from a system as brutal as apartheid? Sachs often recalls how some within the ANC believed that a Bill of Rights would only seek to protect entrenched (white) privilege while not providing the majority of citizens with true protection. During the 2016 #feesmustfall activism, the Constitution itself came under scrutiny. For many younger South Africans, the o
South Africa isn't the only country that has been blindsided by a COVID-19 mutation. New strains have been found in four other countries.
We must change our behaviour now to prevent a resurgence of the virus and manage outbreaks wherever they occur, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his address on Thursday night.
[Monitor] REGINA NALUJJA
CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) - South Africa will tour Pakistan next month for the first time in 13 years to play two tests and three Twenty20 Internationals, officials confirmed yesterday.
The article S Africa to make historic Pakistan return for test, T20 series appeared first on Stabroek News.
In the latest news in South Africa on Tuesday 5 January 2021, there's instant justice at the home of alleged drug kingpin 'Teddy Mafia'.
COVAX, the global project to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the world’s poorest people has been criticized for a decision to share costs among lower-income countries. It had previously been pledged that funding for these nations would be largely provided by donors and development aid.
The renowned facility is helping Grade 10s prepare for a future career in this field.
The darkest moment in the Western Cape's fight against COVID-19 took place on Saturday, with 4 602 people testing positive in a single day.
[East African] Rwanda has scoffed at accusations that its embassies abroad are actively engaged in the recruitment of spies and threatening of Rwandan refugees who are critical of the government.
Anti-immigrant groups have staged demonstrations in recent months in Johannesburg, the country's biggest city, and in the capital Pretoria, demanding the mass deportation of foreigners.
[SPS] Pretoria (South Africa) -- Former South African Ambassador to Cuba and Chief of Staff in the office of ANC Secretary General, Phatse Justice Piitso, adressed an Open Letter to Joe Biden, Friday 1 January, calling on the US President elect to set things right and help end the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco.
So you couldn't catch the latest episode of Skeem Saam? Don't worry, we've got you covered. Be warned of spoilers!
Kaizer Chiefs have taken to social media to provide insight into the troubles they encountered on their recent trip to Angola.
Netball South Africa have confirmed that the SPAR Proteas will take on Uganda in a three-match Test series in Cape Town in early 2021.
The total number of recorded Covid-19 cases in SA is 1 100 748.
South Africa declared a second wave of coronavirus as the number of cases surge.
The country registered a record 6,709 infections on Wednesday, bringing the total number to 828,598, with 22,574 deaths.
South Africa is the country hardest hit by COVID-19 on the continent.
The health minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement he expected faster-rising numbers with a higher peak than in the first wave.
The wave is being driven by the provinces of Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the economic hub Gauteng, Mkhize said.
The latest surge comes as millions prepare to travel to their home towns during the Christmas period.
South Africa introduced one of the world's most stringent lockdowns in March during the first wave but progressively eased measures as cases dropped.
Last week President Cyril Ramaphosa announced new restrictions such as a curfew and a ban on alcohol sales.
Information about the characteristics of the new COVID-19 variant that emerged in Europe is rapidly being released. Scientists are working to learn more about how easily they might spread, whether they could cause more severe illness, and whether currently authorized vaccines will protect people against them. While many are extremely concerned about the new strain […]
Just as smokers thought the struggle was over, tobacco sales may be under threat again. FITA say the potential for another cigarette ban is now 'worrisome'.
Watch all of the live action from this evening's CAF Champions League clash between Kaizer Chiefs and Primeiro de Agosto below
BY RICHARD MUPONDE UNSUSPECTING people have reportedly been duped an undisclosed amount of money by imposters who are reportedly abusing the name of former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Gideon Gono asking for financial assistance. Gono confirmed the scam and said a number of people have been swindled after they released huge sums of money into a fraudulent account in South Africa from which he disassociated himself and his family. “It has come to my sad attention and family that they are impersonating me and going around asking high-profile and rich individuals, suspected to be my friends, to ‘assist’ me with money deposited into a South African account,” Gono said. “Unfortunately, a few people, some of whom I have never met and do not even know, have been duped into releasing huge sums of money, only to find out soon after that the voice on the other line was fake.” He denied that he had begged for money from friends and associates and urged people to report the imposters to the police. “Please report any such approaches to the nearest police station to ensure that the culprits are apprehended swiftly,” Gono said. He said a South African number, +27 718 396 569, was used by these imposters to dupe people. Gono said a photoshopped picture of him, taken 10 years ago, was being used on the number’s WhatsApp profile picture. The local number currently being used was +263 788 669 246, with “one funny photoshopped profile picture of our chicken business premises”. “The local guy impersonated my first born son, Passion Peter. This ‘governor’ ended all his conversations invoking both the word and name of God, to disguise his real evil standing in society,” Gono said. The former RBZ governor said he has reported the matter to Borrowdale Police Station, and the matter was now being investigated by the CID under ZRP Docket Ref 4597277.
A grouping of eminent SA scientists say it \"beggars belief\" that South Africa has neither a secured vaccine supply nor a plan for mass inoculation in the foreseeable future.
Herman Mashaba has weighed in on the situation at the Beitbridge border, as swathes of South Africans demand that the crossing must close.
