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Gauteng Premier David Makhura says that while the province is prepared for the third wave of Covid-19, "you can never be prepared enough".
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
In the latest news on Thursday 3 December, hot spots in South Africa are bracing for a second wave, and contemplating measures to stop the spread.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura has expressed concern over the rate at which people in the province have been contracting COVID-19
Malawi has recorded 62 new Covid-19 cases, 20 new recoveries and one new death. Of the new cases, 49 are locally transmitted: 17 from Blantyre, 14 from Lilongwe, five from Dowa, three from Karonga, two each from Neno and Thyolo, and one each from Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Kasungu, Machinga, Mangochi, and Mzimba North Districts while 13 […]
The post Covid-19: Malawi records 62 new cases appeared first on Malawi 24.
The enemy in the central theatre is the self proclaimed \"Renamo Military Junta\", which rejects the peace agreement signed last year by President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade, and which has carried out a string of murderous ambushes on the main roads in Manica and Sofala provinces.
The other four officials sworn in, are the director of Neto's office, Lt-Col Alberto Magudo, the director of the communications department in the general staff of the armed forces, Commodore Anibal Rafael Chefe, the delegate of the Nampula Provincal Recritment and Mobilisation Centre, Lt-Col Cipriano Pio, and the Commander of the Chokwe Productive Unit of the Civic Service, Lt-Col Gil Ganhane.
Maciacona was an officer from the ranks of the former rebel movement Renamo, and his appointment, in January 2019, was part of the agreements between the government and Renamo.
Chefe is also a former Renamo officer, and Neto told reporters his appointment is part of the process of the demobilisation, disarming and reintegration (DDR) of Renamo's armed force, a proces regarded as crucial for achieving a lasting peace in Mozambique.
Chefe's appointment is the first public act in the contaxt of DDR since August last year.
A roadmap for a \"gradual and flexible\" lockdown lifting has been developed by the Government, taking into account the evolution of the epidemiological situation countrywide and in each province, announced Thursday the Prime Minister's Office.
\"In accordance with the instructions of President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad has drawn up a gradual and flexible lockdown lifting roadmap which prioritizes some activities according to their socio-economic impact and the risk of Covid-19 transmission,\" said the same source.
The roadmap, which will be implemented in the form of an organized sanitary lockdown lifting, will take into account the evolution of the situation countrywide and in each province through relevant indicators,\" explained the source.
Gauteng Health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku says the surge of cases in the province was expected after it recorded the second highest number of Covid-19 positive cases in the country.
As of 25 June, the province had recorded 26 156 positive cases, with 6 627 recoveries and 147 deaths.
The presentation showed that during Level 4 (1 to 31 May), cases recorded were 2 557, with 1 166 recoveries and 22 deaths but during the period of 1 June until present (Level 3 lockdown), 22 123 cases were recorded, with 4 513 recoveries and 114 deaths.
READ: Covid-19 pandemic is gaining momentum in Gauteng, says Makhura
Johannesburg remains the district with the highest number of positive cases at 12 892, with 3 670 recoveries and 80 deaths.
Masuku cautioned the only way to limit the spread of the virus was to avoid physical contact and adhering to lockdown regulations as there was still no cure.
Former professional baker Marla Pruitte of Mary Alice cake mix is crowdfunding to bring her to store shelves so consumers can #BuyBlack in the baking aisle
Margaret Murray Washington, the third wife of Booker T. Washington was a well-known educator and womens activist in her own right before she married the founder of Tuskegee. She continued that activism during their marriage. The Washingtons gave twin lectures at Old Bethel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina on September 12, 1898. Booker T. Washington addressed audiences in the morning and evening. Margaret Washington spoke to African American women in the church that afternoon. She used the occasion to describe the disproportionate infant mortality, the problem of unwanted pregnancy and the high death rate among African Americans. She also called on the largely middle class women in her audience to engage in moral uplift and community service to address these problems. Her speech appears below.
I want to say in the beginning that I do not come before you to criticize or find fault especially, but you know that a great deal of harm has been done us as a race by those who have told us of our strong points, of our wonderful advancement, and have neglected to tell us at the same time of our weak points, of our lack of taking hold of the opportunities about us. Praise a child always and he soon gets to the point where he thinks it impossible for him to make mistakes. If we wish to help each other let us not only praise ourselves, but also criticize.
Plain talk will not hurt us. It will lead each woman to study her own condition, that of her own family and so that of her neighbors family. If I can do anything to hasten this study, I shall feel repaid for any effort I may put forth. In consenting to come before you women to day I am influenced by this thought more than anything else: We need, as a race, a good, strong public sentiment in favor of a sounder, healthier body, and a cleaner and highertoned morality. There is no use arguing; we do not think enough of these two conditions; we are too indifferent; too ready to say: O, well, I keep well, my girls and boys behave themselves, and I have
As of Monday, taxis in KwaZulu-Natal plan to operate at full capacity and long-distance taxis plan to operate without permits, according to Boy Zondi, the South African Taxi Council (Santaco) provincial chairperson.
The long-distance taxis should not be required to produce permits from Monday.
Should any of these decisions be disrespected, we will shut down taxis throughout the province,\" Zondi said in a statement.
Mbalula said the government was not able to provide more money to taxis.
READ | Taxi strike: Mbalula in heated confrontation in Tshwane, will not budge on proposed grant amount
Taxi commuter Nonhlanhla Shangase from Umbilo said: \"The taxi I was travelling in this morning was carrying a full load.
South Africa is certain to suffer the effects of a COVID-19 third wave this winter - and we aren't a million miles away from the 'worst possible outcome'.
Farmers who were counting losses due to dry spells for years could start harvesting vegetables- pepper, eggplants and French beans- thanks to a multi-million solar-powered irrigation along Lake Cyohoha in Bugesera District.
Anastase Sikubwabo, a member of farmers' cooperative \"Abakoranumurava\" in Kibenga cell of Mayange Sector in Bugesera District, recounts how dry spells devastated his crops last year.
\"The poor harvest due to drought has triggered the increase of beans prices across the country in the past many months,\" he said
The farmers could soon smile following an installation of Rwf117 million irrigation dam drawing water from Lake Cyohoha to irrigate their crops under the support of Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board and USAID-funded Hinga Weze project.
The project seeks to benefit 700,000 smallholder farmers in ten target districts namely Bugesera, Gatsibo, Kayonza, and Ngoma (Eastern Province); Karongi, Ngororero, Nyabihu, Nyamasheke, and Rutsiro (Western Province); and Nyamagabe (Southern Province) and across five value chains: high-iron beans, orange flesh sweet potato (OFSP), Irish potato, maize, and horticulture.
In response to the dry spells and water shortages in the area, farmer promoters and community health workers were trained on embracing smart agriculture, food safety and hygiene in food preparation through hand-washing facilities installation so as to cope with impacts of COVID-19 on the farming community.
Dundo — The eastern Lunda Norte government is intensifying precautionary measures in the border areas with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to halt the import and spread of Ebola in Angolan territory.
The DRC government announced on Monday the emergence of a new Ebola outbreak in Wangata County, Mbandaka, in the province of Ecuador (north).
Although the outbreak has not yet spread to the provinces of Kassai Central, Kassai, Kwango in DRC, which share border with Angola's municipalities of Cuango, Cambulo, Cuilo, Lóvua and Caungula, the government is anticipating prevention measures so as not to be caught by surprise.
According to Lunda Norte governor, Ernesto Muangala, the local government has enough biosecurity material and drugs to prevent contagion and possible positive cases of the epidemic.
He also said intervention health teams and epidemiological surveillance are being strengthened which, in addition to raising awareness about Ebola, will advise citizens living along the borders to continue to observe the COVID-19 pandemic prevention measures.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura says the province's Covid-19 numbers do not indicate a need for another hard lockdown yet.
The World Health Organization says it would continue to support the Democratic Republic of Congo to battle a fresh outbreak of the deadly Ebola viral disease.
WHO will continue supporting DRC in tackling Ebola, as well as responding to COVID-19, and the world’s largest measles outbreak”, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization said.
WHO will continue supporting DRC in tackling Ebola, as well as responding to COVID-19.
An outbreak in 2018 killed 33 people before the disease was brought under control in a matter of months there.
The DRC has yet to declare an official end to Ebola in its troubled east, where at least 2,243 people have died since the epidemic began in August 2018.
Plans to deploy national ministers to the Western Cape to assist in the fight against Covid-19 are under way, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
Their duties are still unclear, however, Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu told Sunday Times that ministers would be sent to Covid-19 hotspots – a decision which the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) made.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde confirmed the deployment to Sunday Times, saying he had not spoken to President Cyril Ramaphosa about the ministers' mandate but hoped consultations would take place before the deployment.
While some DA insiders raised concerns that the national government was attempting to micromanage the DA-run province, both Winde and Mthembu denied this, saying politics should not come into play during the fight against Covid-19, the report said.
As of Saturday night, the Western Cape recorded 66.1% of the national figure, with cases sitting at 30 379, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement.
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in KwaZulu-Natal says the extension for school staff to return to schools under Level 3 lockdown is not enough to prepare for the return of pupils.
READ | The impact of Covid-19 school closures on education in SA
On Sunday, Premier Sihle Zikalala announced that the planned return of staff to schools in the province had been delayed until Thursday as the education department works to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to all schools.
On Monday, Caluza said teachers were meant to be given two weeks to prepare for the return of pupils and that even Thursday's return was premature.
ALSO READ | Level 3 lockdown: Saftu threatens to strike if pubic servants forced to work
\"The initial plan of the department was to give at least two weeks for teachers to prepare for the return of learners.
Mshengu said only school principals would attend school on Monday to receive PPEs.
[Monitor] The government has added 746 deaths to Covid-19 tally, raising the cumulative total of deaths in the country to 2,012 as of Friday last week.
Since the discovery of the Ebola virus disease in 1976 in South Sudan (then Sudan) and Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire), there have been recurrent outbreaks.
Just days ago, news reports have it that the Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded 17 new Ebola cases in the western province of Equateur.
U.N. health officials report there is no link between the Ebola outbreak declared June 1 in Mbandaka, Equateur Province, and the epidemic, which broke out nearly two years ago in DR Congo’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
The United Nations has released $40 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to help tackle the new outbreak of Ebola and other health crises in the DRC.
“We have a lot of experience in tackling these outbreaks,” stated Eteni Longondo, the DRC’s health minister.
Two men, who were caught in possession of illicit cigarettes worth over R300 000, have been granted bail, Limpopo police said on Monday.
Eomrp Matthew Masal, 29, and Osamo Achico Erias, 35, were arrested on 19 June in Alldays, a small town in the province, after being caught transporting 23 boxes of illicit cigarettes.
READ: Man busted with more than R600 000 in illicit cigarettes
\"During the arrest, 23 boxes of illicit cigarettes with the estimated value of R307 441 were recovered.
Police investigations are still continuing,\" said Ngoepe.
Masal and Erias each face a charge of possession of illicit cigarettes and were each granted bail by the Senwabarwana Magistrate's Court.
Members of the COVID-19 advisory committee said they warned government about the situation possibly worsening, should action not be taken
Personal protective equipment (PPE) has been discovered floating in a river which passes through Irene Country Club in Centurion, Gauteng.
Gauteng is set to start a ward-based Covid-19 response team as part of its strategy to tackle hot spots.
Outlining the hot-spot strategy, Health MEC Bandile Masuku said the ward-based response team would be multidisciplinary and multisectoral that would include civil society, faith-based organisations and non-profit organisations as well as public health experts.
Speaking on health facilities, Masuku said the there was a rise of infections of healthcare workers and patients which resulted in the department developing a health facility response team for all districts.
The teams would ensure there was a standard response when there were reported cases within facilities, he added.
The teams will provide support to management and a Covid-19 steering committee to ensure services at facilities resume at a certain time after decontamination.
Dundo — The Secretary of State for Energy, António da Costa, is paying on Wednesday a 24-hour working visit to eastern Lunda Norte province, whose main aim is to oversee the execution degree of the works to expand the Luachimo hydroelectric dam.
António Costa will also learn about the operation of thermal power stations, the main sources of electricity supply in the region.
The dam expansion works, underway since February 2016 is expected to increase the energy production and distribution capacity from eight to 34 megawatts.
The project, which cost USD 212 million, will benefit 186,000 people living in Dundo city, and several municipalities.
The project will have a power plant composed of four generating sets of 8.5 megawatts each.
guest column:Emmanuel Zvada Just as business leaders thought they could start thinking about a new normal, a different kind of reality began to set in. In the past year, we have seen companies face serious disruptions but the second wave caught everyone unaware again as many had relaxed. The second wave of coronavirus pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on leaders in business and nations. Crises normally bring out the best and worst leaders as the true character of a leader or employer is reviewed during a crisis. COVID-19 case numbers continue to climb, and in many parts of Zimbabwe, records for new cases are set daily. While the second wave of the pandemic is here in earnest, it’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of normalcy. The second wave of coronavirus is a defining moment for true leaders to emerge and manage the situation. A leader’s response to a crisis is much more than speeches. Business leaders across every industry are getting a dosage of crisis management again so that they navigate through the coronavirus pandemic. To companies that had already put systems and processes in place for work from home, there will be no challenge but to those that had relaxed, it’s a headache again as the whole month of shutdown will be an unproductive month. Leaders must demonstrate a well-oiled business continuity machine and the ability to continuously adapt and respond to new challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has sent employers into a frenzy as they try to stay abreast of new developments and do everything, they can to protect their employees and their business. Calm, principled, and decisive leaders continue to be an essential ingredient for navigating a situation that affects everyone, directly or indirectly. Good leaders need to not only formulate return-to-work plans and adjust work processes for the short-term recovery of operations but also discern what longer-term impacts this pandemic will have overall. To be sure, another lockdown amid a second wave could further damage an already fragile global economy. Positive, effective leadership helps us navigate crises and forge ahead in moments of uncertainty like the time we are in. Leaders should act on three essentials which are clarifying purpose, supporting stakeholders, and bolstering emotional and organisational resilience. Responsible business leaders have an important role to play for effective navigation of organisations during this second wave for no one knows when it will end. Continuous communication is key If leaders are not prepared to manage remote teams or if these teams don’t have good communication and collaboration habits in place, the effects of this virus could disrupt team connectivity, morale, and accountability — not to mention results. Good leaders should relentlessly communicate so that the followers do not operate in darkness. This will also avoid rumours especially during a crisis. People are obviously nervous about the implications of the virus, and it is essential to keep them engaged, informed, and safe. If you do not provide in
Makhura added that out of the total cases in the province, more than 3 000 were recorded in just 11 days of the Level 3 lockdown.
The premier explained that before the lockdown, the province had 409 confirmed cases with no recoveries or deaths.
When the country was under a Level 5 lockdown, Gauteng recorded 1 037 cases, 948 recoveries and 11 deaths.
Under Level 4, the province had 2 557 more confirmed cases, 1 166 recoveries and 22 deaths.
Level 3 of the lockdown commenced on 1 June, and within 11 days, Gauteng recorded 3 950 cases, 834 recoveries and 24 deaths.
… That is because in the African-American family tradition, reunions frequently act … a disease that disproportionately affects Black Americans, has prevented many of them … but meaningful political implications, as Black Americans’ voting rights are increasingly …
