Daily news update: Covid-19 stats, load shedding at high risk and NCCC to meet on Wednesday

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14,410 new cases as another 513 deaths reported

As of Tuesday, 5 January 2021, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases is 1 127 759 with 14 410 new cases identified, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has confirmed.

Mkhize noted that new cases represented a 30% positivity rate since the last report.

Meanwhile, 513 more Covid-19 related deaths were reported, with 134 from Eastern Cape, 14 from Free State, 64 from Gauteng, 92 from Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), 3 from Limpopo, 14 from Northern Cape and 202 from Western Cape.

This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 30 524.

Recoveries now stand at 920 879 at a recovery rate of 81,6%, while a total of 6 828 147 tests have been completed with 47 875 new tests conducted since the last report.

Higher risk of load shedding due to Koeberg leak, says energy expert

Energy expert Ted Blom says it is disconcerting that Koeberg’s Unit 1 is leaking, and has further questioned the possibility of the unit returning online.

Eskom announced on Monday that it had taken Koeberg Unit 1 offline for repairs after an increasing leak rate was observed on one of its three steam generators on Sunday.

The leak rate was within safety limits, Eskom said, but it had to take Unit 1 offline for repairs and routine maintenance and refuelling, which was originally scheduled to start in February. The unit is expected to return to service in May 2021.

However, Blom said he didn’t see the unit taking less than six months to repair.

Could another smoke ban be on the horizon?

The Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) says government’s appeal of a Western Cape High Court ruling declaring the ban on the sale of tobacco products during the hard lockdown last year as unconstitutional and invalid, does not mean another ban is on the cards.

The department’s spokesperson, Lungi Mtshali, said government decided to appeal the ruling after studying the judgment and found that there were areas of it that the department did not agree with.

Mtshali said these areas of contention were outlined in government’s appeal papers filed in court.

Mtshali pointed out that there were two judgments from two high courts in different provinces which had different outcomes and that the ruling that declared the ban as unconstitutional and invalid had looked at the regulations in isolation, when the regulations “work in concert”.

Coronavirus council to meet on Wednesday, says government spokesperson

Government spokesperson Phumla Williams says the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) will meet on Wednesday at 9am.

Williams’s announcement comes after a message circulating on social media claimed the NCCC would meet to discuss stricter regulations following calls from hospitals and healthcare workers.

Social media was abuzz with speculations of another hard lockdown as the cases continue to rise. However, Williams dismissed the message as fake news and said: “There is no planned NCCC meeting which usually precedes President addressing the nation.”

According to Williams, Wednesday’s NCCC meeting would be a “regular” one, “as we commence the year”.

The meeting does not necessarily mean Ramaphosa will address the nation, she added.

‘250,000 jobs on the line’ – Tavern industry asks government to lift booze ban

The tavern industry has called upon government to lift the ban on alcohol sales, saying scores of businesses face permanent closure, ahead of the National Coronavirus Command Council’s (NCCC) meeting on Wednesday, 6 January.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last month that the country was moving back to adjusted level 3 lockdown that had seen all social gatherings, including faith-based gatherings, being banned for the first two weeks of January.

Alcohol sales are also not allowed under the amended level 3 lockdown regulations.

In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, National Liquor Traders Council (NLTC) convener Lucky Ntimane said while traders support government efforts to combat the Covid-19 second wave, approximately 250,000 jobs were on the line.

Ntimane said the industry called on government to allow the sale of liquor from 16 January.

Western Cape nearing peak of Covid-19 second wave

The Western Cape is expected to enter its peak in the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic this week.

The head of the province’s department of health, Dr Keith Cloete – during an update on Tuesday on the Covid-19 situation in the province – said though the province was expected to enter the peak on 7 January, and there were signs of stabilisation, the province was still not through the second wave.

The peak, Cloete explained, was when the increase in the number of cases starts slowing down to point a where the number of new cases recorded is less than the day before.

Cloete said it was important to view with caution the current decrease in the number of reported cases because over the holidays and on public holidays, fewer tests were conducted.

In some hospitals in the province, the number of new admissions was starting to slow down as the province moved into a peak, which was an early positive sign, Cloete said, however, that deaths were still on the increase, and that the healthcare system in the province was still under pressure.

Cloete added the province was ready to add more beds in hospitals, with 136 beds to be added in the Cape metro.

GUIDE: What is the status of SA’s universities for the 2021 academic year?

Following a tumultuous school year in 2020, tertiary institutions are preparing for a new academic year.

With the amended level 3 lockdown regulations placing a number of restrictions on South Africans, some institutions of higher learning are still preparing for the resumption of on-campus teaching.

While some universities have started with online registrations for the 2021 academic calendar, others will only be completing the 2020 academic calendar in February and March.

74 matric exam markers in Eastern Cape test positive for Covid-19

With two days left until the nationwide marking of Grade 12 examination papers gets underway, the Eastern Cape education department has had to send 74 markers home after they tested positive for Covid-19.

This was announced by Education MEC Fundile Gade during an inspection at the Byletts Combined School marking centre outside East London on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Gade kick started his planned weeklong visit to some of the 24 marking centres in the province.

 

A total of 5 323 markers have been hired by the Eastern Cape education department to mark 131 000 Grade 12 scripts at 24 centres.

Nationwide, 45 000 matric exam markers will mark 14 million scripts in 181 marking centres across the country. Marking is expected to end on 22 January, and matric results will be released on 23 February.

Castro strikes as Chiefs reach Champions League group stages

Kaizer Chiefs put their domestic woes to one side on Tuesday as they picked up a massive 1-0 win in Angola against Primeiro De Agosto to qualify for the group stages of the Caf Champions League.

Leonardo Castro got the key goal for Amakhosi four minutes from half time, with Khama Billiat supplying the cross, with the Colombian’s strike leaving Primeiro needing two goals to get past Amakhosi in Luanda.

The result should give Gavin Hunt some breathing space as Chiefs head coach, after his side have had a dreadful start to the 2020/21 Premier Soccer League campaign, hammered 5-0 on aggregate by Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 semifinals, and winning just one of eight DStv Premiership matches up to now.

Proteas cruise to victory at the Wanderers to bag 2-0 series win

It took the Proteas less than an hour’s batting to wrap up victory by 10 wickets in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers on Tuesday, just the ninth time South Africa have won by that margin.

Set just 67 to win, Aiden Markram (36*) and Dean Elgar (31*) needed just 13.2 overs to get there and clinch a 2-0 series win. The last time South Africa won by 10 wickets was against India at Kingsmead in 2013, while they beat Sri Lanka by the same margin at Newlands in 2012.

Sri Lanka had collapsed in a rash of poor strokes on the third morning, South Africa’s pacemen filling their boots as the tourists lost their last six wickets for 61 runs.

 

White forced to pick new-look Bulls team for Lions visit

Bulls coach Jake White has named a new-look side to take on the Lions in a postponed Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday evening.

After naming an extended squad for the match on Monday, White named his matchday side on Tuesday evening minus centre stars Cornal Hendricks and Stedman Gans and wing Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Wings Travis Ismaiel and Marco Janse van Vuren, both of whom recently featured on the wings, have also missed out on selection.

The good news is Lizo Gqoboka is back in the front row after time out of the game, while Chris Smith, as he’s done on several occasions in the Currie Cup, will start ahead of Morne Steyn at flyhalf.

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