News & Analysis: South Africa
“‘After several months of low transmission, the number of infections has begun to rise sharply in several parts of the country,’ President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation.”
“More than 1,800 people are currently hospitalised in the province’s private and public facilities, but concerns over bed space are mounting as Gauteng COVID-19 infection numbers spike.”
“Malawi has destroyed almost 20,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while South Sudan has 59,000 doses which it also plans to discard. The vaccines had been donated through the African Union but had not been administered by their expiry date of 13 April.”
“South Africa will launch phase two of its vaccine rollout on Monday with the aim of inoculating five million citizens aged over 60 by the end of June, its health minister said.”
“South Africa is set to expand its nationwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations as the country braces for a potential third wave of the coronavirus pandemic that officials fear could materialize in the coming weeks.”
“COVAX has relied heavily on Indian developers for supplies, but deliveries have now stalled as India grapples with a violent resurgence of the pandemic. With more than 930,000 people inoculated in Kenya so far, vaccines are expected to be exhausted in the coming days.”
“Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong will give an initial $213 million to South Africa, the country of his birth, to help with the transfer of new technology for COVID-19 vaccines and other therapies.”
“Maria van Kerkove, an infectious disease epidemiologist and the WHO’s lead on COVID-19, told media on Monday, 10 May that ‘there is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of the B.1.617. As such we are classifying this as a variant of concern at a global level.'”
“Statistics South Africa’s quarterly labour force survey found that in the first months of the hard lockdown, 2.2-million people lost their jobs. The country’s labour market lost about 200-million working hours between the first and second quarters of 2020. This, the economists’ report notes, is equivalent to more than 4.4-million weekly working hours.”
“Gauteng will likely experience a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic within weeks. The severity of the spike will depend on super-spreader events and adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions.”
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