Wed 05 May 2021: South Africa’s teams remain on high alert to survey, detect and contain the spread of COVID-19 in general, with heightened awareness of travellers from countries where variants of concern (VOCs) are dominating. “We confirm that the B.1.617 variant, circulating widely in India, has not been detected; however, the genomics teams are […]
Continue Reading
Tue 04 May 2021: India received urgently needed coronavirus-related supplies on Tuesday from the UAE and Kuwait, among other countries, its foreign affairs ministry said. The shipment included oxygen tanks and concentrators, ventilators, and other medical equipment. Coronavirus cases in India have hit record highs in the past couple weeks, and there are oxygen shortages […]
Continue Reading
Tue 04 May 2021: Coronavirus cases in Nepal have exploded as the virulent Indian strain of the virus crosses the two neighbouring countries’ open border. On Monday, Nepal’s COVID-19 cases increased by 7,388 and deaths by 37, the highest spike in 24 hours since the pandemic started. Nepal has recorded a total of 343,418 cases […]
Continue Reading
Tue 04 May 2021: Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has assured the public that South Africa is on high alert for the B.1.617 Coronavirus variant. “All our ports of entry employ stringent containment procedures to minimise the importation of COVID-19,” he said, adding that government remained on high alert to screen passengers and test those who […]
Continue Reading
Tue 04 May 2021: The European Commission recommends that member states allow the entry of citizens from non-EU countries who have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus using a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Currently four jabs – Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson – are authorized by the European Medicines Agency, and the […]
Continue Reading
Mon 03 May 2021: The National Institute for Communicable Diseases is refuting claims that the new COVID-19 variant in India has been detected in South Africa. This as COVID-19 infections in India continues to rise sharply. The institute says South Africa has not reported the B.1.617 variant. The NICD’s Professor Adrian Puren has the latest […]
Continue Reading
Mon 03 May 2021: The country’s vaccination programme on Sunday reached a welcomed milestone with Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, announcing the arrival of the first batch of the Pfizer vaccination doses. The 325 260 doses arrived at the OR Tambo International Airport at 11.45pm. “The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has considered all […]
Continue Reading
Mon 03 May 2021: Adar Poonawalla should be a walking advertisement for India’s pharmaceutical prowess. Instead the billionaire owner and chief executive of the Pune-based Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine maker, has become a symbol of India’s fraught ties with its private sector. Before Covid-19, Serum wasn’t a household name even inside the country. […]
Continue Reading
Sun 02 May 2021: A forum of scientific advisers set up by the government warned Indian officials in early March of a new and more contagious variant of the coronavirus taking hold in the country, five scientists who are part of the forum told the Reuters news agency. Despite the warning, four of the scientists […]
Continue Reading
Sun 02 May 2021: Over 1.11 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered around the world by the start of May, according to figures from the online resource Our World in Data. With 253.46 million jabs China is the country where the greatest number of vaccine shots have been given to date. It is […]
Continue Reading
