Covid19 Update: South Africa Records 16k New Cases and Over 300 Deaths
- South Africa has recorded over 16 000 new Covid-19 infections, a drastic decrease in the 26 000 cases reported last
- The NICD has reported that Gauteng remains the epicentre with the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo following closely behind
- The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has approved the use of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine
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16 585 new Covid-19 cases and a further 333 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 61 840 in South Africa. The Department of Health reported that the positivity rate of infections 30.2%. The total number of recoveries is 1 808 082 with the rate of infections at 87.6%.
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On Sunday the National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported that 9 443 of the new cases were recorded from Gauteng, 1 784 in the Western Cape, 1 166 cases recorded in KwaZulu-Natal and 1 230 cases recorded in Gauteng. Gauteng is still the epicentre of the coronavirus in the country.
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According to the NCID, Gauteng accounts for 57% of South Africa's new infections followed by the Western Cape with 11%, and the KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo with 7% each.
Acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane warned that many provinces in the country are approaching a red alert as infections continue to increase, according to Business Tech.
She said the department was worried that the current trend infections in Gauteng could soon be seen in other provinces despite them lagging behind Gauteng's infection rates at the moment.
Kubayi-Ngubane added that the department was also concerned about the rate of hospitalisations in Gauteng with private hospitals operating at a 100% capacity.
Sahpra approves use of China's Sinovac vaccine
According to News24, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has approved the administration of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. The regulatory body says that the use of the vaccine will be done under specific conditions.
One of the conditions being the submission of data in regard to Sinovac Covid-19 periodically. Saphra notes that currently, the Sinovac vaccine meets all requirements, however, final results of ongoing clinical studies are required.
Saphra also stated that it is aware of the World Health Organisation's contention with the Sinovac vaccine and has taken it into consideration.
Sinovac side-effects included soreness at the injection site, headache, weariness, muscle pain, diarrhoea, and nausea, according to Sahpra. Most side-effects clear after a few days.
Supreme Court of Appeal Overturns High Court ruling on Covid-19 regulations
In other Covid-19 news, Briefly News reported that the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned a ruling made at a High Court that the lockdown rules in SA were unconstitutional on 1 July. The SCA stated that the case was brought by the Liberty Fighters Network (LFN) in May 2020.
The Court said that the case was 'wholly inadequate' and that the high court was willing to see a case that was not there and unjustifiably excused the manner in which it was presented.
In June 2020 the North Gauteng High Court declared that the regulations were 'unconstitutional and invalid'. The regulations were brought forward by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
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Source: Briefly News
