Covid19 Update: South Africa Records over 17k New Infections, US Donates 5 Million Pfizer Vaccines
- South Africa has recorded over 17k new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours and a huge increase in Covid-19-related deaths
- The Gauteng province still accounts for the largest percentage of new coronavirus infections and is closely followed by the Western Cape
- Due to the discontinuation of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the United States of America has donated over five million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to South Africa
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South Africa's daily Covid-19 death toll has risen, according to the most recent Health Department bulletin. 520 more people have died as a result of contracting the virus, bringing the total death toll to 70 908.
Source: Getty Images
This is a huge increase in the daily fatalities due to the coronavirus, according to EWN.
In the last 24 hours, South Africa has recorded 17 351 new Covid-19 cases. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases is now 2 408 525, which means a positivity rate of 24.4%.
14 694 978 Covid-19 tests have been conducted in both the public and private sectors.
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The Gauteng province is still the epicentre and accounts for the highest number of new coronavirus infections at 30%, closely followed by the Western Cape, which accounts for 27% of the new infections recorded. KwaZulu-Natal accounts for 11% of new infections and it is followed by North West and the Eastern Cape with 7% each.
Limpopo accounts for 6% while the Free State accounts for 4% and the Northern Cape still accounts for 2% of new Covid-19 infections.
The United States donates Pfizer vaccines to South Africa
The United States of America has donated 5.7 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to South Africa, which are expected to arrive in South Africa on Saturday, according to News24.
This recent donation will propel South Africa's vaccination programme after the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine had been discontinued due to its ineffectiveness to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in South Africa.
The US mission stated this donation was part of the country's commitment to fighting the coronavirus pandemic globally.
A total of 6.8-million vaccine doses had been administered in South Africa as of Tuesday evening.
Your employer could fire you for not getting the Covid-19 vaccine
Briefly News previously reported that while getting the coronavirus vaccine is not a legal obligation in South Africa, employees need to be aware that there could be implications, such as the possibility of losing their jobs, should they choose not to get vaccinated.
According to Business Insider, the South African Labour Department has asked companies to stipulate whether they plan to make getting the Covid-19 vaccine compulsory for their employees.
A previous agreement taken at the National Economic Development and Labour Council between government and companies stated that refusal to get the coronavirus vaccine was not grounds to dismiss employees, however, this agreement has been revised.
Employers can rely on the new guidelines stipulated in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act if employees refuse to get the Covid-19 jab. Business for South Africa has highlighted that under the new guidelines, companies are not prohibited from dismissing employees who refuse to get vaccinated.
Public health lawyer Safura Abdool Karim stated that under the Act, companies are mandated to create a safe working environment for their employees, and a safe working environment could mean mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations, according to a report by The Citizen.
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Source: Briefly News
