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WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SA
Updating cases:
The last number of confirmed cases is 8,895.
According to the latest update, 178 deaths have been recorded in the country.
So far, 307,752 tests have been performed, with almost 15,600 new tests.
READ MORE | All confirmed cases of coronavirus in SA
Last News:
Only criminals who committed misdemeanors will be eligible to be included in the 19,000 inmates who will be paroled to combat the spread of Covid-19 in jails.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola and Correctional Services Commissioner Arthur Fraser reported to the media on Friday about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that he had authorized the release of low-risk prisoners who had already served their minimum terms, or that they would approach this period in the next five years. .
Lamola said that approximately 19,000 inmates across the country would benefit from this decision, provided they meet the requirements of the parole board.
“They will be considered on a case-by-case basis and those who qualify will be released on parole after all due process, including Dialogues between victims and offenders, has been developed,” Lamola said.
The only inmates who are eligible for release are those who were convicted and jailed for minor offenses. Fraser described it as crimes of necessity.
These types of crimes include theft, robbery, and trespassing.
READ MORE | Covid-19 in jails: only prisoners convicted of misdemeanors will be released, says Lamola
Delays in results have left many infected patients fearful, who should otherwise be quarantined, may be unintentionally exposing others to the virus.
“The delay is not only being experienced in the Western Cape,” says provincial health department spokesman Nomawethu Sbukwana.
“As the Western Cape, and indeed other provinces, the evidence increases, [the National Health Laboratory Services] they find it difficult to keep up-to-date and process these tests, resulting in an accumulation of results nationwide. “
The Western Cape has become the epicenter of the South African coronavirus outbreak, known as SARS-Cov-2.
Sbukwana said the department had contacted the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) to try to increase testing capacity in the province.
READ MORE | Accumulating national Covid-19 tests mean patients can wait up to 10 days to get results
The DA has required the minutes of all discussions held by the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), including the decision to continue the ban on tobacco products.
Acting party leader John Steenhuisen said the prosecutor had filed a request under the Access to Information Promotion Act (PAIA) to gain access to records that have so far been described as classified.
He opposed the continuation of the “destructive blockade” in its current form, which made South Africans “subjects of an authoritarian state.”
Steenhuisen was speaking Friday in an online “announcement of national importance”.
He said that when President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa would be locked up six weeks ago, it was the right decision.
It was done to give South Africa time to prepare for its response to the pandemic, added the DA leader.
READ MORE | End the blockade now, or the South Africans will end it for you – Steenhuisen to Ramaphosa
South Africa’s expansion of Covid-19 testing in recent weeks appears to have led to severe capacity limitations in public sector laboratories, and doctors reported that it often takes a week or more to obtain results.
“The current response time for COVID-19 testing in Gauteng is around 7 days for outpatients and 3-4 days for inpatients,” says Dr. Tom Boyles, Infectious Disease Specialist at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg. He says that his colleagues from the Eastern and Western Cape have reported similar delays.
A doctor working in an emergency unit at a public sector hospital in Johannesburg confirmed to Spotlight that they are waiting seven days to obtain the results of the Covid-19 test. The doctor who asked not to be identified says the situation is very frustrating for doctors.
In some of the worst cases, tests sent from your hospital were lost and results were not provided until three weeks after the initial test. The doctor says delays in testing are helping to fill the rooms, as they are not getting the results that could give the go-ahead for patients to be discharged.
The doctor also suggested that the accumulation of evidence may explain why the official count of confirmed cases in Gauteng is not increasing more rapidly at this time. “I think it is simply because we are not testing enough,” said the doctor.
READ MORE | Covid-19: Doctors concerned about severe test delays
A dozen people in homemade and medical masks sit waiting for taxis as drivers spray hand sanitizer on passengers and tell them where they can sit inside the ubiquitous South African Toyota Quantum minibus taxis to keep the proper distance.
The scene this Friday morning is eerily quiet for the Bosman taxi rank, generally one of the busiest and noisiest places in Pretoria. “The mood is very bleak,” says Macdonald Makata, public relations officer for the National Taxi Council of South Africa (SANTACO) in Tshwane.
It only operates a fifth of the range, with vehicles filled to a maximum of 70%, regularly disinfected and thoroughly cleaned twice a week. All travelers must wear masks, though only about half, says Charles, who has been a taxi driver for about five years.
“It is very difficult (sic) but we have to continue,” he says of the regulations. Makata agrees that while health measures are important, they are not easy to implement, as some travelers do not take them seriously and it is having a major financial impact on the industry. “It is somehow helping to flatten the curve,” he says, “but in pocket terms it is not helpful.”
READ MORE | Covid-19: What should public transportation be like?
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE REST OF THE WORLD
Updating cases:
For the latest global data, follow this interactive map from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.
Late Friday night, positive cases worldwide were more than 3.9 million, while deaths were nearly 274,000.
The United States had the most cases in the world, more than 1.28 million, as well as the highest number of deaths, about 77,000.
READ MORE | All confirmed cases worldwide.
Last News:
A study conducted in New York hospitals found no evidence of harm or benefit when administering the seriously ill antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to patients with coronavirus.
“The risk of intubation or death was not significantly higher or lower among patients who received hydroxychloroquine than among those who did not,” the study authors said.
They said the study, published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, “should not be taken to rule out the benefit or harm of hydroxychloroquine treatment.”
“However, our findings do not support the use of hydroxychloroquine today, outside of randomized clinical trials testing its efficacy,” they said.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has frequently promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for patients with coronavirus.
READ MORE | No apparent harm or benefit of hydroxychloroquine – study
China said on Friday it supports a review led by the World Health Organization on the global response to the coronavirus outbreak, but only “after the pandemic has ended.”
The comments by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying came as China faced mounting global pressure to allow an international investigation into the origins of the pandemic.
The review should be carried out in an “open, transparent and inclusive” manner under the leadership of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Hua said at a press conference.
He added that it should be at an “appropriate time after the pandemic ends.”
But Hua did not say the review should investigate the origins of the virus, despite mounting calls by the United States and Australia for an international investigation into the matter, which has become a key point in the worsening of tensions between Washington. and Beijing.
READ MORE | China supports WHO-led review of global response to pandemic
LATEST INVESTIGATIONS
We can’t help but like llamas with their fluffy faces and slender legs.
But it appears that the flame has now become significant for a particular reason: Your blood contains an antibody that could neutralize SARS-CoV-2.
A new study published in the journal Cell on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 stated that these antibodies can help neutralize the new coronavirus, known to cause Covid-19.
This comes from an investigation from four years ago. The international research team found that antibodies to a nine-month-old llama called Winter could neutralize both SARS-CoV-1 and Mers-Cov over a period of six weeks.
Both coronaviruses were known to cause outbreaks in 2003 and 2012. SARS-CoV-2 is now sweeping the world with serious consequences.
READ MORE | How a Flame Called Winter Could Help Combat Covid-19
With the Covid-19 pandemic posing unprecedented demands on hospitals around the world, health authorities are concerned about an insufficient supply of ventilators, beds and staff to help infected people.
Countries experiencing a shortage of these include South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela. And to manage this crisis and establish hospital readiness in South Africa, Trixta, a collaborative low-code platform for business minds and software developers, has launched ReportCovidCase.com, a web application that was built in just 72 hours and provides users with hospitals an indicator of how many cases they will have in the near future.
This initiative came after a private family doctor approached the company to help out at a well-known Cape Town hospital, expressing concern over the lack of information on Covid-19 cases in hospitals.
This keeps healthcare workers from knowing how many fans, beds, and staff are required.
READ MORE | Local company builds Covid-19 hospital tracking solution in 72 hours
As the current number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise worldwide, researchers are not only concerned with finding an effective vaccine or treatment, but also want to track the virus to find out how it spreads, mutates and spreads. adapts over time.
A team from Arizona State University (ASU) led by Efrim Lim, an assistant professor at the ASU Biodesign Institute, traced the trail of the virus worldwide using advanced technology that can decode the entire SARS genetic code. CoV-2.
Their research was announced in a press release and published in the Journal of Virology.
What is genome sequencing and why is it important?
We’ve been hearing the term “genome sequencing” frequently in the coronavirus-related content, but it’s often difficult to understand, especially if you’re not an expert in epidemiology.
Genome sequencing is the process of “figuring out” the exact order of DNA nucleotides in a virus, almost like letters in a sentence, but without punctuation and capitalization.
READ MORE | Research team finds new and unique mutation in coronavirus
HEALTH TIPS (as recommended by the NICD and WHO)
• Keep physical distance: stay at least a meter from someone who is coughing or sneezing
• Practice frequent hand washing, especially after direct contact with sick people or their surroundings.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, as your hands touch many surfaces and could transfer the virus.
• Practice respiratory hygiene: Cover your mouth with your bent elbow or handkerchief when you cough or sneeze. Remember to dispose of the tissue immediately after use.
