COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES | Everyone should wear a face mask, says Mkhize

April 10 2020 - 15:19

Everyone should wear a face mask, says Mkhize

The call is now clear: every South African should wear a mask.

And, said health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on Friday, they can be homemade, made of cloth or even just a carefully folded handkerchief.

“Wearing masks is important,” he said. “We want to recommend widespread use of masks. We are recommending that people can use cloth masks, just make sure there’s a three layer kind of thing.”

April 10 2020 - 15:13

The plight of Cape Town's homeless goes political

When Strandfontein ward councillor Elton Jansen was told his community would carry the burden of housing thousands of homeless people on the Strandfontein sports field, he was not happy.

He was not consulted, he said, and he admits it was a burden no councillor in any suburb in Cape Town would willingly bear.

“No councillor or any ratepayer would like a site for street people in their ward, understandably so, because there are a lot of underlying factors that are connected to street people. But we need to find a way to deal with this matter, and that is where I’m at now,” he said.

April 10 2020 - 14:27

SA Covid-19 death toll climbs to 24

There are now 24 confirmed deaths linked to Covid-19 in SA, half of them in KwaZulu-Natal.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize made the announcement in Durban on Friday afternoon. He also announced that there were now 2,003 confirmed Covid-19 cases across SA.

“As of today, the total number of tests conducted is 73,028. The number of confirmed positive cases is 2,003. Total number of deaths has risen to 24,” he said.

April 10 2020 - 13:06

Covid-19 likely to claim its 100,000th death this weekend

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

The spread: 100,000 deaths

In all likelihood the COVID-19 illness associated with the new coronavirus will claim its 100,000th death during the next 24 hours. From the report of the first fatality in early January, it took a month to record 1,000 deaths and a further month to hit 10,000. That was just three weeks ago.

The death toll now compares with that of London's Great Plague in the mid-1660s, which killed an estimated 100,000 people, about a third of the city’s population at the time.

-REUTERS

April 10 2020 - 11:54

Cops must use restraint: Amnesty International after 'worrying' Covid lockdown claim

Human rights monitoring organisation Amnesty International says it is concerned about the SA government’s plans to ‘de-densify’ some informal settlements, after a “worrying” report about police conduct in a Western Cape camp.

GroundUp reported on Tuesday that homeless people at the Strandfontein Sports Grounds, Cape Town, were shot at with rubber bullets by police after they began to protest — breaking down a fence and throwing stones — about conditions at the tent camp. The facility was set up as part of the national lockdown to disrupt the spread of Covid-19.

Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith subsequently said it was untrue that rubber bullets were used.

April 10 2020 - 11:50

Somizi underfire as Mbalula lays charges

“We live in times when things cannot be joked about,” transport minister Fikile Mbalula said on Friday as he opened a charge against entertainer Somizi Mhlongo at the Sandton police station in Johannesburg.

Hours before President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that SA's Covid-19 lockdown would be extended until the end of April, Mhlongo had asserted that Mbalula had given him a heads-up on the extension. He subsequently apologised to Mbalula for his “joke,” saying: “I'm just like you, I did not know about it, I was just guessing.”

April 10 2020 - 10:50

Homeless try to escape from government shelter after lockdown extension

The extension of the national lockdown by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday was not welcomed by all as a number homeless people accommodated at the Strandfontein sports complex by the City of Cape Town tried to escape on Friday.

In a video captured by TimesLIVE photographer Esa Alexander, the homeless can be seen trying to jump the fence out of frustration at being on lockdown at the site.

The City had relocated them to the site to curb the spread of Covid-19.

April 10 2020 - 9:25

Covid-19: Worldwide call for ban on wildlife markets

Conservationists have welcomed the Chinese government’s ban on the consumption of wild animal products, but have voiced concerns it may drive sales underground.

This emerged during an online meeting of numerous international conservation organisations, hosted by the SA-based Blood Lions team this week.

Though not conclusive, evidence suggests humans may have contracted the coronavirus from consuming pangolins, which may have picked up the disease from bats.

April 10 2020 - 9:25

Lockdown extension to have 'huge' impact on economy, experts say

The extension of the national lockdown will have “huge” implications for the country's economy, experts say.

On Thursday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the initial 21-day lockdown would be extended by two weeks.

In his address, Ramaphosa said ending the lockdown would reverse the gains already made in the last two weeks.

April 10 2020 - 8:22

Good Friday in the time of the coronavirus

Good Friday for the year 2020 will go down in history like no other.

In other years, church goers would now have their church clothes ready, prepared to flood churches all around the country to mark what could easily be deemed the biggest day on the Christian calendar.

But as the coronavirus lockdown period continues, families under lockdown will be attending church differently this Easter period, with scores of people expected to rather gather in front of their television or laptop screens for their yearly dose of crucifixion and resurrection sermons.

April 10 2020 - 7:15

Mbalula to lay charges against Somizi over lockdown extension 'joke'

Minister of transport Fikile Mbalula will on Friday open a case against Idols SA judge Somizi Mhlongo for “name dropping and misinformation”.

This comes after a video surfaced online of Mhlongo telling his Metro FM colleague Dineo Ranaka that there would be a lockdown extension, just hours before it was officially announced by the president.

Mhlongo said he had heard the information from “Fikile”.

April 10 2020 - 7:10

EFF reps take salary cuts and welcome lockdown extension

The EFF has announced that all its public representatives will contribute a third of their salaries to the Covid-19 Solidarity Fund.

The announcement came less than two hours after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a similar contribution by himself, members of his cabinet, deputy ministers and premiers for the next three months.

Ramaphosa made the announcement while telling the nation that the nationwide lockdown had been extended by two weeks, taking us to the end of April.