COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES | Second phase of lockdown: Will regulations change?

April 16 2020 - 11:50

WATCH LIVE | Gauteng briefs media on containing Covid-19 spread

April 16 2020 - 11:42

Back to school first for grades 12 and seven if lockdown lifts at month end

Pupils in grades 12 and seven will be the first to return to school on May 6 if President Cyril Ramaphosa lifts the lockdown at the end of the month.

This is according to proposals contained in the department of basic education's ''draft post Covid-19 lockdown recovery plan” which was discussed with teacher unions and governing body associations on Wednesday.

April 16 2020 - 11:40

Can you say stay at home in SA's official languages?

April 16 2020 - 11:35

'Today was supposed to be freedom day': social media on day 21 of lockdown

As SA reached day 21 of the Covid-19 lockdown on Thursday, some South Africans took to social media to share stories about what they would have got up to on what was - before the extension - supposed to be the last day of lockdown.

April 16 2020 - 11:30

WATCH LIVE | Covid-19 command council gives update on lockdown regulations

Ministers involved in the national command council on Covid-19 will on Thursday brief the media on the lockdown regulations.

SA will enter into the second phase of the lockdown after it was extended by the government as a result of increasing Covid-19 cases.

April 16 2020 11:20

NSPCA probes 'barbaric' videos of live frogs, fish being eaten in 'lockdown challenge'

The National Council of SPCA is investigation videos of three South Africans who allegedly ate live animals during a viral lockdown challenge.

After President Cyril Ramaphosa implemented the national lockdown, many people have resorted to various challenges, such as downing raw eggs, to keep themselves amused while cooped up at home.

Thousands of social media users have uploaded videos of themselves downing a glass of raw egg, sugar and a shot of alcohol. Some went as far as downing an entire bottle of whiskey or rum. After posting their videos, social media users nominate and tag friends, challenging them to do the same. 

April 16 2020 - 11:17

Mbalula to release Easter Weekend traffic statistics on Friday

April 16 2020 - 10:35

Mkhize meets with Mpumalanga health MEC to discuss flattening Covid-19 curve

April 16 2020 - 10:12

Government ramps up campaign against Covid-19 fake news

The government has put in place a hi-tech monitoring and evaluation process to tackle fake news being shared on various platforms and have them investigated by police for prosecution.

“We are stepping up our campaign against digital misinformation, particularly in relation to Covid-19 and related actions such as the national lockdown,” acting minister of communications Jackson Mthembu said on Wednesday.

Mthembu said once fake news items or social media posts had been identified, the platform owners would be notified to take down the posts.

Keeping Tshwane clean in the time of Covid-19

April 16 2020 - 10:05

April 16 2020 - 09:00

EXPLAINED: How Covid-19 spreads

April 16 2020 - 08:50

Police 10111 call centre in Cape Town closed after two staff get Covid-19

National police say the 10111 emergency call centre in Maitland, Cape Town, has been shut down after two employees tested positive for Covid-19.

Police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo said the call centre was closed at 4pm on Wednesday after staff from separate shifts were confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus.

Naidoo said evacuation, screening and testing and decontamination processes were immediately conducted at the centre.

April 16 2020 - 07:40

Petition for R500 boost to child support grants nears target of 600,000 signatures

A campaign to persuade the government to urgently increase child support grants by R500 for six months has received 557,707 out of a target of 600,000 signatures.

A group of NGOs and academics wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa last week. The government said it was considering their request to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Yes, I can confirm that we are looking at adjusting temporarily the child-support grant and old-age pension grant," said finance minister Tito Mboweni on Tuesday.

April 16 2020 - 07:30

Tiger Brands closes Albany bakery in Durban after workers test positive for Covid-19

Food manufacturing giant Tiger Brands has temporarily closed its Durban bakery after its staff tested positive Covid-19.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the company said that it had close to the bakery as a precautionary measure and that they had contacted the department of health (DOH) and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).

April 16 2020 - 07:20

SA throws weight behind WHO after Trump pulls funding

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has thrown his - and SA's - full weight behind the World Health Organisation (WHO) as controversy swells over the actions of US President Donald Trump.

Speaking on Wednesday night, Mkhize, who did not mention Trump specifically, spoke about an issue "that has been raging in the media" - a clear reference to the US pulling funding from the WHO.

"I do want to say that on behalf of ourselves in South Africa, we have full confidence both in the WHO and the director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus," he said.

April 16 2020 - 07:18

Shops, hospitals shut as virus strikes frontline workers

Pandemic frontline workers in retail and healthcare have begun to feel the pinch, with shops and hospital units across SA shuttered because of staff infections.

With a lack of protective equipment and little government intervention, they feel critically exposed.

April 16 2020 - 07:15

Maak ’n plan, ministers: Cabinet holds SA’s most crucial meeting

Saving jobs and lives.

This is expected to dominate the agenda as cabinet performs a delicate balancing act to cushion a jobs bloodbath during the pandemic.