COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES | What if you get sick? Advice on how to plan for it

March 29 2020 - 07:39

Covid-19: Some judges refuse to use their own computers during lockdown

Justice in lockdown is being hampered because some judges, who earn almost R2m a year, refuse to use their personal computers for “virtual hearings”.

This has emerged in a letter written by the chair of the General Council of the Bar, advocate Craig Watt-Pringle, to Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and judge presidents in which he cites several issues in getting access to high courts.

While some courts are doing well under these difficult circumstances, he says, others are not, and there are huge disparities in how divisions are functioning.

March 29 2020 - 07:19

Covid-19: What if you get sick? Advice on how to plan for it

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, planning for the possibility of getting sick is worth taking seriously.

Professor Shabir Moosa, a family physician with the Johannesburg Health District and University of the Witwatersrand, says that while about 80% of people will get mild symptoms, it is important to plan in case there is a need for hospitalisation, and especially if one is living alone.

March 29 2020 - 06:57

From back to school to reopening churches — five critical takeouts from Julius Malema's Covid-19 address

EFF leader Julius Malema on Thursday delivered a virtual address from the party's headquarters in Johannesburg on the government's response to Covid-19 and the national lockdown.

Here are five takeouts from his address:

March 29 2020 - 06:54

Jackson Mthembu hints that tobacco ban could be lifted under Level 2 lockdown

Smokers might have to wait a little longer before the ban on the sale of tobacco products, including cigarettes, is lifted.

This after minister in the presidency Jackson Mthembu hinted that the ban on tobacco will likely be lifted at Level 2 of the lockdown.

Mthembu told EWN on Thursday that he did not see the ban continuing past Level 3.

March 29 2020 - 00:32

SA's Covid-19 cases and deaths rise as department admits to testing backlogs

For the second day in a row, the number of new Covid-19 cases increased by significantly more than 1,000 - taking the national tally to 27,403 (up from 25,935 on Wednesday).

There was also another significant jump in the number of Covid-19 related deaths, with 25 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours. This means that 577 South Africans have now died from the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize admitted in a statement issued shortly after midnight that SA was suffering from a backlog of tests.