COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES | Going back to school will improve kids’ ‘mental and psychological wellbeing’

June 12 2020 - 8:05

Graves dug on Copacabana Beach to symbolize Brazil's coronavirus dead

Volunteers dug 100 graves on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro Thursday as a symbolic reminder of the thousands of Brazilians who have died from COVID-19, and also to denounce what they called the "incompetence" of public authorities handling the pandemic.

Ten rows of holes were dug in the sand in front of the iconic Copacabana Palace hotel, and dotted with black crosses decorated with small Brazilian flags.

June 12 2020 - 08:00

UCT biomedical engineers create Covid-19 shields from household items

A University of Cape Town (UCT) professor and his team of biomedical engineers have created face shields made from household items to help prevent Covid-19.

“The ViZAR is among the first of the team’s Covid-19 solutions to have been approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority,” said the university in a statement.

“It acts as a first line of defence between the user and any infectious, airborne particles, offers protection against harmful aerosols, and prevents possible cross-contamination from users touching their faces.”

June 12  2020 - 07:57

More than 900 die in US of COVID-19 in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins

The United States has recorded another 941 coronavirus-related fatalities in the last 24 hours, bringing the country's death toll so far to 113,774, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The world's top economy is the most affected by the pandemic in absolute terms, with both the highest number of deaths and the largest number of infections -- 2,021,990 at 8:30 pm Thursday (0030 GMT Friday), a tracker maintained by the Baltimore-based university showed.

The US continues to register around 20,000 new cases of coronavirus each day, and is struggling to come down from that plateau as infection rates wax and wane around the country.

In some more sparsely populated rural regions, the number of hospitalizations is climbing compared to a month ago.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday there will be no more shutdowns, even as the outbreak flares in some states.

"We can't shut down the economy. I think we've learned that if you shut down the economy, you're going to create more damage," Mnuchin said in an interview on CNBC. AFP 

June 12 - 2020 - 06:30

Many children better off at school than at home, says child expert

Children are probably safer from contracting Covid-19 at school than in their communities, according to a child health expert.

Prof Mignon McCulloch, head of paediatrics at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, says with many parents going back to work under level 3 of the lockdown, many children could face safety issues at home and are therefore better off at school.