COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES | ‘Don’t think of post-Covid-19, think of how to live with the virus now’: Bheki Cele

July 10 2020 - 09:31

WATCH LIVE | Cele gives update on SAPS Covid-19 response

July 10 2020 - 08:51

Here's where Moonchild Sanelly plans to 'hibernate' once lockdown is done

For the fun and fearless musician Moonchild Sanelly, the lockdown has meant the cancelling of many of her international shows.

The silver lining, however, has been the ability to be still and work on her album.

While this is a challenging time to release new music, she believes it is also advantageous since most people are now online while everything is happening virtually.

Her latest single, Bashiri, which she had been working on since August last year, has been released through Transgressive Records' South African partner, the Gallo Record Company.

July 10 2020 - 08:48

L'vovo calls on Thulas Nxesi to help South Africans 'worried about jobs'

Musician L'vovo Derrango has called on minister of employment and labour Thulas Nxesi to take the nation into his confidence after news of mass retrenchments and pay cuts in several industries.

Sowetan reported this week that Massmart Holdings Ltd had started talks with unions to cut up to 1,800 jobs at Game stores across the country, citing a reduction in consumer spending and the Covid-19 pandemic as factors in its decision.

July 10 2020 - 08:45

Pregnant women can pass Covid-19 to their unborn babies — new study

The evidence that pregnant women may pass the Covid-19 virus to their unborn babies is gaining momentum, with a new Italian study confirming the vertical in utero transmission.

According to the University of Milan's research, which was presented at the online 23rd International Aids Conference this week, placenta specimens from two women of 31 surveyed and their babies' umbilical cords showed that there was presence of the virus, which caused inflammatory response in placenta and plasma. The two babies didn't get ill from the virus.

Lead researcher Claudio Fenizia who presented the results of the study on Thursday, said though the results are preliminary, they did prove vertical transmission. “These two cases both have had positive placentas and the two babies were positive upon delivery. Overall through our study we believe that vertical transmission during pregnancy is possible,” he said.

July 10 2020 - 08:41

Shock stats: Gauteng Covid-19 cases surge 283% in two weeks

All eyes are on Gauteng as it sees a dramatic rise in the number of Covid-19 infections, becoming the country's epicentre for this virus.

In just two weeks, the number of infections has increased by a staggering 283%.

July 10 2020 - 07:24

Have you bought a sanitiser that doesn't meet standards? Here's how to tell

TimesLIVE revealed that Sci-Corp Laboratories found some hand sanitisers being sold in SA or used at store entrances do not meet the recommended requirements.

But how do you know if you are getting conned or should turn down the spray as you enter a store?

July 10 2020 - 07:30

Lockdown has changed the way we shop, report finds

South Africans are in the main still shopping during the day, showing persistent change in retail behaviour even though lockdown regulations have been relaxed.

Before lockdown, shopping was typically done in the evening.

This is according to a recent report by vehicle recovery and fleet management company, Netstar.

For instance, the time of day at which drivers choose to do their shopping has shifted towards noon hours, with a drop-off, generally, seen from 4pm.

July 10 2020 - 07:31

‘Bodies are piling up’: E Cape funeral parlours plead for help

Funeral parlours in the Eastern Cape are struggling to cope with the influx of Covid-19 corpses.

They blame the burial backlog on a delay in issuing death certificates, but home affairs denies this.

July 10 2020 - 07:32

Ignoring the coronavirus to play football

Life in Ezimbawuleni, Mpumalanga, is quiet. The village, also known as Mafufumbe, is hidden in pine woods and mountains stretching far into the distance. Houses are far apart — social distancing long before it was a thing.

Sunshine is golden in the dry grassland. On Saturday June 20, the dust was thick in the air as a football tournament was held despite the country being under level 3 of the Covid-19 lockdown. In alert level 3, contact sports are prohibited. However, six local amateur football clubs battled it out in Ezimbawuleni, in a tournament where each team paid R500 to participate.

Because of lockdown restrictions, the tournament is not played at eMpuluzi, where there are better facilities and a more accessible stadium. Instead, they play on a dusty field hidden from law enforcement officials and prying eyes, in a province with 2,528 confirmed Covid-19 infections and 22 recorded deaths, at the time of publication.