July 12 2020 6:00
Tobacco firms deny they're behind illegal cigarette sales
The government’s seeming inability to stem the flow of cigarettes onto SA’s streets has raised questions of when, or if, the long arm of the law will reach the main suppliers.
Professor Corne van Walbeek, director of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) research unit on the economics of excisable products, said of the illegal sales: “It raises the question of whether the government is too scared to go after the source of these cigarettes.”
Police this week did not respond to questions on what measures were being taken to clamp down on the sales, how many cigarettes had been confiscated and how many arrests had been made.
COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES | Even having medical aid won't secure a place in hospital
Image: Punit PARANJPE / AFP
July 12 2020 6:00
Tobacco firms deny they're behind illegal cigarette sales
The government’s seeming inability to stem the flow of cigarettes onto SA’s streets has raised questions of when, or if, the long arm of the law will reach the main suppliers.
Professor Corne van Walbeek, director of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) research unit on the economics of excisable products, said of the illegal sales: “It raises the question of whether the government is too scared to go after the source of these cigarettes.”
Police this week did not respond to questions on what measures were being taken to clamp down on the sales, how many cigarettes had been confiscated and how many arrests had been made.
July 12 2020 6:00
Even having medical aid won't secure a place in hospital
A looming shortage of ICU and general ward beds means severely ill Covid patients - even those with medical aid - may not make it through the door at hospitals in hot-spot areas that are close to capacity.
In Gauteng, which is SA's centre of infections, health MEC Bandile Masuku said his department expected a shortage of at least 800 beds by the end of the month.
July 12 2020 6:00
Ramaphosa to address the nation as Covid-19 storm threatens to engulf health system
A reintroduction of the night-time curfew, tightening regulations on the sale of alcohol, limiting movement between provinces and enforcing a limited load in minibus taxis and other modes of public transport are on the cards as President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation tonight.
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