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Recently published research has revealed that the new COVID-19 variant C.1.2 has been identified in South Africa. According to the researchers, there are concerns that this SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest (VOI) has been associated with increased transmissibility, neutralisation resistance, and disease severity. “Here we report the identification of a potential variant of interest assigned to the Pango Lineage C.1.2,” the preprint analysis published last week read. The Pango, which stands for Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak Linages, refers to the software tool for sequence assignment used by researchers to track the transmission and spread of COVID-19. “This lineage was…
Khathutshelo Mashau, a convicted fraudster who swindled several taxpayers, has been sentenced to 48 years direct imprisonment after being found guilty on charges of theft, fraud and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA). In a statement, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on Thursday said Mashau had been handed the hefty sentence by the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court. This came after the court heard how SARS had received a complaint from a taxpayer that his personal income tax refund was paid into an incorrect bank account. “SARS conducted an investigation and found that the refund was paid into…
Unemployment in South Africa rose to 34.4% in the second three months of 2021, according to results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). The outcome of the QLFS was released by Statistician-General, Risenga Maluleke, on Tuesday. Addressing reporters, Maluleke said for the second quarter of 2021, the number of employed persons decreased by 54 000, reaching 14.9 million. Statistics South Africa said the number of unemployed persons increased by 584 000 to 7.8 million compared to the first quarter of 2021. During this period, the number of discouraged work-seekers increased by 186 000 (5.9%), while the number of people who…
The National Department of Health will launch a pilot project to transport people to vaccination centres, as government works around the clock to drive up inoculation rates. “There must be more focus on taking the vaccine to the people, rather than getting people to come to the vaccine,” Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, said at a health briefing on Friday. According to the Minister, the transportation model will first be tested in Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Phaahla told the media that the goal is to provide transport from high-density population areas to mass vaccination sites in urban areas.…
The Cabinet has called on all eligible businesses affected by the recent civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng to apply for industrial loan support at zero-percent interest, under the R3.75-billion Economic Recovery Support Package offered by the government. “The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and its development finance institutions – the Industrial Development Corporation and National Empowerment Fund – have put together a funding package to support various business recovery interventions. This includes the rebuilding of infrastructure, equipment, fittings for premises, stock and working capital,” a Cabinet statement said on Thursday. The funding will help alleviate the…
South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination programme is expected to increase drastically following the Cabinet’s approval for the vaccination of people aged between 18 and 35 years from 20 August 2021. The Cabinet said it had received a report from the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) indicating that over nine million vaccines have been administered in South Africa to date, with over seven million people partially vaccinated and over four million fully vaccinated. “Cabinet welcomed the vaccination rollout plan to increase the uptake of vaccines, particularly in provinces that had shown a reduction in the uptake of vaccines. As part of increasing…
Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says an estimated 150 000 jobs are at risk in the aftermath of looting and destruction of property that swept through KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. In a briefing on efforts to recover and rebuild after the wave of destruction, Ntshavheni on Tuesday said Ministers in the economic cluster are consolidating proposals for a government package of interventions, including for small businesses that are largely uninsured. Ntshavheni said data and estimates provided by the SA Property Owners’ Association (SAPOA) showed that in KZN alone, 161 malls, 11 warehouses and eight factories were affected, with 161 liquor…
By Gennaro Cuofano, WordLift When Larry Page and Sergey Brin invented PageRank back in 1996, they had one simple idea in mind: Organize the web based on “link popularity.” In short, in the universe of pages existing in a (at the time almost) shapeless web, Page and Brin wanted to organize that information to make it become knowledge. The logic was pretty simple, yet extremely powerful. First, if a page was connected to multiple pages, which in turn linked back to it, that page improved in relevance. Also if a page had less links from other pages, yet those pages were…