Author: Gugu Lourie

A group of South African scientists  — from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the University of the Western Cape‘s South African National Bioinformatics Institute (Sanbi) — have successfully sequenced South Africa’s first SARS-COV-2 genome – a vital step in fighting COVID-19. This discovery provides a genetic “fingerprint” that can help us understand – and contain – the spread of COVID-19. “Next-generation sequencing of pathogens allows us to perform genomic fingerprinting on viruses,” says Peter van Heusden, SANBI researcher and co-author of the new report presenting the sequence, phylogenetic analysis and modelling of non-synonymous mutations for a SARS-CoV-2 genome…

The country’s communications watchdog has published new regulations that will enable mobile phone operators – Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Rain and Telkom – to send you at least two SMSes ever day about the coronavirus disaster. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa stated in the new rules that operators must send to their subscribers by SMS, free of charge at least two public announcements per day regarding the prevention and management of COVID-19; and notifications of all announcements by the Minister of Health or the Presidency. Furthermore, the rules specify that ICASA shall determine, after consultation with the relevant…

Shares in MTN climbed as much as 6.2% after Moody’s affirmed the mobile phone group’s rating. In a statement on Monday, MTN informed investors that despite its sovereign rating downgrade of South Africa, Moody’s has left its rating unchanged and affirmed its Ba1 rating. Moody’s has also revised MTN’s national scale CFR higher to Aa2.za from Aa3.za to reflect the updated mapping of Global Scale Ratings to NSR due to the downgrade of the sovereign rating. The company added that Moody’s has also left the negative outlook unchanged to reflect the exposure to weakening sovereign credit quality in some of…

South Africa’s communications watchdog announced on Monday the emergency release of high-demand spectrum to meet the spike in broadband services demand due to COVID-19. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) will publish a Government Gazette containing regulations that prescribe minimum standards that licensees must adhere to for the entire period of the National State Disaster today. A critical measure introduced by the regulations is the temporary release of high demand spectrum (HDS) for the duration of the national state of disaster in order to ease network congestion, maintain a good quality of broadband services, and enable licensees to…

Retailer Woolworths announced on Monday that it was actively pursuing operational steps and considering strategic options to best mitigate the impacts of the coronavirus crisis and to ensure the appropriate robust response in this developing situation. “In recognition of the challenging circumstances, the Woolworths board, group CEO and senior executive team members have decided to forego up to 30% of their fees and salaries over the next three months,” the company informed investors on The JSE SENS news. “The savings arising from this will be used to provide additional financial support to staff who find themselves in extreme hardship as…

Shoprite, Africa’s largest food retailer, has rolled out temperature testing and mobile clinics for its employees as it continues to do everything in its power to ensure its stores remain safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Daily temperature testing as employees arrive at work and the rollout of mobile clinics follows the issuing of plastic face shields for employees last week, and stringent hygiene and sanitising protocols that have been in place across all of its stores, distribution centres and offices to keep the shopping environment virus-free. Those with high temperatures will visit the Group’s mobile clinics for a consultation and,…

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has appointed Justice Catherine (Kate) O’Regan as the COVID-19 Designated Judge. The government will report on a weekly basis to the former Constitutional Court Justice the particulars of those who have been traced using cell phone data. The move is aimed at finding the contacts of those who test positive for COVID-19. O’Regan’s role is to ensure that their privacy and personal information is protected, as the government works around the clock to contain the spread of the deadly global pandemic. The Regulations issued in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management…

The WACS (West Africa Cable System) undersea cable, which is critical to South Africa connection with the world, has been fixed. The South African National Research and Education Network (NREN) confirmed that the cable had been repaired on Saturday morning. WACS Outage Update: We have had final confirmation that the WACS repairs are complete and everything is according to specification. This matter is now resolved from an SA NREN perspective. — SA NREN Operational Updates & Alerts (@RENAlerts) April 4, 2020 Last week Tuesday, TENET, which is the operating partner of the South African national research & education network (SA…

JSE-listed technology company Altron said on Thursday it had resolved to demerge and separately list its UK business, Bytes UK. The company said the move is aimed at unlocking value for shareholders. Bytes UK will have a secondary listing on the JSE, while Altron will remain listed on the JSE. The process is likely to take between nine to 12 months, depending on capital market conditions. If financial markets have not corrected by then, Altron may decide to hold off on Bytes UK’s demerger and its separate listing. The decision to separately list Bytes UK was made following a review…

Telkom unveiled its Big Deal for April 2020, which would make sure you don’t run out of data. 1. The SmartBroadband Wireless Unlimited All Hours & Business Hours (Uncapped LTE) The deal includes the following: Uncapped LTE (All hours) Connects up to 64 devices LTE/fibre plug and play Wi-Fi router R99 once-off activation fee R899 per month 2. The Prepaid LTE Data Bundle The deal includes the following: 5GB Anytime data 5GB Night Surfer data R99 a month Uncapped LTE SmartBroadband Wireless Unlimited All Hours & Business Hours shall be available on a 24-month deal contract and as a SIM-only offer.…