Author: Staff Writer

Funerals are by nature a particularly sad time for families and loved ones of the deceased, but in the era of the COVID-19, which entails a National Lockdown, limits to the numbers of people at social gatherings and strict social distancing measures, they can be especially difficult. “Given the strain that South Africans are already under as a result of the National Lockdown, we thought we would assist in some small way, by providing clarity around the regulations and restrictions and insurance processes surrounding the arranging of funerals during this challenging time,” says Basil Reekie, group managing director of Clientèle.…

The current lockdown due to the rampant COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the livelihoods of billions of people all over the world. Since the only logical way to curb the spread of infections is to stay at home, the value of solid and reliable Internet is further brought into the spotlight. While financial institutions and other creditors offer various relief measures, including debt repayment holidays, there are many other essential services that cannot be interrupted. Internet connectivity is one of them. Access to fast, reliable and uninterrupted connectivity makes it possible to share updates on the measures to…

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has announced that as of Sunday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 1 655, with 11 confirmed deaths. The Minister said this is an increase of 70 cases from the previous update issued on Saturday. Gauteng remains the province with the highest number of cases with 704, followed by the Western Cape with 454 cases and KwaZulu-Natal with 246 confirmed cases. The Free State has 87, Eastern Cape 31, Limpopo 19, Mpumalanga 18, North West 11, Northern Cape 8 and there are 77 unallocated cases. The Minister said the total number of COVID-19 tests…

A 33-year-old suspect has been arrested in Langa following an incident where a liquor store attached to a supermarket was burgled, liquor looted from the store on Sunday, 05 April 2020 at about 12:30. The South African Police Services said in a statement a deployment in the area has since been reinforced as operations continue in search of more suspects responsible for the burglary and looting. Detectives have opened a case of burglary at business premises. A video has surfaced showing a group of men engaging in a midday looting frenzy on Sunday. Watch video below: Langa, Cape Town . #Covid19SA…

They will spend their first few hours as husband and wife behind bars after being arrested at their wedding on Sunday for breaching COVID-19 regulations. The culprits were pinned down by the City of uMhlathuze Law Enforcement Unit during the operations in different areas. A bride and groom were been arrested in Nseleni, northern KwaZulu-Natal, a short while ago. Police sources have confirmed to @TimesLIVE that the pastor, groomsmen and bridesmaids were also arrested for contravening regulations around the lockdown. @SundayTimesZA pic.twitter.com/4C0tru2fXr — Orrin Singh (@orrin417) April 5, 2020 The South African Police Services arrested more people within the city…

The South African government is planning to decrease the headcount in 29 critically overcrowded informal settlements across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape as COVID-19 continues to spread. The Sunday Times reported that the plan is at an “advanced stage”. The elderly, disabled and shack dwellers will likely be the first to be evacuated and housed in emergency accommodation, the department has said. The National Coronavirus Command Council decided to enforce a 21-day nation-wide lockdown with effect from midnight Thursday 26 March 2020, until midnight on Thursday 16 April 2020. In a televised address to the nation, President…

The North West Department of Health has taken a decision to put all confirmed COVID-19 patients and their contacts under its supervision to avoid further spread of the virus. The decision was made after a COVID-19 patient from Bloemhof could not be found at home and had to be tracked down to a farm in Welkom in the Free State province. North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha said the patient was immediately put under the care of the department. “The person is now under the care of the department. We should at all-time know where COVID-19 positive people and their…

Police Minister Bheki Cele has welcomed the dramatic reduction in serious and violent crimes during the lockdown to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement issued on Sunday, Cele said indications were this was due to, among others, the prohibition of the sale and movement of liquor since the nationwide lockdown 10 days ago. The Ministry in the statement said the analysis is based on a preliminary report that is yet to undergo the necessary verification and endorsements. Analysing the crime and comparing the first week of the lockdown to the same period in 2019, Cele said murder cases had…

As the country enters the second week of the 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, law enforcement agencies have called on communities and various organisations to refrain from taking the law into their own hands to enforce the Disaster Management Regulations. The NatJOINTS, which comprises of various government departments, is responsible for the coordination of the COVID-19 operations, including high density policing operations, border control, route security and public health infection containment, among others, said the majority of the nation has been adhering to the lockdown regulations. “However, the call for greater adherence to the regulations comes following…

The South African Police Services (SAPS) have arrested a 23-year-old man in Pretoria for allegedly contravening the Regulations of the Disaster Management Act 2002. The suspect is likely to face charges of at least contravening Regulation 11B of the Disaster Management Act 2002. This as South Africans observe the tenth day of lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. On 27 March 2020 little snippets of a video, in which two young men were seen travelling around Pretoria with one of them continuously swearing, mocking efforts to curb the COVID-19 virus and bragging they do not comply with laws put…

The South African lockdown restrictions may only be lifted somewhere between the end of June and the end of August, according to Rapport newspaper. The newspaper quoting a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said new COVID-19  infections in South Africa will only peak at the beginning of June. The National Coronavirus Command Council decided to enforce a 21-day nation-wide lockdown with effect from midnight Thursday 26 March 2020, until midnight on Thursday 16 April 2020. In a televised address to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the lockdown is necessary in order to save lives in light of the…

As rating agency Fitch announced its decision to downgrade South Africa from ‘BB+’ to ‘BB’, placing the country further into non-investment grade, the government has emphasised its commitment to implement structural economic reforms. In a statement on Friday, the government said it has noted the decision by the agency. In its decision, Fitch cited the lack of a clear path towards the government’s debt stabilisation, as well as the expected impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) shock on public finances. The agency also cited economic growth as the reason for the downgrade. “To assure all South Africans, the government is seized…

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says the Western Cape has already seen an increase of COVID-19 positive cases of people who have not traveled abroad – which has led to an upsurge in the number of admissions to hospitals. Briefing the media in Cape Town on Friday, Mkhize said the department, therefore, is pushing to roll-out more testing especially in densely populated areas such as townships and informal settlements. He said they have already identified these sites and additional beds to augment the existing capacity as the number starts to peak to manage the outbreak. The country has recorded two…

Government is ramping up efforts to make sure that every health worker has protective gear as soon as next week. Health Deputy Minister Joe Phaahla made the assurance during a ministerial press briefing on Friday, where he said the government would be getting stock from this weekend and early next week. The health worker unions have been putting pressure on the government to provide health care workers with personal protective equipment (PPE), with Nehawu threatening to take Health Minister Zweli Mkhize to court over the matter. There were also concerns that healthcare professionals were putting their lives at risk…

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has announced that as of Friday there are now 1 505 positive cases of COVID-19, an increase of 43 new cases from Thursday. “We also want to report that there are 2 more deaths from KwaZulu-Natal. An 80-year-old male and 81-year-old female,” said Minister Mkhize, adding that the total number of deaths now stand at 7 with 2 yet to be confirmed. Speaking at Khayelitsha Hospital on Friday, he said he would like to convey Government’s condolences to the families and friends of these individuals. “We would also like to thank the health workers who are…

FNB Connect will reduce data prices by up to 55%, in April 2020.  In addition, FNB Connect will double customers’ data on their Lifestyle plans without any price increase. This weekend, FNB Connect will also be giving all its customers 1GB of free data during the national lockdown, with a validity period of 30 days. This lockdown data allocation is in addition to the Free Connect allocations that customers with qualifying transactional accounts receive monthly. Raj Makanjee, FNB Retail CEO says, “This will enable our customers to save on telco spend, which is a regular feature in household budgets. Access…

DStv Now is the online version of DStv, free to DStv subscribers. There’s also a version of DStv Now available to non-subscribers, which is proving increasingly popular during the COVID-19 lockdown. Two new channels have been added to this free service as of the beginning of April, taking the total number of channels to 16. In response to the unfolding pandemic situation, MultiChoice worked with local and international news channels in mid-March to add 24-hour news coverage to the DStv Now free service in just a matter of days. The intent was to help all South Africans stay up to…

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, as of Thursday, stands at 1 462. The Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, announced the increase in cases at Universitas Hospital in the Free State, where he met with the COVID-19 task team in the province. A mass screening and testing is now underway there. Five deaths have been recorded, with two yet to be confirmed. The Free State became a hotbed for COVID-19 infections after several people, who attended a Divine Restoration Ministries church conference, tested positive. Mkhize, who attributed the restraint of the spread to the nationwide lockdown, warned…

Cargo ships and airfreight companies will be able to dock and land on South African shores to deliver essential services, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Thursday. The regulations, implemented by government during the 21-day National State of Disaster COVID-19 enforced lockdown, have been amended by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. “All cargo have now been allowed into the country and to be offloaded from ships. This applies to essential goods and other goods, subject to sanitising and disinfection,” said Patel at a briefing of Ministers from the COVID-19 National Command Council. Patel said…

To step up the fight against COVID-19, Broadband Infraco has partnered with ItakaneICT on a strategic alliance to bring cashless money services to rural and disadvantaged communities. Andrew Matseke, Chief Executive Officer for Broadband Infraco said the partnership will enable the deployment of payment platforms in rural communities and will help in dispensing and transacting financially without using physical cash. As the lead agency for the deployment of SA Connect, Broadband Infraco will leverage its infrastructure and backbone capability already deployed in rural communities. ItakaneICT, on the other hand, will use its platforms as mini ATM devices to drive cashless…

SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has tested positive for Covid-19. He told eNCA during an interview on Thursday that he had no idea how he was exposed to the novel coronavirus. It’s true I tested positive to #CoronavirusInSouthAfrica Had a lingering flue since Friday! Felt I must act on caution & tested on Saturday but they only checked the temp which was normal.Flue persisted & Tuesday went back to the doc & insisted on proper testing – boom – positive — Zwelinzima Vavi (@Zwelinzima1) April 2, 2020 Also read: Coronavirus: South Africa Records Five COVID-19 Deaths South…

New regulations governing who may attend a funeral under the Coronavirus-enforced lockdown have been put in place by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta). Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has gazetted further amendments to the regulations on the COVID-19 lockdown in order to flatten the infection curve. The amendments allow certain individuals to move between provinces, metropolitan and district areas for the purposes of transporting a body for burial purposes. The amendment also limits the individuals who are permitted to travel to funerals. The regulations now outline a process on how people — who wish to travel…

As South Africa enters day 7 of a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, Eskom has announced that it will double maintenance work at its plants. “With the COVID-19 national lockdown in full effect, Eskom has experienced a significant reduction in demand for electricity. Electricity usage has dropped by between 7 500MW and 9 000MW since the lockdown came into effect last week. This has allowed Eskom to operate without the need to implement load shedding,” said the power utility. The utility is making use of the low demand to carry out important short-term maintenance of generation infrastructure. In order to protect the…

First National Bank (FNB) has announced a new strategic partnership with Clicks as the exclusive health & beauty rewards partner. Members of FNB’s rewards programme, eBucks, can now earn and spend eBucks at over 650 Clicks stores nationwide and online. This partnership sees eBucks, the ‘loyalty programme South Africans can’t live without’, joining up with Clicks ClubCard, South Africa’s ‘most used’ loyalty programme, according to the latest Truth and BrandMapp Loyalty White Paper. FNB and RMB Private Bank customers will be able to earn up to 15% back in eBucks on total purchases, when they shop in-store or online at…

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has announced revised regulations that call on the taxi industry to among others, reduce the number of passengers ferried per ride during the 21-day nationwide lockdown, implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19. He addressed the media at the Noord Taxi Rank on Wednesday, shortly after addressing traffic officers who have been deployed to ensure compliance with the published regulations during the lockdown. Under the regulations, passenger numbers are determined according to the licensed capacity of the vehicle. During the lockdown period, the following public transport vehicles must reduce the number of maximum passengers to 70% of…