Author: Staff Writer

The Lockdown Digital Classroom is a free and voluntary virtual classroom that encourages pupils to continue learning during the lockdown, the Basic Education Department clarified on Tuesday. The initiative, which is the brainchild of Africa Teen Geeks – an organization that does work in the basic education sector, received criticism on social media with users expressing concern over the use of celebrities as opposed to qualified teachers. “The initiative was created by a Non-Profit-Organization called Africa Teen Geeks (ATG) who approached the department with an idea for an intervention to support learners during the lockdown resulting from COVID-19,” said the…

The Department of Home Affairs has outlined temporary measures that have been put in place to address immigration matters during the lockdown period. The temporary measures were introduced after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a National State of Disaster on 15 March and subsequently a national lockdown from 27 March, extended until the end of April 2020, to contain the spread of COVID-19. These temporary measures will remain valid until 31 July 2020, unless extended officially by the department. They apply only to foreign nationals, who have been legally admitted into the country. The visa concessions are contained in the Directions,…

With the declaration that the novel Coronavirus is 10 times deadlier than the 2009 swine flu, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on countries to slowly lift control measures. “We know that COVID-19 spreads fast, and we know that it is deadly – 10 times deadlier than the 2009 flu pandemic,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The WHO DG made the declaration on Monday during a virtual briefing. With some countries and communities under several weeks of social and economic restrictions in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19, Ghebreyesus urged countries to be measured when phasing…

The South African Reserve Bank has cut the repo rate by 100 basis points, or one percentage point to 4.25%. “The committee notes that the more prolonged lockdown and slower recovery creates downside risk to inflation and allows further space for monetary policy to respond to the virus-induced demand shock to the economy. Barring severe and persistent currency and oil shocks, inflation is expected to be well contained, remaining below the midpoint of the target in 2020 and close to the midpoint in 2021,” said Reserve Bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago. “Against this backdrop, the MPC decided to cut the repo…

The number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa rose to 2 272 on Monday, with two more deaths confirmed by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. The positive tests are an increase of 99 from the previous day. Total deaths stood at 27 on Monday. During a technical public engagement with experts dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Mkhize said the country has conducted 83 363 tests since the outbreak. Of these, 21 190 had been done in public sector facilities. Regarding deaths, Mkhize said the first case was of a 68-year-old male in the Western Cape while the second was that of a 57-year-old male…

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, has reiterated her call for municipalities to suspend cutting water to residents and the eviction of residents during the lockdown period. Sisulu has held a third meeting with civil society organisations to discuss interventions in densely populated informal settlements, as part of efforts to mitigate against the spread of COVID-19. During the meeting, the recent evictions in Makhaza Informal Settlements in the Western Cape were discussed. Sisulu emphasised that everyone should adhere to the directive by government that all evictions be suspended during the lockdown period in which the nation is engaged…

No one will be able to attend The House of David Tlale’s Autumn / Winter 2020 / 21 Collection, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to stream it from the safety of your home. Due to the COVID-19 national lockdown, The House of David Tlale will today, April 13, at 19H15 launch a new sustainability-friendly and COVID-19 compliant Autumn/Winter “Fashion Trend.” For more read: David Tlale’s Winter Collection Goes Digital with Avon and Boschendal The show, which is powered by Boschendal Wines and Avon South Africa, will broadcast for free on David Tlale’s website: www.davidtlale.com The show will also broadcast for free…

As of today, 12 April 2020, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa is 2 173, with no reported increase in deaths. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said this is an increase of 145 cases from the previously reported cases on Saturday. The number of deaths still stand at 25. He said the total number of tests conducted to date is 80 085. “We are also seeing an increase in test conducted at public laboratories. Of the 5 032 tests conducted in the past day, 3 192 were done in public laboratories,” Mkhize said. The provincial breakdown…

African Union Chairperson President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dr Donald Kaberuka, Tidjane Thiam and Trevor Manuel as the African Union’s COVID-19 Special Envoys. The newly appointed envoys are tasked with mobilising international support for Africa’s efforts to address the economic challenges African countries will face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Special Envoys will be tasked with soliciting rapid and concrete support as pledged by the G20, the European Union and other international financial institutions. “In the light of the devastating socio-economic and political impact of the pandemic on African countries these institutions need to…

Vodacom will donate 20 000 smartphones plus 100 terabytes of data and 10 million voice calls minutes to the National Department of Health. The donation is worth R40 million. This will be used by frontline health workers to collect and transmit data in real-time for resource planning purposes as the government accelerates its COVID-19 testing campaign. The donation Vodacom will also assist the Government by ensuring that medical care resources are efficiently and effectively distributed to help those who are infected or require critical medical assistance. Each of the 20 000 smartphones will be loaded with 5GB of data and…