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Arrest   A nurse in the Eastern Cape was arrested for allegedly stealing face masks Image:   123RF/ scanrail A Butterworth Hospital nurse has been arrested for allegedly stealing four boxes of face masks, according to the Eastern Cape health department. Spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said that the nurse was caught in the act and apprehended by security personnel after he attempted to flee by jumping a fence outside the hospital. Kupelo said that the nurse would “face the full might of the law” as well as internal disciplinary processes. “We are committed to ridding the department of all officials masquerading as health professionals and we will continue applying our human resources policies while working with law enforcement agencies to achieve this,” he said, adding that “the theft of face masks places doctors, nurses and patients at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus.”

A municipal announcement has forced all Nelson Mandela Bay beaches to be closed starting from Sunday. Image:   Eugene Coetzee The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality announced on Sunday that all beaches would be closed until further notice. Municipal spokesperson Kupido Baron said this was in compliance of national directives in an effort to ensure that all necessary precautions are taken to ensure that the transmission of the coronavirus is minimised. Coronavirus watch All the latest news about Coronavirus pandemic. SowetanLIVE This includes any building or open space that is the property of the municipality, HeraldLIVE reported. Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality disaster management director Shane Brown  said the guidelines by minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, compelled the municipality to close all beaches, braai areas and swimming pools. “This is in addi...

Emirates to suspend all passenger flights from March 25. Image:   Chris Preyser Dubai carrier Emirates Airline announced on Sunday it will suspend all passenger flights from March 25 amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. “Today we made the decision to temporarily suspend all passenger flights by 25 March 2020,” the airline said on Twitter. The United Arab Emirates announced on Friday the first two deaths from the COVID-19 disease in the country. The United Arab Emirates on Friday announced its first two deaths from the disease. Total recorded infections in the UAE stood at 153, of which 38 have recovered. The latest suspensions by Emirates Airlines take the carrier's total closed routes to 111. The airline normally serves 159 destinations. “In response to the latest developments in the COVID-19 outbreak around the world, Emirates is taking extra steps that go above and beyond industry and regulatory requirements to ensure our customers' health and comfort,” t...

Strandar Bank has offered its small and medium business owners a 90-day payment holiday to cope with Covid-19 challenges. Image:   123RF/Jarun Ontakrai Standard Bank has offered its small and medium business customers a three-month debt holiday during the uncertain times caused by Covid-19. The bank said its team was dedicated to helping business with  practical advice and assistance for any contingency plans. In a  statement , the bank said it has a range of options available to support businesses, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Payment Scheme, which will provide payment relief to business for 90 days. “This scheme will launch on the April 1 and strives to support small and medium-sized business with a payment holiday for 90 days.” The bank said those eligible for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Payment Scheme are SA businesses with a turnover of no more than R20m per year, whose business current account, Biz...

Proteas team doctor Dr Shuaib Manjra said the team had effectively been in isolation in India and had travelled on chartered flights and coaches in a sanitised environment. Image:   GALLO IMAGES/AFP/BERND THISSEN Proteas players  been told to undergo a 14-day period of self-isolation and social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus following their return from an aborted tour of India. The players arrived back in South Africa on Wednesday ten days after departing on a tour during which they played no cricket. The first of three scheduled one-day internationals was abandoned without a ball bowled because of rain and the remaining two were cancelled. Dr Shuaib Manjra, Cricket South Africa's medical officer, who accompanied the team on the tour, during which they stayed in or travelled through Dubai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Lucknow and Kolkata, said the cancellation had been decided because of the rapid change in the global coronavirus situation. "CSA ...

The presidency, which is the country's department of heads of state like President Cyril Ramaphosa, has sent a staff member home after being suspected of contracting coronavirus. Image:   GCIS There are fears of possible coronavirus exposure in the presidency after a staffer was sent home for self-isolation and testing. This is contained in an internal newsletter leaked to SowetanLIVE that was sent to staff at the Union Buildings on Thursday. The email says that the staff member had reported to their manager that they may have come in contact with someone who has now tested positive for the novel Covid-19. “There was a staff member who reported to their manager that they may have crossed paths with someone who has tested positive the coronavirus,” the email reads. “This member of staff has gone for testing with support staff of the Presidency.” The revelation comes as the number of confirmed cases rose to 150 affecting most of the provinces. The spokespe...

Gauteng cancels planned surgeries at its public hospitals to strengthen response to Covid-19. Image:   123RF/Chanawit Sitthisombat Gauteng health department has cancelled all elective surgeries planned in advance rather than those done in an emergency. This  is part of the department's plan  to strengthen Covid-19 response in health facilities. Provincial health spokesperson Philani Mhlungu said the department has put additional measures in place to deal with the spread of Covid-19 follwoing the declaration of a national state of disaster by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Mhlungu said elective surgery with planned high care should be rescheduled to maintain surgical capacity. “All annual health events are cancelled, the outpatient departments will reduce the number of patient visits using the appointment system. A separate area for patients with flu-like symptoms at [public] facilities [will be set up],” Mhlungu said. He added that Th...

A Free State mother has tested positive for Covid-19. She and her children have been quarantined. Image:   123RF / Xixinxing A Free State mother and her two children have been quarantined after she tested positive for Covid-19, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said. Mkhize said on Friday that 202 cases of infection had been confirmed in the country. The Free State had recorded seven cases, Gauteng had 33 cases, Western Cape 11 and KwaZulu-Natal seven. The   first five people who tested positive in the Free State had travelled from abroad and attended a religious gathering. They are in isolation in a local bed and breakfast. On Thursday, the government said there were 150 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country. This did not include the new Free State cases which were confirmed later in the day. “The mother of two is a health worker. She has no history of travel,” Mkhize said. He said the woman’s children had been quarantined after...

Covid-19 cases on the rise in SA. Image:   GALLO IMAGES/AFP/BERND THISSEN The total number of Covid-19 cases in SA is now 202 with seven cases in the Free State - which recorded its first case a day ago. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Friday that Gauteng had 33 cases, Western Cape 11 and KwaZulu-Natal seven. The  first five people who tested positive in the Free State had travelled from abroad and attended a religious gathering. They are in isolation in a local bed and breakfast. On Thursday, government said there were 150 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country. This did not include the new Free State cases which were confirmed later in the day. Coronavirus watch Mkhize told a #CoronaVirusUpdate news conference in the Free State that leaders in society must not fear the virus, but the country needs to be realistic about it. He said scientists estimated that 60% of the population would be affected by the virus at some...

President Cyril Ramaphosa. Image:   GCIS/ELMOND JIYANE Business leaders and the team heading up SA's plan to combat the spread of coronavirus is on Sunday briefing President Cyril Ramaphosa, ahead of his scheduled address to the nation. Ramaphosa on Sunday morning hosted a consultation with business leaders at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, his office said. These leaders will have an opportunity to outline the impact of the disaster on businesses and the economy at large, and engage recommendations to mitigate the impact of the outbreak on the economy at large. This follows his meetings with constituencies including communities of faith and the nation’s political leadership in the week since his declaration on March 15 of the national state of disaster. Companies have been hit by a wave of panic buying, expenditure on preventive measures such as sanitisers for staff and customers, shortened hours for liquor sales and employees as well as th...

Lt-Col Leroy Bruwer was the lead investigator in two high-profile rhino poaching cases. A top Hawks investigator who cracked rhino poaching cases was killed assassination-style in Mpumalanga. Lt-Col Leroy Bruwer, 49, died in a hail of bullets in Mbombela on the R37 connecting Mbombela and Lydenburg yesterday morning while heading to work. He was the lead investigator of two high-profile rhino poaching cases - of former policeman Joseph "Big Joe" Nyalunga and suspected rhino kingpin Petrus Mabuza. National police commissioner Gen Khehla Sitole said in a statement: "Colonel Bruwer, who was attached to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation [the Hawks], was driving to work this morning at 6.30am when he was shot at on Lydenburg Road in Nelspruit with what appeared to be heavy calibre weapons by unknown gunmen. Colonel Bruwer died on the scene. "Colonel Bruwer was a seasoned investigator within the DPCI environment and always excelled i...

Alexandra residents have been complaining about their poor living conditions for a very long time now. Social distancing will never be a reality in this congested settlement near Sandton. / ANTONIO MUCHAVE A few weeks ago, a group of middle-class people went on vacation in Italy and brought with them Covid-19, a virus that is tearing the world asunder. Since then, the number of people who have tested positive in SA has increased exponentially, and by all indications, the worst is yet to come. While our country has not registered any fatalities, there is a sense that we soon will, because our ailing public health system is ill-equipped to handle a health emergency the nature and scale of Covid-19. It is a battle that we are unlikely to win, if the virus is to wreak havoc at the scale of what it has done in countries like Italy and China - developed countries with far better infrastructure and resources than us. On Sunday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa stood bef...

What is most vital to the fight against the deadly coronavirus outbreak is individual behavioural change, the writer says. Image:   REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced extraordinary measures in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, which has wreaked havoc and left a trail of death and destruction throughout the world in recent weeks. These measures include travel bans from high-risk countries, a shutdown of schools from tomorrow and a prohibition of large gatherings exceeding 100 people. By yesterday at least 62 people had been confirmed to have the virus in SA. More concerning is that, unlike before where only South Africans who had travelled abroad were infected, at least two cases of local transmission had been recorded as at yesterday morning. These numbers are expected to rise. There is no doubt that we face a crisis. Therefore, the drastic restrictive measures imposed by government, though inconvenient, a...

The Reserve Bank says it is not recalling cash from the public. Image:   123RF/LEON SWART As fear over the coronavirus grips Mzansi, criminals have taken the opportunity to scam unsuspecting people. On Monday, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) warned the public about criminals going to homes claiming to be representatives of the bank and telling them to hand over cash as it was “contaminated” with the virus. In a statement, the Bank said it was not removing any cash from the public. SA Reserve Bank ✔ @SAReserveBank  ·  Mar 16, 2020 Replying to @SAReserveBank The SA Reserve Bank wants to encourage members of the public to contact local police when they are approached by individuals purporting to be SARB employees or representatives. The SARB will never ask members of the public to hand over their cash. SA Reserve Bank ✔ @SAReserveBank DO NOT hand over cash to anyone claiming that it is contaminated...