Wednesday 8th April

Covid-19 and Local News & Updates

LOCAL:

Covid-19 Update #14 – Thank You To All Essential Services  –  the spirit of a community looking after each other and working together has been clearly evident in our little part of the world.  

First cases of Covid-19 in Humansdorp  –  The Department of Health has confirmed that the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Kouga has increased to three, with Humansdorp registering its first two cases.

Eastern Cape:
Covid-19 infections on rise in Nelson Mandela Bay townships  –  The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Nelson Mandela Bay has risen to 17.

EC health welcomes COVID-19 donation from Springbok captain –  Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has dug deep to make a welcome donation of personal protective clothing to the Eastern Cape Health Department.

NATIONAL:
LIVE | Minister faces backlash for ‘socialising during lockdown’, govt to discuss the way forward  –  Stay up to date with the latest news, views and analysis as the number of coronavirus cases in SA increases.

SA women open up about how to live with and beat the coronavirus  –  Cape Town-based businesswoman Megan Smith is one of the 95 local success stories emerging amid the fear and uncertainty that reigns.

South Africa’s strange COVID-19 case numbers  –  What stands out about the number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa is that it does not follow the same trend as in other countries.

LOCKDOWN:
Lockdown: Ramaphosa says scientific analysis of whether it is working is expected within days  –  South Africans will soon know if the national lockdown is working.

Children can now be moved between parents during lockdown, but…  –  Parents who have co-parental rights to their children may now move children between them, an amendment signed by Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu shows. 

How to stay mentally fit when uncertainty rules  –  As global communities commemorate World Health Day, philanthropist and psychologist Dr Cino Shearer shares his top tips to help South Africans stay mentally fit during the 21 days national lockdown.

GENERAL NEWS:
Pay R3m or retract! Scare for Joburg dad who accused Spar of hiking prices  –  A  man who claimed in a Facebook post that supermarkets in his area of Johannesburg were hiking their prices  received a demand of R3m from the owner of one of the stores

SA rugby players help family stranded in Japan, as ‘overwhelming’ support floods in  –  A South African family, whose two-week holiday in Japan quickly turned into a nightmare when they became stranded in East Asia, can breathe a sigh of relief 

Jihadists stage series of fresh attacks in northern Mozambique  – The latest series of attacks were staged between Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning and left hospitals, schools, a bank and construction equipment destroyed and ransacked.

#EarthCrimes:
Limpopo’s dirty white elephant: The dodgy designation  –  How a Chinese company hijacked the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone.

Government:
Lockdown regulations, a case of state power by ministerial directive  –  some amendments highlight contestation between securocrats and constitutionalists in the Cabinet.

Hey Stellaaaa: Brunch-based politics and the incoming karma  –  Meanwhile, the ANC elite are publishing their brunch dates on Instagram. The revolution, it appears, is but one perfectly photographed mimosa away.

LABOUR:
ANALYSIS | Leave, salaries, and how lockdown has exposed gaps in SA’s labour law  –  The very foundation of the employment relationship is about the rendering of services by an employee, and payment in return for those services by an employer. 

BUSINESS:
5 government-backed financial relief measures that South African businesses may not know about  –  While the country’s R1 billion funds and new UIF scheme have been well documented, the firm noted that the Department of Small Business has also announced multiple interventions to assist small businesses.

South Africa must support SMEs to save jobs  – The SME sector is most critical as an employer. While it only pays about 6% of corporate taxes and accounts for 20% of GDP, small and medium enterprises employ about 47% of South Africa’s workforce.

Platform to assist SMMEs hit hard by Covid-19 lockdown launched  –  Tanya van Lill, SAVCA chief executive, says the platform will provide SMMEs with access to industry professionals for free advice on managing the challenges they face in the wake of Covid-19. 

Retailers and rent: Opening Pandora’s box …  –  Most big retailers should be able to handle a few weeks of lockdown, yet two of the wealthiest clothing chains are leading the field of non-payers.

Technology:
Coronavirus: YouTube tightens rules after David Icke 5G interview  –  YouTube has banned all conspiracy theory videos falsely linking coronavirus symptoms to 5G networks.

WORLD:
Trump threatens to hold WHO funding, then backtracks, amid search for scapegoat  –  US president’s early inaction in pandemic has come under renewed scrutiny in recent days as coronavirus death toll grows

India home quarantine families face discrimination  –  India has quarantined tens of thousands of people in their homes. But some of the measures designed to keep them inside have led to unintended, and unpleasant, consequences.

SPORT

INTERESTING:
How coronavirus inspired a gangland truce in South Africa  –  An unprecedented truce has broken out in the notorious, gang-infested townships around Cape Town,