Tuesday 19th January
COVID-19 STATISTICS
TIDES
| Low | 1:04AM | 0.5m |
| High | 7:27AM | 1.7m |
| Low | 1:33PM | 0.7m |
| High | 7:29PM | 1.5m |
LOAD SHEDDING SUSPENDED
WEATHER
Breezy & nice with some sun
Max 25C
Wind – WSW 35 km/h
New Cases – 9010 | Active Cases – 229484
Recoveries – 1 117 452 | Deaths – 37449
Active cases in nearby Kouga region as at 17th January
St Francis – 20 | Oyster Bay – 0 | Humansdorp – 27 | JBay – 49
Full Sarah Baartman Covid Stats as at 13th available at bottom of page
Keep Safe and PLEASE … SAVE WATER
LOCAL NEWS: (Kouga)
Privilege (Part 2) – Part Two of Sandra Hardie’s article reminiscing on the early days of St Francis
“Then and now” in the Greater St Francis Region – #5 – Fynbos growing on the present-day corner of Grosvenor and Arago St, Cape St Francis, in 1991.
REGIONAL NEWS: (East Cape, Port Elizabeth & Southern Coast)
Hunters can now fly with their rifles to EC – The hunting industry says the decision by the airline, FlySafair to allow hunters to fly with their firearms to the Eastern Cape, would be a massive boost for the local economy.
COVID NEWS:
Fewer than 10,000 new Covid-19 cases recorded in SA for first time since December – Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on Monday said that 9,010 new cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the national tally of confirmed cases across SA to 1,346,936.
COVID VACCINE:
Covid vaccine: WHO warns of ‘catastrophic moral failure’ – The world faces a “catastrophic moral failure” because of unequal Covid vaccine policies, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccine roll-out: What we do know and what we’re still struggling to find out – Here’s what we know so far about how it will work:
SA to get 9 million Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine shots – South Africa, which has yet to receive its first coronavirus vaccine doses, will be getting 9 million from Johnson & Johnson, the health ministry said on Monday.
‘I’ll have the vaccine as soon as it’s available to me’: Desmond Tutu – In a statement the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation issued on Monday, Tutu said it was vital that people took the vaccine.
LOCKDOWN:
POLITICS:
Should politicians be among the first to get the Covid-19 vaccine? Phumzile Van Damme weighs in – DA MP Phumzile Van Damme has responded to suggestions that politicians should be among the first to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
DA threatens Ramaphosa with legal action over vaccines roll-out – DA leader John Steenhuisen has threatened President Cyril Ramaphosa with legal action if he does not divulge details of the origin of vaccines destined to be used to protect South Africans
SA & AFRICA NEWS:
SA media credibility inquiry recommends taxing Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google – A panel led by Judge Kathy Satchwell has made far-reaching recommendations for a sustainable, credible and independent media in South Africa.
South Africa’s military strength ranked in 2021 – Military website, Global Firepower, has published its military strength ranking for 2021 featuring 138 countries, with the ranking utilising more than 50 different factors to determine a given nation’s PowerIndex.
CORRUPTION WATCH:
PIC-deployed VBS looters must pay back R23.4m, court orders – Former PIC officials and VBS looters Ernest Nesane and Paul Magula must pay back R11.2-million and R12.2-million, respectively, in cash and penalties owed to their former blesser, Vele Investments,
Glencore refutes Molefe’s ‘revolting’ allegations at Zondo commission – Brian Molefe said that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ‘political influence’ was ‘revolting’.
BUSINESS & MONEY MATTER:
Flash Briefing: Alcohol ban shatters glass industry; restaurant managers – booze ban arrests; Sibanye; Truworths – The alcohol ban is hammering South Africa’s glass packaging industry, which could lose a further R1.5 billion in sales if the latest ban on alcohol sales continues.
ESKOM:
Eskom to suspend load-shedding on Monday night – “Over the past 24 hours Eskom teams have successfully returned two generation each at Kusile, Kriel, and one at Tutuka Power Station to service,”
SA AIRWAYS:
SAA unions seek order for wage payments to be made within seven days – Workers at South African Airways (SAA) have not been paid since March 2020, meaning that by the end of this month they will have been without salaries or benefits for 10 months.
TECHNOLOGY:
Swiss experts unravel mystery of QAnon origins – The mysterious “Q” behind the QAnon conspiracy movement, which was instrumental in the storming of the US Capitol, is in fact two people, according to Swiss experts.
Students must get more mobile data – Government – Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has stated that the government is working with mobile networks for the long-term provision of data to students.
INTERNATIONAL:
FBI vets thousands of troops amid fears of insider attack on Biden inauguration Extra checks to prevent repeat of 6 January attack on Capitol. National guard plays down fears of extremism within ranks
OPINION:
Brexiters are waking up to the damage they’ve done – From horse racing to fishing to road haulage, British industry is in chaos. No wonder leavers are turning on each other
EARTH, SPACE & THE UNIVERSE:
South Africa’s MeerKAT finds radio galaxies that dwarf our Milky Way – In a patch of sky long trawled across by countless telescopes, astronomers have discovered two gigantic radio galaxies – all thanks to MeerKAT, which spotted these distant objects from deep in the Karoo.
Red tide warning at Elands Bay – A harmful algal bloom – also known as a red tide – has been building up at Elands Bay on the west coast of South Africa resulting in several marine species washing up on the beach.
THIS & THAT:
Disgraced former music producer Phil Spector dies – Regarded as one of the most brilliant minds in music to this day, the former producer, musician and songwriter, convicted of murder in 2009, has died at the age of 81.
SPORT:
Erasmus reveals family Covid battle, lauds effort of Currie Cup teams – “I totally get what people say about the state of the game, and they probably have a point, but due to Covid testing teams only had about 280 minutes training time weekly on the field.”
Momentum Proteas ’Go Black’ in support of fight against gender-based violence – The cause-driven Black Day ODI game is set for Saturday, 23 January 2021, at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium and will see the Momentum Proteas
