Tag Archive for: COVID-19

Andrew Stegmann
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Cape Town Concerned Over Non-adherence to COVID Safety Protocols Like Mask Wearing and Sanitizing. City Warns of Second Wave of Virus

Cape Town’s health department has expressed concerns over the increase in non-adherence to safety protocols, saying this could lead to a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

Mayoral committee member for community services and health, Zahid Badroodien, said some residents were no longer wearing face masks in public and social distancing protocols were being ignored by many businesses.

Badroodien feared the work that went into halting the spread of the coronavirus could soon be undone if citizens dropped their collective guard.

“Our environmental health practitioners are particularly concerned about the number of people who are going about their business in public without masks, as well as crowd management in shops, malls and other public amenities,” said Badroodien.

“Cape Town worked very hard to overcome the peak of the pandemic so we could start focusing on rebuilding lives, communities and the economy. All of this hard work will be undermined if we drop our collective guard.”

Over the past few months, the Covid-19 caseload and related fatalities have decreased significantly, with fewer cases registered every day.

On Tuesday, SA recorded 1,027 Covid-19 cases, pushing the number to 683,242. There were 87 deaths reported compared to 40 on Monday, and 15 were from the Western Cape. This brings the total number of deaths to 17,103.

Badroodien said a second wave could set Cape Town back from making progress in decreasing the number of deaths.

“I hear far too many anecdotes about the pandemic being a thing of the past. This is not true, particularly if one looks at the many countries where lockdowns have had to be reintroduced as a result of a second wave of infections,” he said.

“Cape Town and SA must take heed from these cautionary tales and do everything possible to mitigate the risk of a second wave here.

“We therefore urge the public to continue abiding by the health and hygiene protocols and to wear a mask at all times in public to help avoid a second wave of infections locally, or at the very least mitigate the impact thereof.”

Second wave plan

According to health minister Zweli Mkhize, a plan has been tabled should the country be hit with a second wave.

TimesLIVE reported that Mkhize told a webinar hosted by the SA Medical Association that while the worst was over, SA may still be facing a second surge.

He said the plan would follow the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines on how to deal with the second wave.

“Of course, we may still be facing a second surge. I think we all speculate about how likely that is because many of the countries that are overtaking SA are in a second surge. Whether it’s going to be like that in SA depends, of course, on how we deal with our containment measures,” said Mkhize.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Relocation Africa’s Algerian Immigration Interview

Our Immigration Lead, Lynn Mackenzie, recently had the pleasure of speaking to François, our Algerian immigration partner, about Algeria’s current immigration landscape.

To listen to Lynn and François’ conversation about immigration in the current context, click here to view the recording, or view it below.

We would like to say a huge thank you to François for his insights. We hope you enjoy the recording.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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South Africa Has Opened Up Visa-free Travel to These 11 Countries

Home Affairs minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has announced visa-free travel for 11 countries in an effort to boost tourism to the country.

In a media briefing on Sunday (4 October), Motsoaledi said that the visa-free status of citizens of some countries and territories was temporarily suspended at the start of the lockdown period.

“In line with the commitment of Government to take urgent steps to address the economic and tourism stagnation brought about by the outbreak of Covid-19, visa-free status of citizens from a number of countries and territories has been reinstated.”

However, the minister said that visa-free status does not alter the current Covid-19 regulations, including with regards to the bans in place for leisure travelers from high-risk countries, as determined by the South African Government.

The countries include (bolded are high risk):

  • South Korea;
  • Spain;
  • Italy;
  • Germany;
  • Hong Kong;
  • Singapore;
  • USA;
  • UK;
  • France;
  • Portugal;
  • Iran.

Motsoaledi said he has instructed officials to communicate this decision to the aviation industry, embassies and other stakeholders as a matter of urgency.

“The port managers have been instructed to adhere to the SADC protocol and guidelines regulating the movement of essential goods under Covid-19 regulations.

“The guidelines regulating truck drivers travelling across the border will continue to apply as has been the case for the past seven months,” he said.

The minister said that immigration officers will be required to assess the movement and place of origin of the traveller and not the country of origin of the airline concerned.

“Transit travellers through South Africa by air will be allowed to connect to their destinations, subject to them complying with applicable health protocols but need not produce the 72 hours negative certificate.”

High-risk countries 

Motsoaledi said that any person from a country listed as having a high Covid-19 infection and transmission rate, who wish to undertake business travel into South Africa, may, in writing, apply to the Department of Home Affairs and demonstrate reasons for their request to enter the Republic for business purposes during the period of the national state of disaster.

Such applications must be directed to email Covid19BusinessTravel@dha.gov.za and supported by:

  • A copy of passport and/or temporary residence visa;
  • Proof of business activities to be undertaken in the republic;
  • Proof of travel itinerary; and
  • proof of address or accommodation in the republic.

The list of these high-risk countries will be updated fortnightly, said Motsoaledi.

“Immigration officers have been instructed to apply the requirements with a measure of flexibility in order to allow applications for business travel to be lodged at the ports of entry if and when necessary and await the outcome before entry into the republic is allowed,” he said,

All other categories of travellers from medium and low-risk countries are required to produce a certificate of negative Covid-19 test result not older than 72 hours from the time of departure, Motsoaledi said.

“Any person who fails to submit the certificate will be required to quarantine at his or her own cost.”

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Phase 3 of Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Starts in South Africa

Medical companies Pfizer and BioNTech have announced the enrolment of South Africa for phase 3 of their Covid-19 vaccine trial.

The recently expanded study will include approximately 44,000 global participants, allowing a further increase in trial population diversity, and include people with chronic, stable HIV (human immunodeficiency viruses), Hepatitis C, or Hepatitis B infection.

The expanded study will also provide additional safety and efficacy data.

Pfizer said that the selection of South Africa as one of the global hosts of the study was based on the local scientific expertise and capabilities, the epidemiology of the disease, and South Africa’s prior experience in running clinical trials.

The study will include approximately 800 participants and will be conducted in four sites across Gauteng, Limpopo and the Western Cape. The trials received regulatory approval from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) on 22 September 2020.

Dr Essack Mitha will be the study’s national principal investigator. Mitha has more than 16 years’ experience in research and development (clinical trials) in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors.

“We are proud and excited to be given the opportunity to take part in this global research effort. South African patients will play a critical role in the fight against Covid-19.

“We are confident that the South African sites will contribute high-quality data to this ground-breaking study, and that medical science will prevail in this pandemic,” said Dr Mitha.

Having secured regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to proceed with the phase 3 clinical trials of the vaccine trial, Pfizer and BioNtech have commenced and have already recruited more than 35,000 participants globally.

“As Pfizer, we are proud to be bringing this important study to the country, and to the African Continent, to add to the growing knowledge of this virus so we can find a lasting and sustainable solution to end this pandemic,” said Dr Bha Ndungane-Tlakula, Pfizer’s medical director for South Africa.

Increasing Covid-19 numbers

The Gauteng Department of Health meanwhile, is concerned about the 6% increase in the number of Covid-19 active cases since the country moved to level 1 of the lockdown.

South Africa moved to level 1 of the lockdown on 21 September 2020.

Gauteng remains the epicentre of the virus with 219,373 cases to date followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 118,889, the Western Cape 110,541 and Eastern Cape 89,076.

“The rise in infections has been attributed to among other factors to non-adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions by some members of the public,” the provincial department said.

The areas of concerns include Johannesburg’s Inner City, Soweto, Sedibeng and Tshwane.

“It is important that we emphasise to the public that the fight against COVID-19 is far from over. We want to caution communities that we need to continue adhering to non-pharmaceutical interventions,” said Gauteng acting MEC of Health, Jacob Mamabolo.

The MEC called on everyone to play their part by wearing facemasks, social distancing, sanitising and washing hands.

According to the provincial department, 1,200 people are currently hospitalised in public and private health facilities.

Meanwhile, South Africa recorded 903 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours bringing the cumulative number of detected infections to 672,572.

In addition, 81 more people succumbed to the respiratory disease pushing the death toll to 16,667.

Of the latest deaths, 28 are from Gauteng, 11 from KwaZulu-Natal, 10 from the Northern Cape, eight from the Eastern Cape and the North West, six from the Western Cape, and five from Limpopo and Free State.

“We extend our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers that treated the deceased patients,” said health minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

Meanwhile, recoveries now stand at 605,520 which translates to 90%.

The data is based on the 4 164 491 tests conducted of which 12,011 were performed since the last report.

Globally, there have been 33,249 563 confirmed cases of Covid-19, while the death toll has now surpassed 1 million, the World Health Organisation reported.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].