Tag: lockdown

Categories : COVIDTags :

SA Presses UK Over Travel Restrictions as Lockdown Eases

On By ModernMedia
Image by Quicknews

As the country gets back to Level 1 lockdown, pressure is mounting on the UK to revise its travel restrictions for SA.

The drop to Level 1 was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday, September 30. The restrictions include a midnight to 4am curfew, and restaurants to close at 11pm. Alcohol sales are likewise permitted until 11pm, and large events of up to 750 people indoors and 2000 people outdoors can be held.

This is accompanied by a renewed vaccine drive, to reach a goal of vaccinating 70% of the adult population by year end, President Ramaphosa announced.

“To reach our goal we need to administer an additional 16 million vaccine doses this year, which amounts to around 250 000 first dose vaccinations every single workday of every week until mid-December,” he said.

Meanwhile, President Ramaphosa is hopeful that SA will be taken off of the UK’s ‘red list’, which means travellers travelling or returning to the UK must quarantine for ten days in a government-designated hotel at a cost of over £2000 (R40 500). The tourist industry, which has lost half a million jobs, is pressing for SA to be removed from the UK’s red list in time for the festive season, which sees many British travellers coming to enjoy the summer here.

Former UK cabinet minister Peter Hain this week also called on the UK to release SA from its travel red list, calling it a “ludicrous” decision, as it was not backed up by science.

“SA has a low infection rate: just a tenth of the infections in the UK and a similarly low fraction compared with much of Europe.  It has only one variant in circulation, exactly the same variant as in the UK, Delta,” Hain said in a statement on Thursday.

Ramaphosa said that spoke with UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Thursday, and was hopeful of a “positive outcome” in a few days.

“Our greatest priority now is to ensure that the economy recovers as quickly as possible so that we can create jobs and help businesses to get back on their feet,” he said.

Source: BusinessTech

Categories : COVIDTags :

Non-respiratory Antibiotic Prescriptions Unchanged by COVID Lockdown

On By ModernMedia
Source: Unsplash

A study found that antibiotic prescriptions for non-respiratory ailments were unchanged by COVID lockdown in Australia, which had comparatively few COVID cases. 

In regions with high levels of COVID transmission, such as Europe and the United States, prescriptions for antibiotics in the community fell dramatically after COVID restrictions were introduced in early 2020. A study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology looked at antibiotic prescribing in Australia, which has so far had low COVID rates.

Analysing national claims data, researchers observed that COVID restrictions in Australia were associated with substantial reductions in community dispensing of antibiotics primarily used to treat respiratory infections, but found that antibiotics for non-respiratory infections did not change.

“The issue is that antibiotics should rarely be prescribed for common viral respiratory infections in the first place. These big reductions show how low general practitioners’ antibiotic prescribing could go if guidelines were followed more closely,” said co–senior Helga Zoega, PhD, of UNSW Sydney, in Australia.

Source: Wiley

Categories : COVIDTags :

First South African-produced Vaccine Batch Shipped as Lockdown Eases

On By ModernMedia

The day after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an easing of COVID restrictions to an adjusted Level 3 lockdown, Durban-based pharmaceutical company Aspen stated that it was releasing its first batch of locally-produced COVID vaccines under a licensing deal with the US giant Johnson & Johnson.

The first batch was leaving its manufacturing unit in Gqeberha, to be further distributed throughout South Africa. The company also stated that vaccines from these batches will be made available through the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team/African Union platform.

In a statement, Aspen’s Group Chief Executive Stephen Saad, said, “Aspen is proud of the role we are playing in producing vaccines for distribution in South Africa, across Africa and the world. Our ability to produce these vaccines on behalf of Johnson & Johnson builds on our strategic vision of delivering high quality, affordable medicines that improve health outcomes for patients in our own country, continent and around the world.  Supply for Africa and South Africa is particularly rewarding, given the current global inequality in accessing vaccines. This represents a big step forward in ensuring that Africa can address its healthcare priorities. The manufacture of the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine builds on the global contributions we have already made in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic with both our anaesthetics portfolio and dexamethasone supply.”
Aspen has invested over R3 billion at the Gqeberha sterile manufacturing site, which contains high-technology, state-of-the-art pharmaceutical equipment and systems that will be used to manufacture advanced sterile medicines, including vaccines.

BioNTech and Pfizer last week signed a deal with South African manufacturer Biovac to help produce vaccine doses in Cape Town through what is known as a ‘fill and finish’ process. Once completed, this is expected to produce 100 million doses per year. President Cyril Ramaphosa has been vocal about global inequality in vaccine procurement, and has been pushing for an African source of vaccines to help the continent fend for itself.
With new cases falling in Gauteng, South Africa’s lockdown was lowered to an adjusted Level 3 on Sunday, with the sale of alcohol once again permitted during the week and at bars and restaurants.

Source: Aspen Holdings

Categories : COVIDTags :

SAMA Head Urges Stronger Lockdown; Two-thirds of Cases in Gauteng

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Maxim Zhgulev on Unsplash

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) had said that early indications showed that the third wave of South Africa’s COVID pandemic would be worse than the previous two.

As infections surge around the country, particularly in Gauteng Province, the government  moved to Level 3, strengthening some curbs, including liquor sale restrictions, an extended curfew and a cap on the number of people allowed at gatherings. However, there has been no outright ban on alcohol.

As of Thursday, 11767 new COVID infections have been confirmed, with nearly two-thirds (7502) being recorded in Gauteng. The overall case positivity rate is 22.6%

SAMA chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee said that the government’s measures were implemented far too late.

“People carry on as if everything is right. Everything is not right. We are in a pandemic, we are in a third wave and a third wave that’s going to be worse. At this stage, all the indications are that it is going to be worse than the second wave.”

Speaking to the SABC, she said Gauteng was running out of beds and oxygen. “If you want a bed in Gauteng you are going to struggle so this is what we’re seeing and if we want to get out of this we need to make tough decisions. But it seems like it’s not going to happen so for now it is what it is and no one should be astonished if the numbers go up,” says Coetzee.

Dr Coetzee also warned that allowing schools to remain open was a bad decision.

“Without proper, effective and decisive measures to curb the spread of COVID, our infection and fatality numbers are going to climb even further. In addition, schools are still open, travel is still allowed and public transport can still operate as they currently are. This should not have been allowed.”

The Basic Education Department had already dismissed suggestions that schools should be closed as well as part of the COVID containment efforts. She also argued against a  simple tightening of curfews and alcohol sales.

“Nothing significant has changed. The stricter curfew measures and limitations on alcohol sales will simply mean people change their behaviour to accommodate for these restrictions and will have little impact on people’s daily routines. This is actually where restrictions should have been targeted.”

Speaking to Jacaranda, she said, “For us, it doesn’t make sense, we need people at home. We don’t want people in a shopping centre or anywhere else, if we can manage to do that for three to four weeks we can get the numbers down but for now, I don’t see that happening.”

Source: EWN

Categories : COVIDTags :

Tougher Restrictions for Gauteng Being Debated

On By ModernMedia
Image by Quicknews

As COVID cases continue to rise virtually unabated by the move to Level 2 lockdown, there are reportedly discussions at the National Coronavirus Command Council to tighten the lockdown restrictions.

The Gauteng government wants the province to have tighter lockdown restrictions, as it is host to about half of daily new infections of COVID in the country. Despite the high infection rate in the province, many in Gauteng are against tougher restrictions, such as the Gauteng Education Department and South African Council of Churches. Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane says that she will speak to the National Coronavirus Command Council about the issue.

The province’s premier David Makhura said the province is asking for increased measures. “Level 2 as we know it currently is not having a sufficient impact,” he said. “People are going on as if we are really not in the middle of a raging pandemic.”

With Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital being indefinitely closed, the pressure is mounting on both public and private facilities which running out of ICU beds.

“So, we talk to the private hospitals almost on a daily basis, and they do indicate to us that they are running almost at about 80% of their capacity for ICU. In the public hospitals, we are also running at about 70%,” said Thabo Masebe, communications head of the Gauteng government.

He confirmed that the province was looking for tougher restrictions to curb new infections.

“That’s what the premier had said. He will be raising that with national government to see what added restrictions could be made to help slow down the rate of infections in the province,” Masebe said.

Source: ENCA

Categories : COVIDTags :

South Africa Moves to Level 2 Lockdown

On By ModernMedia
Image by Quicknews

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that he did not know “how long or how severe the third wave will be” as he tightened restrictions in response to rising COVID infections.

In a national address on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Level 2 COVID restrictions would in place from Monday in response to rising cases, saying that he did not know “how long or how severe the third wave will be”.

The new restrictions mostly target social gatherings as well as moving the night-time curfew forward by one hour to 11pm.

No more than 100 people can attend indoor events, while the number for outside was halved to 250. However, to the relief of the liquor industry and many South Africans, no alcohol restrictions have been put in place. This demonstrates a less economically restrictive approach than the initial lockdowns, which caused the economy to shrink by 7% last year.

COVID hospitalisations increased 17% in recent days and the Free State, the Northern Cape, the North West and Gauteng are already seeing a third wave, Ramaphosa said.

A third wave is considered to be underway when the seven-day moving average of new cases exceeds 30% of the previous wave’s peak, according to the definition used by the SA Covid-19 Modelling Consortium.

“It is only a matter of time before the whole country enters a third wave … gatherings are the biggest source of transmission and we urge South Africans to social distance,” Ramaphosa said.

The daily infection rate is sharply higher than the averages of between 1000 and 1500 for most of the year. 

President Ramaphosa said cases averaged about 3700 in the past week, a 31% increase compared to the previous seven days, which he partly attributed to people’s increasing complacency over following health protocols.

“Because rates of infection have been low for some time, and because we are all suffering from pandemic fatigue, we have tended to become complacent.

“We have not been as vigilant about wearing our masks all the time, we have not been avoiding crowded places, and we have been socialising more,” the president said.

Due to the delay in infections and subsequent COVID testing, it may take several days for the new restrictions to have any noticeable impact on the daily number of new cases reported. The case positivity rate is now 11.9%, according to the most recent statistics for SA, now well above the 10% level which is considered acceptable.

Source: Business Day