CORONAVIRUS WEEKLY DIGEST #14
All in a week: devastating Covid-19 records set and finally, a vaccine plan
In the past week, South Africa recorded the most Covid-19 cases and deaths in a single day. More than a million people in the country have now tested positive for Covid-19. More than 30,000 have died. The week began with no vaccine plan in sight but ended with a glimmer of hope: millions of healthcare workers could be vaccinated come the end of February 2021.
Maverick Citizen publishes a Coronavirus Weekly Digest each Friday. The digest summarises highlights from the previous week’s news about the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.
South Africa saw more Covid-19 infections and deaths in one day than ever before
On Wednesday, 6 January, South Africa confirmed its worst Covid-19 24-hour toll yet, with more than 840 deaths in a single day, and about 21,800 people confirmed infections. This follows from the country’s highest number of excess deaths in a week – 6,840 – and most are thought to be due to Covid-19. As GroundUp reports: “It is highly likely that more than one in every 1,000 South Africans has already died of Covid-19.” On Tuesday, 5 January, more than a million people in South Africa had tested positive for Covid-19 in total.
The Western Cape confirmed 149 Covid-19 deaths that day. The province was expected to see its peak in infections from Thursday, 7 January, according to the head of the Western Cape Health Department Dr Keith Cloete. However, Covid-19 hospitalisations are slowing down. The Garden Route, the Cape Metro and the West Coast, where there is an outbreak in a prison, are still major concerns.
In addition, oxygen supply is worrying. Cloete said the province is using 76,4 tons of oxygen daily, compared to the 12 tons used in an average year. Read more here.
However, this is a nationwide issue. There is more pressure on hospitals and oxygen supply due to an increase in hospitalisations, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases. Rebecca Pitt unpacks the situation.
As of Friday, 8 January, there were over 200,000 people in South Africa confirmed to have Covid-19.
Finally – a vaccine plan for South Africa
This week began with a “wish” from the government: that South Africa’s healthcare workers would be vaccinated against Covid-19 by February.
However, there was a slight obstacle: no deals had been signed with vaccine manufacturers. On Sunday 3, January, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize sketched the plan to settle negotiations and roll out a vaccination programme. This followed intense criticism from health workers, civil society organisations and leading scientists that the state had failed to act in time.
Come Wednesday, 6 January, medical aid companies said they support a proposal to finance the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines for members and non-members. As Greg Nicolson reports, discussions with the government have been on-going since late 2020.
Simultaneously, Business for South Africa voiced its support for the government’s efforts, saying the Covid crisis and vaccine rollout is “not just for the government to solve”. According to B4SA leader, Stavros Nicolaou, corporates are in talks with the government on how they can help fund the vaccine programme.
On Thursday, 7 January, leading scientists and academics released their estimate of what it might cost to roll out the vaccine strategy outlined by Mkhize on 2 January. They found the programme to be “affordable and implementable” with the overall cost being at minimum R7,4-billion and at most R15,2-billion. They break it down in an article here.
The country’s top vaccine adviser Professor Barry Schoub claimed that it was up to vaccine trial leaders to secure access to Covid-19 vaccines for South Africa. The trial leaders have dismissed this claim and said it is the responsibility of the state to negotiate these deals. They lamented the apparent “attempt to shift the blame for the failure of the SA government to ensure early access to Covid vaccines”.
The same day, Mkhize outlined a more detailed vaccination programme in Parliament. He said 6,300 full-time staff would vaccinate 40 million people over 12 months. He said the country’s Covax allocation is expected in April and that at least 67% of the population must be vaccinated to break the cycle of transmission. Mkhize confirmed that there is a massive demand for hospital beds and oxygens.
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired a virtual meeting with more than 250 people from civil society to discuss their role in the vaccine rollout. Ramaphosa said the government needs civil society in its battle against Covid-19. The presentation delved into civil society’s role in encouraging uptake and dispelling misinformation. As Mark Heywood writes, the chat room pointed to an urgent need to build trust and vaccine confidence.
Read more: How to battle misinformation in South Africa
Hours later it was announced that South Africa had secured 1,5 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine through the Serum Institute of India. This is one of the potential vaccines trialled in South Africa. Mkhize said one million doses will arrive in January and another 500,000 doses in February, with 1.25 million frontline healthcare workers to be the first recipients. Mhize said the procurement had been negotiated by the Department of Health.
What other countries got right in securing a Covid-19 vaccine before South Africa
Calls to delay school reopening to protect teachers
The National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa and Parents Against Opening of Schools have called for the reopening of schools to be delayed. They argue returning on 25 January would put teachers’ lives at risk. Almost 1,700 teachers have died from Covid-19 so far. The union is in talks with the Department of Basic Education, reports Vincent Cruywagen.
South African Breweries challenges alcohol sale ban
South African Breweries is challenging the constitutionality of the government’s reinstated ban on the sale of alcohol. It argues that the ban goes beyond “what is reasonable and necessary” to contain the spread of Covid-19 and that the legal action is a “last resort” to protect livelihoods.
This comes after the government launched an appeal against a judgment declaring the ban of tobacco sales unconstitutional. Its opponent, the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association, has said this signals another ban is on the way. As Ray Mahlaka reports, these are just two of the 118 legal challenges to lockdown regulations.
Shootings and gang warfare rage in Cape Town
“Level 3 lockdown may mean quieter roads and shopping centres in suburbia — but for the residents of Cape Town’s ganglands little has changed, with shootings and gang warfare continuing unabated,” writes Vincent Cruywagen. Rival gangs in at least eight Cape Town areas have continued their deadly battles through December and into the new lockdown level three. Two people have already been killed and another four wounded. Police have promised roadblocks, raids and checkpoints.
Gangs flourish in lawless Covid-19 climate fuelled by police corruption
Pandemic erases a decade of progress in living standards, says World Bank
The Covid-19 pandemic has set back living standards by a decade in about a quarter of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank. It estimates that South Africa’s economic output fell by 7.8% last year. It expects South Africa to grow by 3.3% in 2021. Ed Stoddard unpacks the impact of these figures. DM/MC.
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