Lockdown diaries - COVID-19 matters!

What are you going to be doing during the lockdown?

  • At home. I’m non essential

    Votes: 70 41.2%
  • Working. The virus doesn’t scare me

    Votes: 41 24.1%
  • On standby

    Votes: 10 5.9%
  • Working from home. Too essential to take any risk!

    Votes: 66 38.8%

  • Total voters
    170
  • Poll closed .
SA’s Biovac to team up with US based ImmunityBio in making its vaccine
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/s...ased-immunitybio-in-making-its-vaccine-2021-3
18 March 2021

  • Cape Town based pharmaceutical company Biovac has partnered with ImmunityBio from the US to manufacture its vaccine locally.
  • Phase one of the clinical trials for the vaccine began last month and is being supervised by a team of researchers at the University of Cape Town.
  • The vaccine is said to be protective against new variants of the coronavirus.
 
Shoprite wants to secure its own Covid-19 vaccines
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/shoprite-wants-to-secure-its-own-covid-19-vaccines/
18 March 2021

"South Africa’s private sector must be allowed to secure vaccines on their own to increase the delayed roll out of Covid-19 shots, according to the head of the continent’s biggest grocer, says BusinessTech.

South Africa started the vaccination of health-care workers last months and may miss the target of vaccinating 1.5 million people against Covid-19 by the end of March due to vaccine shots that are not available.

Some categories of people that are high risk are due to be inoculated in May and fears are becoming greater that infections will hit as the country heads into the Winter season.

Shoprite employs as many as 140 000 people through its operation of 2892 stores and distribution centres across Africa..."
 
COVID-19 reinfection common in elderly people
https://www.ecigssa.co.za/lockdown-diaries.t65839/page-230
18 March 2021

"The majority of people who have already had the COVID-19 virus are protected from being reinfected for another six months, reported SABC News.

A study revealed on Wednesday, March 17, that even though this may be true, elderly people are prone to getting it again when compared to younger people.

According to Reuters, the study found that only 0.65% of patients tested positive a second time for COVID-19 after being infected during Denmark’s first and second wave.

This was much lower than the 3.27% who tested positive using a highly accurate PCR test after initially tested negative.

However, the study has found that people over the age of 65 only have 46% protection against a second infection, compared to 80% in younger people.

“Our study confirms what a number of others appeared to suggest: reinfection with COVID-19 is rare in younger, healthy people, but the elderly are at greater risk of catching it again,” said Steen Ethelberg of Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut.

“Since older people are also more likely to experience severe disease symptoms, and sadly die, our findings make clear how important it is to implement policies to protect the elderly during the pandemic.”

Further studies are needed to assess protection against reinfection from those who already have had the coronavirus."
 
66 000 more J&J vaccines finally arrive
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/60-000-more-jj-vaccines-finally-arrive/
20 March 2021

"... The shots were flown in from Europe and quickly whisked away by heavily armed police to a storage facility.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize revealed on Friday that more than 180 000 frontline workers in South Africa had been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that South Africa had secured enough Covid-19 vaccine doses to administer 43-million jabs by the end of 2021.

He said the government has secured 11-million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 20-million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and is in the process of securing 12-million vaccine doses from Covax..."
 
Tree surgeon, 29, who carried out sex attack on female jogger snared after dropping facemask with DNA on at crime scene
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14387232/tree-surgeon-sex-attack-jogger-jailed-facemask-dna/
19 March 2021


"A TREE surgeon who sexually assaulted a jogger has been jailed for nine years after dropping a face mask containing his DNA at the scene of the sickening attack.

The victim was out for an early morning run before starting work when she passed Christopher Cooper in Southwater, West Sussex, on October 27 last year. The court heard how the 29-year-old had propped his bike up against a wall before standing and staring at his phone. However, as the woman ran past him he suddenly grabbed her and pushed her to the ground. She screamed at the top of her voice as he ripped off her clothes and started to sexually assault her. The woman’s cries were heard by a passer-by who dashed to the scene causing Cooper to grab his bike and cycle off, a judge was told.

Cops were called and found a surgical face mask that the suspect had been wearing. DNA left on the mask was later found to be a match for Cooper..."
 
Covid-19: Mumbai to roll out compulsory testing in crowded places
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56469976
20 March 2021

The Indian city of Mumbai is to roll out mandatory coronavirus tests in crowded places as the country grapples with a rise in infections.

The local government said rapid tests would be done randomly in areas such as shopping centres and train stations.

A refusal to be tested will "amount to an offence", it said.

India recorded 40,953 new Covid cases on Saturday, the biggest daily jump for nearly four months. A total 159,000 people have died with the disease.

It has seen more than 11.5 million cases of coronavirus infections so far - and the number has been steadily climbing for weeks as the country scrambles to vaccinate its population and identify highly contagious variants of the disease.

In Mumbai, a coronavirus hotspot in the western state of Maharashtra, 2,982 people have contracted the disease in the past 24 hours.

How will the tests work?
The rapid tests will be mandatory in crowded places such as shopping centres and train stations from 22 March, city officials said.

The commissioner of the local authority told India Today that people should "be ready for the swab test" whenever they enter a busy area in Mumbai.

The tests will be carried out for free - except those at shopping centres, where the costs will be covered by individuals.

Mumbai officials did not specify what action would be taken against those who refuse to have tests.

The local authority said it would use rapid antigen tests (RATs), a type of test that detects the presence of proteins unique to the coronavirus.

But research shows these tests are less reliable than other types and sometimes produce incorrect results..."
 
Tokyo 2020: No international fans at Olympics and Paralympics
https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/56461152
20 March 2021

"No international fans will be permitted at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Japanese authorities told the Olympic and Paralympic committees it was "highly unlikely" that entry to the country could be guaranteed.

Organisers said the move now gives "clarity" to ticket holders and helps ensure "a safe and secure Games for all participants and the Japanese public".

The Games are due to begin on 23 July.

The Paralympics follow the Olympics a month later, from 24 August..."
 
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