Healthcare workers laid off but strike back
Eastern Cape healthcare workers, supported by short-term staff, have shut clinics to protest against the health department’s decision not to renew Covid-19 contracts.
COVID-19
For the latest Covid-19 statistics, please visit the Covid-19 Corona Virus South African Resource Portal.
Handling Covid-19 with no government clinic in sight
Bulungula Incubator is using its Xhora Mouth health point to respond to infections in this rural Eastern Cape area, where the nearest government clinic is a three-hour walk away.
Will learners and teachers make up lost time?
Impoverished pupils attending under-resourced schools were unable to learn properly for much of 2020. The education department needs to do more to counter the learning gap caused by Covid-19.
Taxing the rich has a wealth of potential benefits
Raising the taxes paid by South Africa’s estimated 350 000 wealthiest individuals could deliver much-needed additional revenue to the state’s emptying coffers.
Questions over vaccine readiness in rural EC areas
Healthcare service shortcomings in rural Eastern Cape are well documented and will affect the province’s vaccine rollout plan.
Taking those first steps at school in a pandemic
Parents grapple with mixed feelings of uneasiness and excitement as their children get ready for “big” school while the Covid-19 pandemic wreaks havoc.
The end for Durban’s iconic rickshaw pullers?
Beachside sellers and rickshaw pullers say it will take years to recover from the devastation of the Covid-19 restrictions, with many fearing their businesses will have to close.
Getting migrants vaccinated is critical
Migrants without documents may be justifiably hesitant to get the Covid-19 vaccine and need assurance that their information will be protected and not used against them.
The scarcity and expense of Covid-19 vaccines
Fatima Hassan, founder of the non-governmental organisation sounding the alarm bells over vaccine procurement issues, speaks about pricing, transparency and rollout strategies.
PE struggles under the weight of Covid-19 bodies
Those who help bury the dead – from gravediggers to undertakers – have been struggling to cope with the rise in demand during the second wave of the pandemic in Nelson Mandela Bay.
SA’s hidden sanctions against political gatherings
The government’s failure to clearly stipulate the penalties for transgressing the regulations against large gatherings, which include protests, should alarm all South Africans.
Long Read | Conspiracies in far-right politics
Paranoia that the Covid-19 vaccine will be used to subjugate people is rampant. The truth, that capitalism doesn’t hide its devilry, is far simpler – and harder to swallow.
Racist malpractice fuels conspiracy theories
Could the long history of racist medical malpractice, social media conspiracy theorists and big pharma profiteering threaten the success of South Africa’s biggest vaccination programme?
Gauteng health workers struggling in second wave
Health workers and undertakers in Gauteng are now feeling the strain of the second wave of Covid-19 as the numbers of patients entering hospitals and those dying keep rising.
ANC factionalism fuels vaccine scepticism
In Joburg’s inner city, existing political fault lines are providing fertile ground for the spread of misinformation, with vaccine scepticism taking hold.
KZN overrun by Covid-19 bodies
From health centres to crematoriums, the province is struggling to keep up with the logistics of death.
Mpumalanga health workers depleted and unprotected
Shortages in personnel and protective equipment have left nurses and support workers in clinics at risk of contracting the virus, and so crippling hospitals in the province.
Why prisoners are a priority in vaccine rollout
Inmates comprise a vulnerable group in society and they are meant to receive Covid-19 vaccines earlier than the general population. This has sparked debate locally and globally.
No cure for South Africa’s colonised medical minds
Elites have ignored the countries successfully using preventative measures against Covid-19. Instead, they’ve followed Western nations with their blind faith in technical solutions.
Alcohol industry and government have to do better
The three sales bans the government has imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic have placed South Africans’ alcohol abuse and the booze industry’s predatory nature firmly in the spotlight.
CAF’s reactive nature leads to Covid-19 chaos
The pandemic will test Africa’s football governing body as fears grow that some clubs have and will weaponise the virus to use against their opponents in the inter-club competitions.