Image: Gallo Images / Foto24 / Nelius Rademan
All Gautrain buses in Rosebank, Johannesburg, were cancelled on Tuesday morning after drivers raised concerns about Covid-19.
“Some of our drivers have expressed concern about the coronavirus.
“Management is engaging with them and, as a result, there is no bus service in Rosebank,” Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager said.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has reached 62
Image: IPSS Medical Rescue
The pilot who was killed in a plane crash near the Umkomazi River Valley on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast on Sunday has been identified as accomplished canoeist Mark Perrow.
Canoeing SA said in a Facebook post that 55-year-old Perrow was one of the country’s greatest paddlers. He was part of the South African team that participated in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and is a Dusi Canoe Marathon winner.
“The paddling community is devastated to learn of the passing of Mark Perrow,” said Canoeing SA. “Mark was one of the greatest paddlers this country has produced. Part of the SA team to the Barcelona Olympics, he was able to dominate at every major South African river marathon race. Competitive but always hugely likable. A family man and a paddling icon. Always in our hearts Hop. RIP.”
Image: lightfieldstudios/123rf.com
A Grade R pupil at Richards Bay Primary School in northern KwaZulu-Natal has tested positive for Covid-19.
Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu confirmed the school was on lockdown after 17 pupils in the same class began showing potential symptoms of infection.
“We can confirm one Grade R leaner from Richards Bay Primary tested positive. We understand her mother works at one of the banks and deals with the foreign exchange of money.”
Mshengu said the mother of the girl had also tested positive and would have subsequently passed the virus to her daughter, who tested positive on Sunday.Tests were released yesterday [Sunday] confirming the learner was positive.
“Seventeen of the learners at school are showing signs related to coronavirus. We received this info this morning and instructed that the school be locked down.”
Sources at the school confirmed it had been locked down and that the education department was in touch with school officials.
TimesLIVE understands the pupil stopped attending school on Tuesday after being unwell for almost a week.
The national health minister’s spokesperson, Dr Lwazi Manzi, said the department was not aware of the case.
Image: REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo
The novel coronavirus (and the disease it causes, Covid-19) has scientists across the globe working around the clock. It’s a new enemy and much of its weaponry and tactical approach is still being figured out. Fake news can bloom in the spaces where no answer is available. Here is a cheat-sheet to help us understand some of the science that’s going on.
QUICKER TEST ON THE CARDS, BUT NOT YET
At the moment, patients must wait at least a day (but anything up to four days) to find out if they’re positive. With some scientific luck, that could change. A British corporation and a Senegalese research foundation are working on a hand-held test that could take 10 minutes and cost about $1 (about R16,60). But don’t hold out for it: if all goes well, it will take at least three months.
VACCINES POSSIBLE, BUT WE MUST WAIT
It’s a global race for the first vaccine and more than a dozen institutions are hard at work to be the “winner”. But, getting it right is paramount and all the normal ethics of clinical trials need to be observed. Public health officials say this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that it will be at least 18 months before they’re even close to a viable option. So keep washing those hands, people. THE SEASONS MAY NOT PLAY A ROLE AFTER ALL
Some scientists have hypothesised that winter works in the virus’s favour and summer in humans’ favour. But apart from human behaviour, such as people huddling together when it gets cold, there is no proof that the season affects the virus. Scientists are considering factors such as humidity, long days vs short days and other seasonal components. So far, however, there is no proof that the season and virus have a relationship.
THERE ARE TWO STRAINS OF THE VIRUS
Two strains of the new coronavirus are spreading around the world, the L-type and S-type. The S-type is thought to be slightly older, with the L-type having derived from it. The S-type is thought to be less aggressive. Some scientists hypothesise that the slight variations in the types explain the difference in symptoms and fatality rates in various locations. Again, nobody knows for sure.
SILENCE WILL KILL: IT’S A STATISTICAL REALITY
It may seem such as the stuff of poetry, but it’s a scientific fact: every person, school or institution to keep quiet about a positive test becomes responsible for an exponential spread of the disease. With a 14-day incubation period, those who have come into contact with a positive person, but don’t know it, will keep spreading the disease unknowingly. Those they infect will do so, too. That makes it a scientific fact that silence will kill.
MEN MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM IT, BUT IT’S NOT CLEAR WHY
While older people being more susceptible to dying from the virus is well established, data on the gender divide has emerged. The infection is fatal for 2.8% of men, but only 1.7% of women, albeit that the gender ratio for those testing positive is about 50-50. Scientists don’t know why, but it might be related to lifestyle factors (such as more men than women in China, where the first stats appeared, being smokers)
Image: 123RF/Jarun Ontakrai
“Take it seriously and act like you have the virus today, with 20-second hand washing, social distancing and working remotely where possible.”
This is the message to the rest of the country from a Cape Town businesswoman who recently tested positive for Covid-19.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for her safety, runs a hotel chain in Cape Town and Johannesburg. She believes she was exposed to the virus during a trip to Germany and Austria.
“I may have contracted it in the subway (underground railway). I used hand sanitiser daily and avoided most crowds.”
She returned to SA on Wednesday. After experiencing mild symptoms and a dry cough, she went for tests and entered self-isolation on Thursday. Her results returned positive for Covid-19 on Friday evening.
She said she, her husband and their two young children went almost straight into quarantine on the request of the school.
“I found out Friday night and was in shock. I was hardly sick and not really prepared for the reality that I am positive and likely to pass it on to my kids.Running the business from afar is a challenge, especially as my children, who are three and six years old, are in self-isolation with us.”
She said their days are divided into cleaning the house, interacting with the children, cooking, crafting, exercising and napping.
“We have not started home schooling but with school being out for four weeks, we will need to.”
Discussing the challenge of balancing work pressures, she said: “It is difficult not to get sucked into work and try to manage people and other issues from afar. The WhatsApps are relentless. I am trying to remain positive and upbeat, and arrange structure.”
She said the children are kept busy with activities such as jumping on the trampoline, practising counting and having competitions. They also play educational games, read and do chores.
The family has created a routine — wake up, brush teeth, comb hair, get changed and eat together.
“Dad got dressed for work today to Skype with his team. We also bake cakes and the kids do some DIY work with dad, like cleaning out the garage and fixing creaky doors.”
The washing of hands routine involves singing happy birthday for about 20 seconds.
The woman urged South Africans not to take chances and to pay attention to the seriousness of the need to contain the coronavirus.
She also cautioned South Africans to defer visits to elderly or sick relatives.
“Stay positive and corona negative.”
On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases reached 61. He has implemented bans and restrictions regarding schools, universities, prisons, visas, travel and group gatherings.