Latest coronavirus updates: South Africans coming home from Wuhan
Bringing you all the latest coronavirus updates from South Africa and around the world in real time.
In tracking the spread and severity of the 2019/2020 coronavirus outbreak – officially referred to as COVID-19 – which has already led to global concern, we aim to keep you informed and up to date with major consequences of the pandemic.
Internationally recognised as a Public Health Emergency, the first positive cases of the novel coronavirus were recorded in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Since then, the virus has forced international travel bans, school closures, curfews and quarantine measures which have decimated global financial markets.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified symptoms of the coronavirus to include a fever, cough and breathing difficulties. Severe symptoms include pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome and kidney failure.
Thorough and consistent personal hygiene has been highlighted as the primary preventative measure. The WHO has recommended regular hand washing in conjunction with covering one’s mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.
The coronavirus mortality rate has been estimated at 3.4% – with persons suffering from pre-existing conditions, particularly auto-immune deficiencies, most likely to succumb to the illness.
Latest coronavirus updates, Wednesday 11 March 2020
- Confirmed coronavirus cases: 119,217
- Confirmed deaths: 4,299
- Confirmed cases in 119 countries and territories
06:43 SAST: War brings unexpected benefits to ‘virus-free’ Libya
Despite advice from health authorities to shun public gatherings, Moayed al-Missaoui and friends watched an Italian Serie A football match in a buzzing cafe in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
While the novel coronavirus has affected more than 100 countries since December, many in Libya believe their war-torn country’s isolation may lessen the threat.
For the television spectators, turmoil since a 2011 revolution that turned Libya into a no-go zone has finally come up with a positive side.
The constant closures of Tripoli’s only functioning airport and limited links with the outside world have so far buffered the North African country from COVID-19, unlike many of its neighbours.
“We’re sheltered from the virus in Libya, whose capital is under siege and where land and air links are closed,” said Moayed, a university student. (Jihad Dorgham for AFP)
05:00 SAST: Coronavirus suspect resurfaces in Zimbabwe, placed in isolation
The Thai national who caused anxiety in Zimbabwe after he escaped from the Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital earlier this week before doctors tested him for coronavirus has returned to the hospital.
State-owned The Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday that the 26-year-old presented himself to the isolation centre.
City Health director Prosper Chonzi told the publication that the man will be released if he tests negative. The results are expected later today. (ANA)
Tuesday 10 March 2020
18:37 SAST: South African soldiers embark on Wuhan rescue mission
An evacuation operation led by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) departs from OR Tambo International Airport at 21:00. The mission, sanctioned by the Inter-Ministerial Task Team (IMTT), intends to evacuate 122 South Africans from the epicentre of the coronavirus.
The South African evacuees are expected back on home soil on Friday 13 March. Upon arrival, the citizens will be placed under quarantine to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19, which has already infected seven people in South Africa.
16:45 SAST: SA women that tested positive discharged from hospital
A South African woman who tested positive for the coronavirus has been discharged from the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg.
According to SABC News, doctors say she doesn’t exhibit any symptoms, however, she will continue with self-isolation and be monitored while they await final results.
13:05 SAST: Lesotho suspends international travel
Lesotho has suspended all international travel to minimise the spread of the coronavirus.
The country’s ministry of health on Tuesday 10 March notified staff in an internal memo after Cabinet reached the decision on Monday.
Health spokesperson Tumisang Mokoai confirmed that the memo had been issued. As it stands, Lesotho has no COVID-19 cases.
12:32 SAST: Still no confirmed cases in Malawi
Malawi still does not have any confirmed cases of Covid-19, local media reported on Tuesday.
Online publication Malawi24 said a 21-year-old woman had arrived from China on Saturday and gone to hospital on Sunday complaining of tightness in her chest and difficulty in breathing, but did not have a fever and was neither coughing nor sneezing.
It quoted the director of health and social services for Blantyre district, Dr Gift Kawalazira as saying the woman had been quarantined, although preliminary investigations so far did not point towards Covid-19, which has spread globally since being first detected in China last December. (ANA)
12:15 SAST: Lebanon records first novel coronavirus death
A Lebanese man died Tuesday from the novel coronavirus, a health ministry source said, marking the country’s first recorded death from an epidemic that has infected 41 people nationwide. (AFP)
06:43 SAST: Italy’s coronavirus quarantine rules intensify
Italians have been told to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel as quarantine measures were extended to the whole country to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
From Tuesday, the movements of Italy’s population of 60 million are severely limited. Travel is only allowed for “urgent, verifiable work situations and emergencies or health reasons”.
The latest decree prohibits “all forms of gatherings in public places or sites open to the public” — going further than the rules that went into force over the weekend in large parts of northern Italy.
To encourage people to stay in, bars and restaurants are only allowed to open between 6am and 6pm, and only if it is possible to keep a distance of at least a metre between customers.
Schools and universities are closed, and all exams cancelled. (AFP)
06:24 SAST: First coronavirus death recorded in Canada
Canada has recorded its first death from the new coronavirus, health officials in the westernmost province of British Columbia announced Monday.
The victim, a man living at an elderly care facility, “was infected with COVID-19 (and) passed away last night,” the province’s health officer Bonnie Henry told reporters.
Officials have not released the victim’s age.
The virus has killed more than 4 000 people and infected over 110 000 worldwide since it emerged late last year.
Monday 9 March 2020
18:15 SAST: Speaking of fake news…
What are the chances that POTUS saw something on a Facebook mom’s group and decided to Tweet it as fact? Trump has dismissed concerns about the coronavirus, suggesting that the flu is much worse. Of course, Donny T has failed to account for mortality rates, the threat to the elderly, and the amount of hospitalisation that is needed for those who contract COVID-19. Someone should unplug his modem…
So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020
18:10 SAST: With information, comes disinformation
Of course, something like a coronavirus outbreak can encourage the fake news peddlers to crawl from under their rocks. We’ve done a bit of debunking this afternoon, identifying the stories that simply aren’t true.
15:00 SAST: Seven positive cases confirmed in South Africa
During an inter-ministerial committee briefing on Monday afternoon, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed a further four positive coronavirus cases, all emanating from the tour group which had travelled back to South Africa from Italy on 1 March.
The country’s first confirmed case, which was reported on 5 March, concerned a 38-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal. The patient’s wife also tested positive for the coronavirus along with another member of the 10-person group which had travelled to Italy.
South Africa’s confirmed coronavirus toll now stands at seven. Mkhize confirmed that the three remaining travellers were being tested as a matter of urgency.
As a result of the positive test results, Grayston Preparatory School and Cowan House Preparatory School chose to close and halt classes. Both schools cater to the children of those who have been confirmed to have the coronavirus.
@DrZweliMkhize
13:20 SAST: Capital of Rwanda suspends all public events, conferences and gatherings
In an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus, the capital city of Rwanda, Kigali, has suspended has suspended almost all public events. The local government announced:
“The City of Kigali informs the public that events such as exhibitions, marching, sports and other forms of gatherings are all suspended until further Notice”
11:28 SAST: Angola relaxes travel restrictions for African citizens
Angola has removed three African countries from a list of nations whose citizens are barred from entering the country due to the COVID-19 epidemic, according to reports.
Last month the health minister said travellers from China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, as well as Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria — which at the time where the only African countries with confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease — would not be allowed to enter Angola as a protective measure.
The secretary of state for public health Franco Mufinda said Angola had now decided to remove the African countries from the list.
Angolan citizens returning from the four above mentioned African countries are still subject to quarantine upon their return.
08:00 SAST: First coronavirus death on African soil recorded in Egypt
The first coronavirus-related death in Africa occurred in Egypt on Sunday night. A 60-year-old German tourist, who had been aboard a Nile cruise ship, was transferred to an isolation ward on 7 March.
According to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, 171 passengers and crew aboard the cruise ship were being monitored.
Following the death, Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced a travel ban on “anyone who has been in Egypt during the past two weeks and is not a citizen or resident of Israel”.
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