Covid-19 cases in South Africa shot up by 1 160 to 15 515 yesterday, the largest spike in infections since the coronavirus struck in March.
Three more deaths brought the toll to 264.
The Western Cape accounted for 76% of the new cases (890), followed by the Eastern Cape (124) and Gauteng (67).
There have been 7 006 recoveries nationally so far.
The Sunday Times reported yesterday that more than 5 000 schools in so-called hotspot metros could remain closed under level 5 lockdown rules.
The report said this new proposal by the Department of Basic Education was to be considered by the Cabinet.
The proposal, the subject of discussions with the National Alliance of Independent Schools Associations last week, would affect schools in Buffalo City, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Mangaung and Nelson Mandela Bay.
Approval has been given to more than 15 000 farmers to receive relief amounting to more than R500 million from the Agricultural Disaster Fund, according to minister of agriculture and land reform Thoko Didiza. The aid was intended to reduce the risk of food insecurity.
The 15 036 approved beneficiaries, who were expected to begin receiving vouchers from today, were drawn from more than 55 000 applications.
Didiza said: ‘A majority of the farmers who were not successful … were not making a turnover of about R20 000 annually, which was our minimum threshold’. Others had failed to produce documentation ‘that shows that they are operating (on) a particular piece of land’.
Bloomberg reported that converting bars into beer-collection points, and staggering trading hours for liquor stores were among proposals ‘put to South Africa’s government by drinks makers desperate to lift a 50-day ban on alcohol sales’.
Richard Rushton, chief executive officer of wine and spirits maker Distell Group Holdings Ltd, told the international news agency that industry leaders met government officials on Friday for what he described as ‘open-minded, collaborative and constructive talks’ on resuming trading.
The report said alcoholic drinks might be available for sale by the end of May, though details had yet to be finalised.
It quoted Rushton as saying that as many as 80 000 small businesses ranging from farmers to craft brewers may be on the verge of collapse as a direct result of the alcohol ban.
In other virus-related news
- Britain’s daily death toll dropped to 170, the lowest since the day after lockdown began. Its overall death toll remains the highest in Europe, at 34 636.
- Spain recorded 87 deaths in the past 24 hours, the first drop under 100 since the lockdown began.
- In the United States, former President Barack Obama has for the second time criticised his successor, President Donald Trump, for his handling of the crisis. In a leaked conference call last week, he said the Trump administration’s response had been ‘an absolute chaotic disaster’. In a speech at the weekend, Obama said the crisis had exposed the failings of the country’s leadership. ‘More than anything this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge’; and
- More than 311 000 people globally have now died and more than 4.6 million are infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.