South Africa

Free State Health MEC Montseng Tsiu on Wednesday received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

As the country witnessed the first vaccinations being administered on Wednesday, the country’s COVID-19 figures increased by 2 320 new cases.

Nedlac on Wednesday endorsed the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) proposals on how the COVID-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme will be extended to sectors still affected by lockdown regulations.

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has commended the speedy arrest of Dimakatso Ratselane’s husband in connection with the brutal attack on the Lesedi FM presenter.

The Gauteng province’s vaccination programme is now underway, with Health MEC, Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi, being the first healthcare worker to receive the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

“At first I was a bit terrified of this long needle that was going to be embedded into my arm. But it happened so quickly, so easily. It was just a prick on my flesh and I really did not feel much pain.”

The Public Investment Corporation Amendment Act has been promulgated and published in the Government Gazette.

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, has committed to speed up the digital migration project, which will lead to a complete analogue switch-off in March 2022.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura is this afternoon visiting the Chris Hani Baragwanath and Steve Biko Academic Hospitals as South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination programme gets underway.

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has used his 2021 State of the Province Address (SOPA) to outline the province’s COVID-19 vaccination programme while preserving and restoring affecting livelihoods.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is pleased with the start of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, which starts in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape, today.

Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, has hailed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) as a roadmap for South Africa’s recovery during one of the country’s darkest periods.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit South Africa and most economic sectors were shut down, South Africans turned to e-commerce to access basic needs like food and supplies, while schools turned to e-learning.

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu says government’s extension of the R350 COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant is a show of commitment to providing a social security network to the nation’s most vulnerable.

The first delivery of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in South Africa.