Day: October 15, 2021

South Africa continues to see a decline in COVID-19 infections, with new cases dropping by 28% in the past seven days.

Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, also announced that hospitalisations fell by 35%, although over 5 000 COVID-19 patients are still receiving treatment as of Thursday.

In addition, the positivity rate is in the right direction with a seven-day average of 2.7%.

“We emphasise seven days averages because it’s more reliable than looking at the daily fluctuations,” he explained, adding that reported deaths are also down by 16%.

“It is good although we would prefer zero death.”

The latest data shows that the number of new cases increased by 947 on Thursday to a total of 2 914 827, while 40 more people lost their battle COVID-19.

According to Phaahla, it will take some time to see much lower numbers of deaths, as some patients are still admitted.

However, he predicted that there would be fewer admissions going forward.

Vaccination

Phaahla told the media on Friday that the inoculation programme remains stable having kept the momentum of the previous week after the three-day Vooma Vaccination Weekend held at the beginning of this month.

The data shows that the total of daily-administered doses has around 200 000 with some days just below that as was the case on Wednesday.

The country distributed 215 438 vaccines in the past 24 hours, pushing the total shy of 20 million at 19 899 964 million so far.

Meanwhile, individuals with at least one jab have reached over 13.8 million, which is 34.6% of all adults.

“So, we’re getting closer to 35% which will be half of the 70% we are targeting.”

In addition, the Western Cape is leading the pack after crossing the 40% mark at 43%, while the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Free State are sitting at over 39%.

He believes that three provinces will surpass the 40% by Monday next week.

Meanwhile, Gauteng is “pulling fairly well” with over 3.5 million jabbed. “But due to large population, that constitutes only 31.7% of the adult population,” he explained.

He raised concerns about Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, which are on the bottom half and said his department will continue to support the provinces.

COVID-19 Vaccine Certificate

He expressed his satisfaction with the enthusiasm with which South Africans have embraced the COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate.

As of Thursday, over more than 1.5 million certificates had been downloaded.

“We have also resent more than 10 million text messages with vaccination codes in case they were not saved after vaccination.”

He acknowledge the frustration experienced when the system was facing teething problems. “This was largely due to big numbers at peak demand times when the server could not cope,” he explained.

However, the development team at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is monitoring the traffic and making appropriate adjustments.

Phaahla said the priority is to protect citizens’ personal information.

“We apologise for the inconvenience to those who had to try many times especially those who had the pressure to use the certificate urgently. We are certain that the service will only get better as we improve daily.”

In addition, he said the department is working toward more improvements in terms of access and security.

He urged the vaccinees to save their vaccination codes after vaccination.

Return to Play

He further welcomed the partnership of the Sport, Arts and Culture Department in promoting safe “Return to Play – It’s in your hands”.

Phaahla said he was pleased that football has led the way with the 2 000 spectators at FNB Stadium on Tuesday who had vaccination certificates as a condition for obtaining a ticket.

He said rugby will soon follow suit and those preparations are underway.

“I am confident that once we can be assured that the protocols are being well established we can ramp up the numbers in a safe environment,” he added.

Source: South African Government News Agency

WASHINGTON — The White House said Friday it will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals effective November 8, ending historic restrictions that barred much of the world from the United States.

Restrictions on non-U.S. citizens were first imposed on air travelers from China in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and later extended to dozens of other countries, without any clear metrics for how and when to lift them.

Curbs on non-essential travelers at land borders with Mexico and Canada have been in place since March 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. airline, hotel and cruise industry stocks rose on Friday’s news, including American Airlines, up 1.9%; Marriott International Inc, up 2.2%; and Carnival Corp, up 1.3%.

The United States had lagged many other countries in lifting such restrictions, and allies welcomed the move. The U.S. restrictions have barred travelers from most of the world, including tens of thousands of foreign nationals with relatives or business links in the United States.

The White House on Tuesday announced it would lift restrictions at its land borders and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico for fully vaccinated foreign nationals in early November. They are similar but not identical to requirements announced last month for international air travelers.

Unvaccinated visitors will still be barred from entering the United States from Canada or Mexico at land borders.

Canada on August 9 began allowing fully vaccinated U.S. visitors for non-essential travel.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told Reuters last week the United States will accept the use by international visitors of COVID-19 vaccines authorized by U.S. regulators or the World Health Organization.

The White House, which held a meeting late Thursday to finalize the Nov. 8 date, still faces some remaining questions, including how and what exemptions the Biden administration will grant to the vaccine requirements. Children under 18, for example, are largely expected to be exempt from the requirements, an official said.

U.S. Travel Association Chief Executive Roger Dow said in a statement that the Nov. 8 date “is critically important for planning – for airlines, for travel-supported businesses, and for millions of travelers worldwide who will now advance plans to visit the United States once again.”

The White House announced on Sept. 20 that the United States would lift restrictions on air travelers from 33 countries in early November. It did not specify the date at the time.

Starting November 8, the United States will admit fully vaccinated foreign air travelers from the 26 so-called Schengen countries in Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, as well as Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The unprecedented U.S. restrictions have barred non-U.S. citizens who were in those countries within the past 14 days.

The United States has allowed foreign air travelers from more than 150 countries throughout the pandemic, a policy that critics said made little sense because some countries with high COVID-19 rates were not on the restricted list, while some on the list had the pandemic more under control.

The White House said last month it would apply vaccine requirements to foreign nationals traveling from all other countries.

Non-U.S. air travelers will need to show proof of vaccination before boarding a flight, and will need to show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test. Foreign visitors crossing a land border will not need to show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test.

The new rules do not require foreign visitors or Americans entering the country to go into quarantine.

Americans traveling overseas must still show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test, and unvaccinated Americans will face stricter COVID-19 testing requirements. They will also be subject to restrictions in the countries they plan to visit, which may include quarantines.

The CDC plans to soon issue new rules on contact tracing for international air travelers.

Source: Voice of America

A panel of U.S. health advisers has recommended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorize a second shot of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for anyone who has received the single-dose inoculation.

The panel expressed concerns Friday that Americans who received the shot are not as protected as those who were given a two-dose vaccination from drugmakers Pfizer or Moderna.

Last month, the FDA authorized a third booster shot for the Pfizer vaccine for seniors as well as adults who are at high risk for COVID-19. On Thursday, the FDA advisory panel recommended a similar course of action for Moderna boosters, except using lower doses.

Johnson & Johnson is the only COVID-19 vaccine approved in the United States that is only one dose. Initially, it was hailed for its ability to take effect quickly, but soon ran into concerns that it led to a rare blood clot disorder and a neurological disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome. It is now facing criticism that it is less effective than rival brands.

Only about 15 million Americans received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of 188 million Americans who are fully vaccinated.

In other developments Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would accept mixed-dose coronavirus vaccines from international travelers. It has said it would allow travelers to have received any vaccine authorized for use by the FDA or the World Health Organization.

Earlier in the day, the White House said it would lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for international travelers who are fully vaccinated on Nov. 8.

In France, health officials ended a policy Friday of allowing free COVID-19 tests for everyone in an effort to persuade people to get vaccinated. Now, only those who have been vaccinated, who have a prescription from a doctor, or minors will be allowed to take free tests while others will have to pay.

Health ministry data Friday showed COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the country, with 6,099 new cases up from last Friday’s 4,470 cases.

South Africa said Friday it would start vaccinating children between the ages of 12 and 17 next week using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The government is trying to meet a goal of vaccinating 70% of the adult population by December.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said Friday they have submitted data to the European Union’s regulatory agency to approve their coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5-11. The companies have already taken a similar step with U.S. regulators.

In Italy, officials made health passes mandatory for all workers Friday. The passes must show proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from infection in order to work.

Scattered demonstrations were held across the country to protest the new rules, including 6,000 protesters in the northeastern port of Trieste.

And in Russia, the coronavirus task force said the daily number of new coronavirus infections and deaths surged to another record Friday. It reported 32,196 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 999 deaths in the previous 24 hours.

Source: Voice of America