First Take SA

An estimated 500 foreign nationals have been removed from the Central Methodist Church in Cape Town despite attempts to resist the police operation. The group is being taken to the new site in Bellville, where they will be staying in a marquee that can accommodate up to 600 people. Foreign nationals have been living in the church since October last year.

Over one hundred and twenty South Africans remain stranded in Vietnam and wish to be repatriated back home. This as South African Airways has announced that it will operate Charter Flights for various governments across the world to repatriate their nationals from South Africa. Rueben Gerber has been teaching English in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, and is now stranded in the Asian country with no means to return home. Schools in Vietnam have been closed down for several months now due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

South Africa has recorded 82 new COVID 19 cases. The number of COVID 19 positive cases has risen to one thousand - 462 in 24 hours with the death toll still standing at five . This, while the government continues to investigate whether another two fatalities are also linked to COVID 19. The latest stats were announced by health minister Zweli Mkhize at National Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein. The minister has however, noted that there is a restraint on the numbers due to the lockdown.

Government officials are being cautioned to always exercise social distancing in their pursuit to spread information about the covid-19 pandemic. YESTERDAY, Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula visited Noord Taxi rank in Johannesburg CBD to inform taxi operators and commuters about amendments to transport regulations. Mbalula was flanked by the City of Johannesburg mayor, Geoff Makhubo and other officials where he constantly had to remind the crowd to keep social distance. Many in the crowd had no facial masks and others who had were not wearing them. Dr Jo Barnes, from the department of Global Health at the University of Stellenbosch says government officials risk distorting their message if they do not practise what they preach.

Taxi body SANTACO is not happy with Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula's announcement that taxis may now load passengers to full capacity provided all commuters are wearing masks and have been sanitized. Mbalula was addressing minibus taxi drivers and commuters at Noord Street taxi-rank in Johannesburg. SANTACO says this is now what they agreed on at the meeting and it will compromise the safety of commuters.

South Africa will be able to conduct about 30 thousand tests for COVID19 each day. Thanks to the 60 new mobile sampling and testing units procured by the National Health Laboratory Services, unveiled by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize last night. Currently about five thousand tests are conducted in 24 hours and Mkhize says this figure is far too low for our population. Mkhize announced that currently we have 1380 positive COVID 19 cases in SA and 44 202 tests have been conducted

The Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has expressed concern about the increasing incidents of violence against women and children amid the Covid-19 lock-down period. She has called for harsher action against perpetrators.

Senior Pastor Mohau Rammile of the Global Reconciliation Church says there needs to be more faces to the corona virus statistics constantly being updated by government. Mohau, aged 48 tested positive for the covid-19 virus last week on Wednesday and has been in self-isolation since. He was part of the 480 congregants at the Divine Restoration Ministries in Bloemfontein where five international worshipers tested positive for the coronavirus, including ACDP leader Kenneth Moshoe. Pastor Mohau says the stigma associated with the virus needs to be dealt with urgently.

The C19 People's Coalition is calling for the provision of a basic income grant to all unemployed South Africans between the ages of 18 and 59. According to the presure group, this will mitigate the economic hardships facing millions of people imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing lockdown

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority SAHPRA) has advised that the Serological test kits that are being used to test for COVID-19 are not suitable for diagnosis. It found that Serological test kits are being sold, outside medical facilities to individuals for testing at home.