The Covid Report

One of the more contentious issues over the course of the lockdown was the bans on alcohol and tobacco products. The conjecture on social media has ranged from humorous memes to fierce debate, with citizens keeping the issue near the top of the discourse, as far as our continued fight against COVID 19. We speak to the spokesperson of the South Africa Tobacco Transformation Alliance, Zacharia Motsumi.

For many matriculants in South Africa , the change in the education system due to the coronavirus pandemic has had them feeling anxious and uneasy of what the future holds. We speak to Nomvuyo Manjezi, a matric student at the Uitsig Hoerskool in Centurion about her experience.

Since the country moved to lockdown level 3, the number of infections have been rising by thousands. We currently have over 8- thousand people who have died due to Covid 19. The numbers are arriving. What has been encouraging has been the number of recoveries- and these seem to have emboldened South Africans to not imply with the cover regulations. This past weekend we saw videos floating on social media of people gathering, drinking alcohol, not social distancing and some not even wearing masks. Globally coronavirus cases are more than 18 million, and the World health Organisations has warned of 'response fatigue’. We speak to Thabo Nxumalo - Entrepreneur and founder of Vervi8 Solutions.

We talk to Dr Terry Marshall, a Specialist Virologist at Ampath Laboratories looking at procedures of testing for Covid19 used in South Africa.

Today we explore the topic of Covid-19 on pregnancy during the coronavirus pandemic and the challenges expectant mothers face. We speak to new mom Puleng Mofoti and find out how her experience.

Pregnant women are often predisposed to viral respiratory infections due to physiological changes such as diaphragm elevation, increased oxygen consumption, edema of respiratory tract mucosa, and altered cellular immunity. As the Coronavirus continues to spread rapidly, pre-natal management, fetal safety, and the potential of mother to fetus transmission are of significant interest and concern.

Siphosihle Mbuli and Gamelihle Bovana speak to Dr Mpume Zinde who is a gynecologist and obstetrician whose special interests are in sexual and reproductive health and sexual medicine.

On the Cover Report we speak to Professor Shabir Madhi, a Professor of Vaccinology in the School of Pathology at the University of the Witwatersrand and Director of the world-renowned Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (VIDA), A National Research Foundation A-rated scientist.

Health care funders have hit back at claims by the industry regulator that they are not acting in their members best interest during the covid-19 pandemic. The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) said many medical aids had not applied for exemptions to regulations that would allow them to waive contributions for members struggling to make ends meet during lockdown. The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) said the CMS accusation that its members were “denying beneficiaries relief despite extreme covid-19 conditions” was incorrect and unfair. We spoke to Johan Crafford, CEO of Glopin Healthcare Consultants, the brokers who provide individuals, corporate groups and government agencies access to healthcare solutions.

South Africa has received a R70 billion loan from the international monetary fund.

Owne Nkom of Inkunzi Investments says he does not believe our solution in turning the economy around lies with monetary policies.

National Stokvel Association's Andrew Lukhele says while stokvels are social in nature, they had to adhere to lockdown regulation to limit the spread of the covid19 pandemic. Lukhele says the association has encouraged members to make electronic deposits instead of the common practice of exchanging money.