South African Medical Research Council president, Professor Glenda Gray, has stressed that political will combined with expert input could help address the problems in the country's healthcare sector.
Cape Talk’s Refilwe Moloto speaks to Professor Debbie Bradshaw at the SAMRC’s Burden of Disease Research Unit.
Some progress has been made in the move to get South Africans to vaccinate. Latest figures show that close to 70,000 people received their jab in the past 24 hours.
The COVID-19 infection rate remains high with 20,713 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, representing a 30.4% positivity rate in a day.
Gauteng still remains the epicentre of the infection rate with more than 11,000 infections reported.
The province has the highest cases of COVID-19 as the country is in the grips of a third wave.
The study by the South African Medical Research Council means they will break down the patients’ genetic building blocks to see if they are predisposed to developing a more severe form of the disease.
According to data provided by Every Breath Counts Coalition, The NGO Path as well as the Clinton Health Access Initiative, South Africa is among 19 countries that could be most at risk of running out of oxygen as COVID-19 cases surge.
A team at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) shows us how the long process of testing sewage samples begins. They aren’t looking for a live coronavirus, but are searching for RNA, a nucleic acid similar to DNA. #Covid19news #CoronavirusSA
Liquor brands never seen before are being illegally sold in the country without passing any of the specified liquor standards.
Africa Check looks at the claims by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize that although only 31% of the population drinks alcohol, South Africans drink more per person than anywhere in Africa. He also claimed that they are among the top drinkers in the world.
The South African Medical Research Council is advocating raising the legal drinking age from 18 years to 19 or 21, as well as higher prices and taxes on alcohol.
Global demand for reagents and test kits has resulted in countries like South Africa experiencing a shortage of these products.
Just two weeks into the lockdown, Groote Schuur Hospital reported a 66% decline in trauma cases, which was something the head of the unit attributed to a lack of alcohol.
In a statement, the board said it met to discuss the current challenges relating to the media statements made by Gray in her private capacity.
Health Department director general Anban Pillay has called on SAMRC to probe Gray’s comments about government’s response to COVID-19.
Delays in processing results for coronavirus tests threaten this goal, but interventions are underway attempting to unclog bottlenecks in the system.
French doctor Jean-Paul Mira and his counterpart appeared on the French television channel LCI earlier this week to discuss the global COVID-19 pandemic.
