News and analysis

Social distancing: How far is far enough?

Talk of social distancing and how to do it right shows up in the Bible and the writings of Muhammad. Centuries later, the science is far from settled.
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Is wearing a mask fogging up your glasses? Here’s how you can fix that

As lockdowns ease, more people are having to wear masks for longer periods of time. While they help reduce the spread of COVID-19, masks may also be causing increased irritation in your eyes. Find out why.

Will SA buy this COVID drug for thousands per person – if it costs...

This medicine has been shown to slash COVID recovery times by more than a quarter. But will It become available in South Africa — and if so, who will be allowed to get it? Find out in this simple explainer. 

For children, COVID-19 quarantine may be ‘an absolute nightmare’

Home is where the heart is — it’s also important to young children’s sense of identity — but what happens when a state quarantine facility has to become their home away from home?

From hunger to abuse: Seven women tell us how COVID has devastated their lives

Experts fear the COVID-19 pandemic may set gender equality back decades. Here, seven women explain the struggles it has brought and their hopes for the future
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Q&A: State patients in private hospitals — what’s the deal?

Government hospitals are likely to run out of beds before the end of July. The health department is in the process of signing deals with the private healthcare sector for additional beds at set prices. But how does this work in practise? We’ve asked Nicholas Crisp, one of the health department’s chief negotiators.
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South Africa has thousands of potential COVID-19 quarantine hotels. But they’re empty

Gauteng — the province with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases — is also one of the two provinces with the lowest uptake of quarantine facilities.

This injection outperforms a daily pill to prevent HIV infection. Will you use it?

New data shows that a two-monthly injection prevented more HIV infections than when people took a daily HIV prevention pill.

‘We are not respected like nurses’: Porters, security guards demand more COVID-19 protection

Hospital porters move around facilities to help transport patients from the moment they’re admitted until they’re discharged. Why do they get so little PPE?
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These health workers are more likely to die from COVID-19. Unions say not enough...

People who are over the age of 50, obese or living with diabetes or high blood pressure are more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who are younger or without these conditions.
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Q&A: Nine things to know about Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccine trial

In about a year we’re likely to know if a candidate vaccine we’re starting to test this week, is effective against a virus that has devastated our country.

Eastern Cape health workers wait up to one month for COVID-19 test results

South Africa's COVID-19 testing backlog is making healthcare workers wait weeks for their own results, leading them to fear for themselves and patients.

Unions, activists call for Cape Town COVID-19 clinical trial to be stopped

Activists have called for a trial investigating whether a TB vaccine could protect people from COVID-19 to be stopped citing concerns around ethics and consultation.

#PoliceBrutality: ‘They have killed us more than corona’

Kenyans protest against police brutality during the coronavirus pandemic
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People living with HIV, TB at two to three-fold higher risk of COVID-19 death

The Western Cape has released South Africa’s first local data, which finds that although people with these common illnesses are more vulnerable to COVID-19, they are less likely to die from the new coronavirus than many previously thought.
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Cape Town COVID-19 vaccine trial comes under fire from activists

The small study looking to repurpose an old TB vaccine could help add to a growing field of science that asks, can you really reprogramme your immune system?