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Boozers turn to home-made brews to quench thirst as lockdown bites

By: Illovuonline news team
12-05-2020
Image: supplied

People went to buy home-brewed beer to quench their thirst as a result of liquor stores being closed.

Alcohol sale is prohibited during the national lockdown.

The ban on the sale of alcohol has been in place for exactly 43 days, but nothing, it seems, can stop people from quenching their thirst.

People across the country are finding ways of brewing their own alcohol, some are even selling it at inflated prices.

In Bolobedu, Limpopo, residents are using a well-known sorghum beer and adding watermelons to put a twist on it.

One of the drinkers who asked to remain anonymous told Sowetan that 2 litres of home-brewed beer costs R35. Before the lockdown, he used to buy it for R25.

“We are aware of the inflated prices of traditional beer, but we don’t have a choice. They will tell you that if the police can arrive and find the beer, they will pay a heavy fine of R1,000,” he said.

Under normal circumstances, every house that sells the beer has an empty 20-litre bucket hanging at the entrance, but due to the lockdown, they have been removed the bucket for fear of being reported to the authorities.

Another beer drinker said they could no longer gather around and enjoy the drink where they bought it.

“You just buy and leave. And if you are from any other area, they won’t sell it to you because they will think you are there to spy on them,” he said.

A DIY brewer said he harvested the watermelons from his small farm and said for four-litre bucket he needed at least 10 watermelons.

“I cut open the watermelons and remove the skin. I then place them in a bucket and close it for two days to allow the brew to ferment properly…

“We are going back to our roots and are doing things the traditional way,” he said.

OPINION

News

Recipes of people using apples to brew alcohol have also emerged.

A popular recipe uses apples, sugar and yeast to brew.

The process of making the homemade liquor takes about seven days and the apples must be cooked and sealed in a container.

Those who have spoken to Sowetan said they were not worried whether the lockdown would be extended or not because they were sorted out.

Jacob Mtshweni, of Johannesburg, said the taste was refreshing.

“I decided to make my own to survive the lockdown. I made 20 litres of it. The liquor is stronger than the ciders made using apples. One glass and you are sorted, believe me,” Mtshweni said.

Mtshweni said he was aware that the homemade liquor might pose danger to his health, but said he was forced to make it because of the ban.

Nomandla Zulu of Mandeni in KwaZulu-Natal, said: “I was tempted to try it after finding a recipe on the internet. I followed it and it produced something tasteful. I have enjoyed it that I have also shared the recipe with my friends and we love it.”

In parts of Mpumalanga, umqombothi has become a hit with young people.

Shadrack Tsobole of Game, near Hazyview, told Sowetan the traditional African brew was cheaper.

Continued alcohol ban inconsistent with global trends, says liquor industry

The local liquor industry says it’s concerned that SA’s ban on alcohol during the lockdown is inconsistent with the global approach.

NEWS

“We had ways to get the beers at first, but it became scarce and landed me in police cells. I can’t live without drinking anything stronger than coffee. So, I started tasting umqombothi. At first I added ice cream but now, I drink it as it is,” he said.

A two-litre container is sold for R30. The normal price is between R5 and R10.

A brewer, who didn’t want to be named, said they had to increase prices because they knew that they had no competition from bottle stores and drinking holes.

“We always sell our homemade beer to the older generation, but the lockdown has become a blessing in disguise because everyone wants umqombothi and it’s selling very fast.

“We are aware that it is illegal to sell alcohol now, but what can we do? This is the only business we know for survival and with this high demand, it is our chance to also make money before the lockdown ends,” she said.

Another said: “They stopped selling the ingredients in stores, but we always had a traditional way of fermenting umqombothi…”

Police have warned those breaking the law.

National police spokesperson Brig Vishnu Naidoo said: “This is regulated by the Liquor Act and when the police receive information, they act on it. As you may agree that it is difficult to know when people are brewing such in their own homes, especially if it is for personal consumption.”

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), alcohol consumption contributes to three million deaths a year globally as well as to the disabilities and poor health of millions of people.

It was the leading risk factor for premature mortality and disability among those aged 15 to 49 years, accounting for 10 percent of all deaths in this age group.

Northern Cape couple who died of home-brewed beer loved each other dearly

Whenever you saw them in town or at the beach, they always held hands.

NEWS

Stores, hotels across the country targeted for booze

Police are searching for four men who allegedly robbed a KZN bottle store of thousands of rand worth of whiskey.

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A record breaking 11.4m people watch an Uzalo episode

By: illovuonline news team
12-05-2020
Image: supplied

Uzalo is currently on production break due to the lockdown.

Soapie Uzalo pulled a record-breaking viewership on South Africa television with more than 11 million viewers watching an episode last month.

According to the latest data by the Broadcast Research Council of SA, the SABC 1 daily drama not only comfortably retained its top spot as SA’s most-watched show, but registered a new ratings high.

The show, starring Dawn Thandeka King, Baby Cele, Wiseman Mncube and Masoja Msiza – among others, was watched by 11.4 million people on Wednesday, April 15.

That’s an increase of more than a million viewers from the show’s most-watched episode the month before that saw 10.29 million people tuning in on Monday March 30.

“This new record means that we are capable of so much more than what we ever dreamed of. The hard work, focus and trusting our instincts work and we should do more of that,” Uzalo executive producer Mmamitse Thibedi said.

News

This is not the first time that Uzalo has made local TV history after it set a record high of 10.25 million viewers in September 2018.

News

The previous record of 10.14 million viewers was held by the opening match between South Africa and Mexico of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

“This historic television milestone is testament to the unwavering dedication to excellence and hard work that is displayed through the SABC’s partnership with Stained Glass Productions [the Uzalo production company],” acting SABC spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo said.

“We applaud the producers, actors, actresses, and crew of Uzalo for the sterling work, they have put in, in entertaining the millions of South Africans who tune into SABC 1, to watch the nation’s number one television programme.”

Uzalo last aired a new episode last Thursday after running out of new material to broadcast as a result of shutting down production for over a month thanks to the Covid-19 national lockdown.

News

Thibedi said they were confident that they will retain their top spot after the hiatus.

“Uzalo audiences are very loyal to the show, and have expressed their disappointment at the broadcast interruption. They keep saying they look forward to seeing what we have in store for them when we come back,” Thibedi said.

“For these reasons, we believe we will be able to retain our core audience thereby retaining our numbers.

“We’ve ensured that the measures we have to implement for the Covid-19 response are not detrimental to the story line. We will maintain high drama in the scenes and continue to thrill with our twists and turns.”

Novice telenovela Gomora (2.51 million viewers) with Katlego Danke in the lead has upset Connie and Shona Ferguson’s The Queen (2.36 million viewers) by toppling it to become DStv’s most watched show.

Last month, The Queen was on top with 2.28 million viewers, while Gomora debuted at number three with a viewership of 1.70 million.

News bulletins have experienced a ratings soar during the national lockdown period across all SABC channels.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on April 21 had 5 million viewers and April 23 (4.69 million) has been a rating hit for SABC 2 news.

The two broadcasts were only topped by Muvhango (5.21 million).

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Ramaphosa to stand up and lead once again

By: illovuonline news team
12-05-2020
Image: supplied

President Cyril Ramaphosa President Cyril Ramaphosa

With nearly 50 days gone since the national lockdown started, we are a nation that is at each others’ throats. The energy is negative. The shambolic move from level 5 to level 4 is adding to the simmering anger. Ministers are wagging their fingers at the populace as if we are children. Citizens are threatening to “do something”. Hunger stalks the land.

Handled badly, times of crisis like this can destroy nations. Handled well, they can serve as a rallying point to build something positive out of the ashes. It is how we act now, in the middle of this crisis, that will determine which way we go. Point-scoring, finger-wagging and threats will help no one.

Visible, ethical leadership is what the country needs now. Since news of the coronavirus emerged in January our government has acted with speed and an impeccable sense of responsibility. President Cyril Ramaphosa was humbly yet firmly in charge. Health minister Zweli Mkhize was a voice of reason and calm as the virus spread among our people.

All that positive work and energy has dissipated in the past two weeks.

It is time for Ramaphosa to speak to the nation again.

The country needs concrete information on key areas and it needs decisive leadership on the economy. Jobs are being lost. Money is running out. The country needs to know what the chief executive officer of the country, Ramaphosa, is doing about all this.

In the public eye, Ramaphosa is limping. The fiasco of his announcement that cigarettes would be sold under level 4 lockdown, and the next week a minister announcing otherwise, paints him as weak no matter the explanation. He needs to speak.

Not many of Ramaphosa’s ministers are good communicators. Trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel’s messaging on online shopping (and his dismissal of economic projections on unemployment as “thumbsucks”) has been abysmal.

Every time he speaks he comes across as an overzealous bureaucrat with a red pen wanting to ban everything rather than someone who should be doing everything in his power to restart safe trading.

News

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is a poor communicator.

Mkhize started off well as the face of the fight against the pandemic and he has continued to do well. Calm, knowledgeable and hard-working, he has warmed himself to the nation. Yet, as the figures and the bodies pile up every day, it is time for him to give clarity on what all these numbers are about and where they are taking us.

Right now, without government leadership on what models it is following, every Mbali, Sipho and Johannes is an epidemiologist

The point of the lockdown was to buy us time to build hospitals, acquire equipment, recruit staff, get appropriate medicine and be prepared for the peak of infections and hospital admissions. Are we there yet on these preparations?

What is the point, the goal, of the continued lockdown at the high level that it is? The minister can explain all this. He should.

The same talking points should be followed by Ramaphosa. He is the captain of this ship. He has the bigger picture. The president needs to talk to his people. He needs to nip the negativity and disgruntlement in the bud. He needs to rally his cabinet behind him and behind explainable and sensible solutions.

The alternative is that we wallow in this negativity, that we throw insults at each other, and that we emerge from Covid-19 even more divided and directionless than we were in the past.

News

We cannot afford that.

22 Covid-19 deaths in Gauteng — but 1,305 have recovered

Gauteng’s health department said on Monday morning the province had recorded 22 Covid-19 deaths and 1,305 recoveries.

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The transition to the next phase will be more difficult than the present one

By: illovuonline news team
12-05-2020
Image: supplied

Cyril Ramaphosa

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As the restrictions on economic activity and daily life are eased, it is vital that all South Africans maintain that firm sense of personal responsibility. In all that we do, in every sphere of life, we must take care of our own health and the health of others.

Dear Fellow South African,

Since the beginning of May, when we began the gradual easing of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, many people have started returning to work.

As part of the phased recovery of the economy, companies in certain specified industries have been able to resume part or all of their operations.

The national coronavirus alert level is now at 4, which means that extreme precautions remain in place to limit community transmission. Our goal is to steadily reduce the alert level by keeping the rate of infection down and getting our health system ready for the inevitable increase in cases.

As the lockdown is gradually eased, life will slowly return. But it will not be life as we knew it before.

While there is still much about the pandemic that is unknown, experts now agree that the virus will remain a threat to global public health for some time.

We must therefore be prepared to continue to live with the coronavirus among us for a year or even more.

We must be prepared for a new reality in which the fight against Covid-19 becomes part of our daily existence.

Our success in overcoming the coronavirus will ultimately be determined by the changes we make in our behaviour.

Even after lockdown – especially after lockdown – we will still need to observe social distancing, wear face masks, wash hands regularly, and avoid contact with other people. We will need to re-organise workplaces, schools, universities, colleges and other public places to limit transmission.

We will need to adapt to new ways of worshipping, socialising, exercising and meeting that minimise opportunities for the virus to spread.

This is a reality that countries across the world are having to confront. Even those countries that have started easing their lockdown restrictions are doing so tentatively and with extreme caution.

Like we have done, many countries are implementing extensive stimulus packages to strengthen their respective healthcare sectors, support ailing industries and workers and provide relief to vulnerable households.

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Like us, they have had to heed calls for economic activity to resume. Like our citizens, their populations are restive and frustrated with the curtailment of personal freedoms.

At the same time, health experts around the globe are warning of a “second wave” of infections as public life resumes. A number of countries including Germany, Iran and China have seen a rise in new infections since they relaxed certain restrictions.

We will be no different. We can and must expect infections to rise as more people return to work. We must accept the reality, prepare for it and adapt to it.

The next phase of our national response is as much about continuity as it is about change or innovation. We will step up our intensive screening, testing and case management programme. We will introduce new measures to make contact tracing more effective. We will need to implement mass sanitisation of workplaces, public transport and other spaces.

Since the nationwide lockdown began, most South Africans have observed the regulations that are in place for their own health and safety. They have made an informed decision to do so, understanding it is necessary for their own lives and for the lives of those around them.

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As the restrictions on economic activity and daily life are eased, it is vital that all South Africans maintain that firm sense of personal responsibility. In all that we do, in every sphere of life, we must take care of our own health and the health of others.

Whether as individuals, employers, employees, government, civil society, trade unions or businesses, we will all continue to have a role to play in fighting the pandemic.

In the same way that we had to change our behaviour to prevent the spread of HIV, now we need to change our behaviour to stop the coronavirus.

Imposing a nationwide lockdown gave our country a strategic advantage. It bought us valuable time to prepare our health system and put in place containment measures. This has slowed transmission and saved lives.

🇿🇦🌍https://illovuonline.news.blog/

The transition to the next phase of the coronavirus response, that of recovery, will be more difficult than the present one. The risk of infection outbreaks will increase. The demands on our clinics and hospitals and medical personnel will grow.

That is why easing the lockdown restrictions must not result in careless behaviour by individuals or reckless practices by businesses keen to resume activity at the cost of human health.

The coronavirus crisis will pass. But for as long as it remains a threat to the lives of our people, we must remain vigilant, diligent and responsible.

Now, more than ever, it is upon the conduct of each that depends the fate of all.

With best wishes,

Cyril Ramaphosa. DM

🇿🇦🌍https://illovuonline.news.blog/

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How to apply for COVID-19 R350 Social Relief Grant

By: illovuonline news team
11-05-2020
Image: supplied

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COVID-19 SA Update: Total cases confirmed 10 652 with 206 deaths and 4 357 recoveries

By: illovuonline news team
11-05-2020
Image: supplied

*Current Status of Cases of COVID-19 in South Africa*

*Total cases: 10 652*

*
637 New cases

4357 Full recoveries (Confirmed Negative)

206 Deaths

*The breakdown per province of total infections is as follows:*

GAUTENG 1971

WESTERN CAPE 5621

KWAZULU–NATAL 1372

EASTERN CAPE 1356

FREE STATE 135

LIMPOPO 54

MPUMALANGA 63

NORTH WEST 50

NORTHERN CAPE 30

UNALLOCATED 0

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A total of 356 067 #COVID19 tests have been conducted, the total number of confirmed #COVID19 cases are 10652, the total number of deaths is 206 and recoveries are 4357.

We express our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and appreciate the health workers who treated these patients.

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How To See A Bright ‘Parade Of Planets’ From Your Home: What You Can See In The Night Sky This Week

By: illovuonline news team
11-05-2020
Image: supplied

Science

I write about science and nature, stargazing and eclipses.

Venus embraces the Pleiades, and 444 light-years[+]

What To Watch For In The Night Sky This Week: Monday, May 11-Sunday, May 17, 2020

This week it’s all about planets. Get up early and you’ll see Jupiter, Saturn and Mars shining brightly in the south-southeast, while in the west after dark Venus continues to shine brightly—for now. These “wandering stars” are always moving fast, and as they orbit the Sun their apparent positions among the stars change dramatically as seen from our own orbiting planet.

All you need to see planets are your own naked eyes, though a pair of binoculars can help—especially for Jupiter and its four large moons. For seeing Saturn’s rings, you’ll need a small telescope.

As the Moon wanes, now past its full phase, it rises later at night, making this week particularly good for stargazing in moonless skies. Cue the opening of a “Milky Way window”—if you’re under dark skies you’ll see our inner galaxy adorn the night skies in the south around midnight.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020: The Moon skims Jupiter

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Tuesday, May 12, 2020: The Moon skims Jupiter and Saturn

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Early-risers will get some great celestial sights this week. The two giants planets are beginning to look incredible as their annual oppositions approach. July will see them both reach the brightest they get in 2020, but this morning before dawn is a tableau of a 71% waning gibbous Moon gliding 2.3° south of Jupiter, then 2.7° south of Saturn. Look to the south.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020: The Moon and three planets

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Wednesday, May 13, 2020: The Moon and three planets

Having departed the area of the sky occupied by Jupiter and Saturn, before sunrise today you can see a waning Moon approach Mars. Look due south-southeast.

Thursday and Friday, May 14/15, 2020: A[+]

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Thursday and Friday, May 14/15, 2020: A last-quarter Moon and Mars

This morning the Moon—now just 43% illuminated—meets Mars. At its closest it will be just 2.8° south. Look to the southeast.

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Formations of planets and stars rise over a dark[+]

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Object of the week: Venus—take a look while you still can

The planet Venus—in many ways Earth’s sister planet—has been a dazzling sight for the whole of 2020. It’s now on its way out, and will sink into the Sun’s glare at the end of May. Check it out after dark anytime this week and you’ll notice that its much closer to the horizon that it has been for months.

Take a last, long look because unless you’re a habitual early-riser you won’t be seeing Venus again for some time. However, next week Venus will stage a dramatic finale to its apparition: a (very) close encounter with fellow inner planet Mercury.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.

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Julius Malema gets thumbs-up for his DJ skills

By: illovuonline news team
11-05-2020
Image: supplied

EFF leader Julius Malema had Mzansi on its feet with his DJ skills.

A video of Julius Malema playing a set in the comfort of his home during the lockdown has gained traction on social media.

The EFF leader showcased his DJ skills over the weekend on Instagram.

Malema brought the house down with hit tracks from Amapiano’s current frontrunner, Kabza De Small.

Sharing the video on Twitter, DJ Maphorisa suggested Malema’s skills could get him a record deal with his company, BlaqBoy Music.

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“You need a record deal, leadership. I need to sign you ASAP,” he said

Malema first debuted his DJ skills in 2017 when he played his mini-set at Mbuyiseni Ndlozi’s graduation party.

Taking to social media, many gave Malema the thumbs up for his skills.

Here is a snapshot of some of the reactions.

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EFF’s pledge to support artists who have been on its stages gets thumbs up

EFF leader Julius Malema announced that his party will pledge financial support to artists who have been with the red berets since its inception.

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Oskido hails EFF plan to help ‘their artists’ in need

If your faves have shown support for the EFF from day one, they will be covered financially.

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The next phase of our national response to coronavirus: Ramaphosa

By: illovuonline news team
11-05-2020
Image: supplied

South Africa will focus on ramping up screening, testing and its case management programme, as it enters its peak period of combating the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is according to president Cyril Ramaphosa, in his weekly column: From The Desk of the President.

The country has seen a spike in daily infections over the past 72 hours, moving past 10,000 confirmed cases on Sunday evening.

Health minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize said in a statement that the government is also conducting more tests – to a total of 341,336 thus far.

🇿🇦🌍https://illovuonline.news.blog/

“Our goal is to steadily reduce the alert level by keeping the rate of infection down and getting our health system ready for the inevitable increase in cases,” Ramaphosa said. Since the beginning of May, the country has operated under level 4 lockdown.

As part of the phased recovery of the economy, companies in certain specified industries have been able to resume part or all of their operations.

The president said that while there is still much about the pandemic that is unknown, “experts now agree that the virus will remain a threat to global public health for some time. We must therefore be prepared to continue to live with the coronavirus among us for a year or even more,” he said.

The president said that the success in overcoming the coronavirus will ultimately be determined by the changes made in our behaviour.

Ramaphosa acknowledged that people have become frustrated with the curtailment of their personal freedom.

“At the same time, health experts around the globe are warning of a ‘second wave’ of infections as public life resumes. A number of countries including Germany, Iran and China have seen a rise in new infections since they relaxed certain restrictions.

“We will be no different. We can and must expect infections to rise as more people return to work. We must accept the reality, prepare for it and adapt to it,” the president stressed.

🇿🇦🌍https://illovuonline.news.blog/

Next phase

The next phase of the country’s response is as much about continuity as it is about change or innovation, said Ramaphosa.

“We will step up our intensive screening, testing and case management programme. We will introduce new measures to make contact tracing more effective. We will need to implement mass sanitisation of workplaces, public transport and other spaces.”

The president said that as the restrictions on economic activity and daily life are eased, it is vital that all South Africans maintain that firm sense of personal responsibility.

He said that imposing a nation-wide lockdown gave the country a strategic advantage. “It bought us valuable time to prepare our health system and put in place containment measures. This has slowed transmission and saved lives,” he said.

“The transition to the next phase of the coronavirus response, that of recovery, will be more difficult than the present one. The risk of infection outbreaks will increase. The demands on our clinics and hospitals and medical personnel will grow.

“That is why easing the lockdown restrictions must not result in careless behaviour by individuals or reckless practices by businesses keen to resume activity at the cost of human health,” president Ramaphosa said.

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https://youtu.be/OdKGYUk-5Cs

It’s time for South Africa to move to the next phase of fighting the coronavirus: analysts

By: illovuonline news team
11-05-2020
Image: supplied

South Africa needs to move to the next phase of its coronovirus battle plan – namely focusing on active case finding, and dealing with hotspot areas, instead of subjecting the entire country to the same lockdown conditions.

This is the plea and recommendation from several analysts, economists and business people in unaffected areas.

Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize announced on Saturday (9 May) that there are now 9,420 confirmed cases of coronavirus in South Africa – an increase of 525 from the 8,895 cases reported on Friday. The total number of deaths has increased by eight, to 186.

The number of new cases is increasing in-line with a jump in the number of daily tests being conducted: a total of 324,079 tests have been conducted at the time of reporting, up from the total of 307,752 conducted the day before.

This is also true in South Africa’s hardest-hit province, the Western Cape, where daily tests increased to 8,322 (compared to 6,110 in Gauteng) – however, the province’s infection rate is still far higher than anywhere else in the country.

The infection rate per 1 million people sits at 12.9 – while Gauteng (the second-hardest hit) sits at 1.2. A total of 56,986 tests have been conducted in the Western Cape, vs 92,272 in Gauteng.

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Not all affected

While the Western Cape is clearly the epicentre of infection in South Africa, residents in smaller towns in the country are pleading to government not to paint all areas with the same brush.

Speaking to Rapport, residents of Kuruman in the Northern Cape pointed out that their small town – where approximately 13,000 people live – has so far been untouched by the coronavirus, yet they are subject to the same level 4 restrictions as the rest of the country.

The closest town where infections have been confirmed is 170km away, where 10 cases have been found.

In areas like this, hundreds if not thousands of workers are being kept from returning to work because of lockdown restrictions, even though the risk of infection is low to nil.

Several economists, speaking to illovuonline news said that it was time for government to shift its focus to hotspot areas in the country, allowing the economy to open up in areas that are low-risk, while ramping up testing and treatment in areas that are most vulnerable.

Ahead of moving South Africa down to lockdown level 4 at the start of the month, government said that it intended to treat different districts, metropolitan areas and provinces differently in terms of restrictions, depending on the rate of infection in each area.

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However, it has fallen silent on this strategy, since.

Stephan Malherbe, chief executive of Genesis Analytics, said that South Africa has been successful in easing lockdown restrictions in most of the areas identified by the World Health Organistion, but has failed to take a logical approach in opening up the economy.

Here, he said, a differentiated approach with the lockdown to various areas was very important.

Data published this week pointed to the damage being done to the economy as a result of the umbrella lockdown approach, including projections of GDP decline between 6% and 16%, job losses between 1 million and 7 million people, and a potential loss in tax revenue as high as R285 billion.

Shift in strategy🇿🇦

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Actuarial data shows that South Africa is yet to hit its peak of infections, but the damage done to the economy could be far worse.

Public health specialists speaking to the City Press said that it is time for government to move on from the surveillance phase of the pandemic and focus on hotspot areas – which means intervening in cluster outbreaks and the areas hardest-hit by the virus.

Dr Mkhize himself admitted as much on Saturday, saying there are a number of areas with cluster outbreaks. The minister suggested stricter restrictions would need to be put in place in these areas.

This means it’s going to require that these areas will need stricter restrictions.

— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) May 9, 2020

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This would mean stage five of the eight-stage response plan outlined by government in April.

Stage 1: Preparation, including community education, establishing lab capacity and surveillance of the virus.

Stage2: Primary prevention, including social distancing and hand-washing, closing schools, reducing gatherings, and closing borders and international travel.

Stage 3: Lockdown

Stage 4: Active case-finding, a unique measure in South Africa, where healthcare workers are being sent out to test vulnerable communities.

Stage 5: Finding hotspots, including surveillance and interventions, monitoring of new cases and other outbreak investigations.

Stage 6: Medical care for the peak, including managing case load capacity, healthcare staff exposure and infection, building field hospitals and expanding ICU and ventilator numbers.

Stage 7: Dealing with the Aftermath, including expanding burial capacity, regulating funerals, and managing the psychological and social impact of the epidemic

Stage 8: Ongoing vigilance – keeping one step ahead of the virus and infections.

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