Analysis: Has COVID-19 been with us longer than we thought?
By: illovuonline news team
04-06-2020
Image: supplied
On 27 December last year, a 43-year-old man from Bobigny, a suburb of Paris, turned up at a French hospital with a dry cough, fever and trouble breathing. He had been sick for 15 days and had infected his two children, but not his wife, Dr Yves Cohen.
As part of a series of tests, doctors had originally collected samples to check for the flu using a polymerase chain reaction test — the same test used to detect the new coronavirus — which searches for bits of viral genetic material.
Instead, what they discovered months later, was that a sample taken just after Christmas tested positive for COVID-19.
The man had, therefore, contracted the virus nearly a month before France confirmed its first cases. But it’s still not clear how he was infected, as he hadn’t recently travelled.
Doctors can’t say whether or not he was France’s “patient zero.”
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Genetic analysis
This case is part of ongoing evidence that COVID-19 has been with us all much longer than we first thought. Genetic analyses of the new coronavirus suggest that the virus emerged in humans in China in late November to early December 2019. While China’s official submission to the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that the first infection was recorded on 8 December, government data seen by the South China Morning Post newspaper seems to suggest that the first known case was actually observed on 17 November.
Anecdotally, we have all heard stories of friends or relatives who came down with severe flu in the winter, presenting many of the symptoms now associated with coronavirus, but most of them have not yet been tested.
But if that evidence is confirmed, it leads to an obvious question: why, then, did we suddenly see a peak in cases in different countries at different times? Why did the number of cases seemingly explode?
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Nasty C believes he could toe-to-toe with US rapper Drake in a battle.
By: illovuonline news team
04-06-2020
Image: Supplied
The saying goes that if you don’t believe in yourself, no one will – Well, Nasty C has certainly taken it to heart – The Mzansi rapper recently said he believes he could take on Drake in a music battle.
Nasty C recently put his hand up when a social media user asked if who was ready to battle US heavyweight rapper Drake. Nasty believes he could definitely take on the Hotline Bling hit-maker. The ‘Zulu Man With Some Power’ is feeling himself and why not? Nasty is up there with all of Mzansi’s best-loved rappers.
He wrote, “Say you’re the best, then smile as they call you a liar. They adding fuel to your fire, tryna tame electricity with wire.” A lot of Nasty’s fans agree he can do it. One responded, “Tryna tame electricity with wire. Watch them getting shocked, realising you currently flow with no resistance, A ZULU MAN WITH SOME POWER.” Others were a bit on the sceptical side.
Either way, Nasty is going full steam ahead with his plan to take over the world His current single, There They Go, is top of the charts and the 23-year-old isn’t slowing down for anyone.
Last week, illovuonline news reported that Nasty had promised to remain authentic despite recently signing with Def Jam Records. Nasty revealed that he had a lot of plans for 2020, including dropping his highly-anticipated album, Zulu Man With Some Power.
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By: illovuonline news team
04-06-2020
Image: Supplied
SASSA has declined 1.6 million applications for the R350 grant. By declining these applications, SASSA has managed to save almost R14 million.
The declined applications were either incomplete, inconsistent, or duplicate applications.
SASSA CEO, Busisiwe Memela said “We have received approximately 13 million enquiries/applications about the temporary special Covid-19 SRD grant as at Monday, 25 May 2020. About 6.3 million of these were valid complete applications. The rest were either duplicate applications, incomplete, had inconsistent data, or were just pure enquiries”.
Even though more than 1 million applications were declined, SASSA has approved more than 600 000 applications and is awaiting bank details.
Now that South Africa has moved to level 3, SASSA will be able to operate with more staff and process more payments for the grant.
All applicants for the R350 grant are reminded to not visit SASSA offices directly and to only apply online.
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PEOPLE HELP THEMSELVES TO MONEY AFTER KRUGERSDORP CASH-IN-TRANSIT HEIST
By: illovuonline news team
04-06-2020
Image: supplied
Videos on social media showed a Mercedes Benz sedan and a truck on fire, while people scurried for the cash.
JOHANNESBURG – Dozens of people rushed to the scene of an armed robbery in Krugersdorp to grab stacks of cash strewn across the street after a heist in Chamdor on Wednesday morning.
Videos on social media showed a Mercedes Benz sedan and a truck on fire, while people scurried for the cash.
Police said a group of suspects in at least three cars attacked a cash van with explosives in the early hours of the morning.
They got away with money, some of which was scattered on Kagiso Drive.
While police searched for those involved in the heist, they also condemned community members who took the stolen money for themselves.
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Lockdown heartbreak: Zodwa Wabantu wants her ex toyboy bae back
By: illovuonline news team
03-06-2020
Image: Supplied
– Zodwa Wabantu has made it clear that she wants her ex boyfriend back
– The pair broke up after their house was broken into a month ago
– According to the dancer, the trauma of the incident forced the pair apart and they decided to take a break
Zodwa Wabantu is going through relationship blues and a very lonely lockdown. This comes after the entertainer and her boo Vusi Buthelezi broke up.
Speaking to TshisaLive, the star has admitted to missing her ex and hopes that he will come back. She said that although the affair has come to an end, the pair are still trying to work things out.
“I love him and hope that we can fix things”
The relationship ended last month after there was a break-in in their house. According to Zodwa, the robbery put a strain on their relationship as they both processed the trauma.
Illovuonline news previously reported that Zodwa Wabantu’s house was broken into and her “valuable stuff” was stolen. She took to social media to share with her followers that her Malvern home, in Durban had been broken into while she and her family were away. In an emotional video, Zodwa said the bedroom that was broken into had her valuable stuff, but she did not reveal exactly what was stolen.
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Covid-19 pandemic puts pressure on medicine supply
By: illovuonline news team
03-06-2020
Image: supplied
Reports of drug shortages and stock-outs across South Africa has the Department of Health working hard to ensure a supply of essential medicines. With manufacturing operations around the world, particularly in India and China, still facing challenges due to Covid-19, the country is battling to meet the demand for contraceptives, tuberculosis medicines and psychiatric medicines.
Director of Affordable Medicines at the national Department of Health, Khadija Jamaloodien says that the availability of medicines in the country is roughly 84%, describing the severity of shortages as “moderate”. The North West and Limpopo provinces are most affected, she says.
In a survey of 109 healthcare facilities conducted during the lockdown, The Stop Stock-outs Project (SSP) found that stock-outs were ongoing, particularly for ARVs, TB medicines, contraceptives and childhood vaccines.
“If reports about fewer patients visiting clinics during the lockdown are correct, then it might imply that there would be fewer medicines out of stock,” says SSP Project Coordinator Ruth Dube.
From the survey data, SSP identified the North West and the Free State as the two provinces experiencing the most supply issues. Recently, Spotlight reported onsevere shortages of essential medicines in the North West.
“Our hot-spotting data definitely confirms the problem in [the] North West province. We had 40 out of 105 reports coming from the North West. Free State is second with 17 cases reported,” says Dube.
Following the Free State are the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape, Mpumalanga and Limpopo – in that order, she adds.
Issues with supply
“Covid-19 has caused issues at all steps of [the] supply chain,” says Jamaloodien. “We found that due to the lockdown, manufacturing capacity has been negatively impacted as factories need to deal with a reduced workforce. Some shipments are also delayed due to some staff on the in-bound cargo vessels testing positive for Covid-19, requiring the need to place the ship under quarantine for 14 days.
“Volatility in demand due to stockpiling in preparation for Covid-19 has created additional pressure on the supply chain, and most companies cannot produce according to the demand.”
Jamaloodien says that non-Covid-19 related challenges like outstanding manufacturing issues at facilities, freight delays and ever-changing demand continues to impact supply.
Adding to this, she notes late payments by provinces to suppliers, and suppliers failing to accurately report data to the department to allow issues to be quickly resolved.
ARVs, TB and psychiatric medicines
Regarding ARVs, Jamaloodien says that a delay in the roll-out of the updated HIV treatment guidelines had led to incorrect estimations of medicine requirements. “Suppliers have struggled to adapt quickly to this mismatch, resulting in shortages,” she says.
Less than two weeks ago, Dr Norbert Ndjeka, Director of HIV, TB and DR-TB at the National Department of Health told Spotlight that certain drugs used to treat drug-resistant TB were facing shortages.
“We have been running short of Terizidone from February [2020] although we have sufficient stock of [P-amino salicylic acid] PAS and Ethionamide which are used so long. In some instances, Delamanid is used as a replacement. We shall get Terizidone in eight weeks [now roughly six weeks] time, but there is no crisis.”
“Regarding levofloxacin, we have enough moxifloxacin which is used as a replacement,” he added.
Neither Ndjeka nor Jamaloodien noted any shortage of the BCG vaccine.
Psychiatric medicines
Alongside ARVs and TB medicines, some psychiatric drugs are in short supply. Jamaloodien says that the Covid-19 pandemic had compounded pre-existing poor performance by suppliers of these medicines.
Spotlight spoke to patients both in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal who said that during the lockdown period, they had struggled to get medication for bi-polar disorder and depression, namely Lithium.
Earlier in May 2020, Professor Bonga Chiliza, President of the South African Society of Psychiatrists, warned of shortages of Lithium and sedation medicines.
In response, Jamaloodien told Spotlight, when stock [of any kind] is not available from a contracted supplier, they look for alternative suppliers. “In the case where no stock is available in the market, therapeutic alternatives are recommended as an interim measure,” says Jamaloodien.
Contraceptives
Another major concern for SSP is the availability of contraceptives, such as the Depo-Provera injection.
“Women on contraception usually want to avoid having abortions, but we see that contraception is out of stock, movement between places is restricted so the option of accessing this medication elsewhere may not be possible and access to abortion services has been targeted as non-essential in some places,” says Dube.
If women are turned away without Depo-Provera, they should send a please call me, SMS or phone the SSP Hotline at 084 855 7867, she advised.
Jamaloodien confirms shortages of contraceptives and says it is an ongoing issue due to manufacturing constraints worldwide.
“Shortfalls in the supply of one contraceptive commodity, unfortunately, results in an increase in demand for other contraceptive commodities, above the initial tender estimates. Ultimately, this has led to a domino effect, with a number of contraceptive suppliers struggling to match the demand from public health facilities,” she says.
However, Jamaloodien says that the situation is quickly improving.
“There is [a] dedicated team that is specifically tasked with identifying problematic products and source stock where available in the market to ensure security of supply,” she says.
Ensuring availability of chronic medicines
The Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) programme is functioning as normal, according to Jamaloodien, but it has been impacted by shortages as a result of supply issues due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The CCMDD programme allows people to collect medicines at various pick-up points to reduce clinic visits.
According to the health department, there are over three million patients registered for this programme.
“There is a plan to provide three months’ supply of medicines to stable patients requiring chronic medications to reduce the number of facility visits thus reducing their risk of exposure to the virus,” says Jamaloodien.
“In order to support this, the department has been working towards securing the required quantities from suppliers. However, this depends on [the] supplier’s ability to deliver against the demand.”
Dube points out that patients who can’t get chronic medication are at risk of adverse outcomes related to their conditions. “These adverse outcomes will need to be attended to in clinics or hospitals. This puts additional strain on the health system at a time when we should do everything to reduce unnecessary patient visits, to limit crowding in health facilities and consumption of resources,” she emphasises. DM/MC
*This article was produced by Spotlight – health journalism in the public interest. Like what you’re reading? Sign up for our newsletter and stay informed.
Tags: childhood vaccines, contraceptives, Covid-19, Department of Health, drug shortage in SA, medicine supply, TB medicine
Court gives government 14 days to alter ‘unconstitutional’ State of Disaster rules
By Marianne Merten
Each one teach one: It is up to us all to ensure proper schooling in the Covid-19 era
By Desmond Lesejane
We need to rethink (just about) everything
By Mcebisi Jonas
A disturbing example of judicial overreach
By Professor Balthazar
Thami ka Plaatjie, Sisulu’s chief water adviser, puts himself on indefinite leave after being caught influence-peddling
By Ferial Haffajee
Covid-19 and the danger of criminalisation
By Mbalenhle Baduza
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SpaceX’s 1st astronaut launch was NASA’s most-watched online event ever
By: illovuonline news team
03-06-2020
Image: supplied
But the Apollo 11 moon landing still holds the overall viewership record.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, on May 30, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA’s “Launch America” drew much of the nation in.
On Saturday (May 30), SpaceX launched its first-ever crewed mission, a test flight called Demo-2 that sent NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station (ISS).
The liftoff was the first orbital crewed launch to depart from American soil since NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011. And a record number of people tuned in to watch the milestone online, agency officials said.
“We’re still collecting the data, but some of our metrics are saying that peak viewership for the joint NASA-SpaceX launch broadcast across all of our platforms was at least 10.3 million concurrent viewers — the most-watched event we’ve ever tracked,” NASA Associate Administrator for Communications Bettina Inclán said during a news conference on Sunday (May 31), shortly after Behnken and Hurley’s Crew Dragon capsule arrived at the ISS.
To be clear: The record Demo-2 just broke is for internet traffic, not viewership of all kinds. For example, it’s estimated that about 600 million people — one-sixth the global population at the time — watched the Apollo 11 moon landing on TV on July 20, 1969.
Several high-ranking American officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, have drawn parallels between the famed Apollo missions and Demo-2, noting that both took place in times of extreme turmoil and division in the United States.
Apollo’s backdrop included protests against the Vietnam War and widespread civil-rights abuses. And today the nation is beset by the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest stemming from the tragic May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
The Saturn V rockets that launched the Apollo missions “rose above the tumult and the clamor of their times. They were a symbol of national strength and unity,” Pence said on Saturday shortly after Demo-2’s liftoff. “I believe with all my heart that millions of Americans today will find the same inspiration and unity of purpose that we found in those days in the 1960s.”
SpaceX holds a $2.6 billion contract to conduct six operational crewed flights to the orbiting lab for NASA. If Demo-2 is successful all the way through, Elon Musk’s company will be clear to start conducting those contracted missions.
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How to Watch This Friday’s Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
By: illovuonline news team
03-06-2020
Image: Supplied
Eclipse season resumes on June 5th, with a fine penumbral lunar eclipse.
Are you cursing the June Full Moon as it thwarts your dreams of deep-sky imaging this week?
Fear not; said Moon is actually the first astronomical draw for June 2020, as this coming weekend’s Full Moon marks the start of the second eclipse season for 2020, with a penumbral lunar eclipse.
The eclipse occurs on June 5 from 17:45 Universal Time (UT) to 21:04 UT, and is visible from Europe and Africa eastward to Asia and Australia. Maximum eclipse occurs at 19:26 UT, with the Moon 59 percent immersed in the umbral shadow of the Earth.
The entire duration of the eclipse is 3 hours 18 minutes and 13 seconds.
Brazil, western Africa and most of Europe will see the eclipse underway at moonrise Friday night, while the remainder of Africa and most of Asia see the entirety of the eclipse. Northeast Asia and New Zealand see the eclipse end towards moonset and dawn.
Only North America misses out on the eclipse entirely.
Unlike the dramatic reddening of the Moon seen during totality when the Moon slides through the inner dark umbra of the Earth’s shadow, penumbral eclipses are subtle affairs.
The Moon’s orbit is inclined about five degrees relative to the ecliptic plane; otherwise, we’d see at least two eclipses – one lunar and one solar – every month.
During a penumbral eclipse such as Friday’s, however, the Moon just nicks the outer shadow of the Earth. At most, expect to see a slight shading on the southern limb of the Moon at maximum eclipse. The color of the Moon near mid-eclipse may take on a tea-colored appearance, instead of its usual pearly, bone-white hue.
The flight of the Moon through the Earth’s shadow during Friday night’s eclipse. (Adapted from NASA/GSFC diagram, w/annotations)
Would you notice anything was amiss with the Moon during mid-penumbral eclipse, if you didn’t know better? Though subtle, you can see the difference in the color of the Moon photographically before, during and after the eclipse.
This is a fun and easy way to document a penumbral eclipse, using nothing more than a tripod-mounted DSLR with at least a minimum 200mm focal length lens, or simply by holding up a smartphone camera to the eyepiece of a telescope.
And speaking of smartphones, a free app such as Color Grab can pick up this change in color as well.
This eclipse crosses through the zenith for the southern Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Madagascar at mid-‘penumbralarity,’ making this remote site at sea the best site to spy the eclipse high above the murk of the lower atmosphere.
This is also one of two penumbral eclipses that bracket eclipse season two of three for 2020 – the most that are possible in one year. An eclipse season occurs when we have a syzygy, aligning the Sun, Earth and the nodes where the Moon’s orbit intersects the ecliptic plane.
The center of this eclipse season is marked by an annular eclipse on June 21 crossing southern Asia. The end of the season sees another penumbral lunar eclipse on July 5, favoring the Americas.
Penumbral shadows are a function of the structure of the shadow of Earth cast back onto the Moon. If the Sun were a pinpoint light source infinitely far away, this shadow would have basically sharp distinct edges; instead, the outer penumbra is a region where only a portion of the Sun is obscured as seen from the Moon.
An easy way to think of it is to imagine the scene of Friday’s penumbral eclipse from the surface of the Moon, where you’d witness a partial solar eclipse:
Tales of the Saros
Lunar and solar eclipses occur in groups known as saroses, with members of each group spaced 18 years, 11 days and 8 hours (very nearly 223 synodic months) years apart.
On any given year, several saros cycles are active. This week’s eclipse is member 67 of 71 eclipses in lunar eclipse saros 111, which started way back on June 10, AD 830. This saros is on its way out, as it produced its final total lunar eclipse on August 4, 1533, and will end with a shallow penumbral on July 19, 2092.
Clouded out, or simply live on the wrong continent to observe Friday night’s eclipse? The good folks at the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 have got you covered, with a live webcast of the eclipse hosted by astronomer Gianluca Masi starting at 19:00 UT/3:00 PM EDT:
All four lunar eclipses for 2020 are penumbral only, but take heart: we’re less than a year out now from the return of lunar totality to North America and the Pacific Rim region on 26 May 2021.
For sure, Penumbrals aren’t the most amazing eclipses to see, but in a time that sees many of us curtailing our travel plans astronomical and otherwise, we’ll take whatever celestial action we can get.
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