WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SA

Cases update: 

The latest number of confirmed cases is 1585.

Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape continue to account for the majority of the cases.

According to the National Department of Health, more than 53 900 tests have been conducted so far.

READ MORE | All the confirmed cases of coronavirus in SA

LATEST NEWS:

South Africa now has 1585 cases of coronavirus infections, and nine confirmed deaths, health minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement on Saturday.

53 937 tests have been done.

Gauteng has 693 cases, most of all provinces, followed by the Western Cape with 433 cases and KwaZulu-Natal with 232.

Of the KZN cases, 11 and three deaths are linked to the St Augustine’s Hospital; these are patients, health workers and staff members.

READ MORE | Coronavirus: 53 937 test later – 1585 cases and 9 deaths

Just under 80 students, recently returned from China, have been given the all clear to return to their families.

This follows a 14-day quarantine period at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni.

The students have all tested negative for Covid-19. This was confirmed by Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande on Saturday.

Seventy-six students, from provinces around the country, will return to their families. Another four students, who arrived in South Africa later, will remain at the hotel to complete their 14-day quarantine period.

READ MORE | SA students from China released from quarantine in Ekurhuleni 

Talks to have a potential vaccine for Covid-19 tested in Africa, because the number of infected people is not as high as other countries like Italy, have been met with much resistance from people across the continent. 

On Saturday President Cyril Ramaphosa posted a tweet saying the Bill Gates Foundation has supported the country’s health needs for many years: “They have offered assistance with innovative mass-based testing kits and research. I spoke to @BillGates and he commended the swift and decisive action South Africa has taken on #COVID19,” the tweet read. 

Ramaphosa posted a video where the renowned businessman briefly explained his chat with the SA president.

In the video, speaking to host of the Daily Show, Trevor Noah, Gates said: “For developing countries, it’s far harder and so these measures actually stop it from getting to the large part of the population, in places like India and Nigeria. I was talking to President Ramaphosa today, who is not only president of South Africa, he’s also the head of African Union. He is a very strong voice there, encouraging African countries to act quickly when the number of cases is still fairly low, which is true throughout sub-Saharan Africa right now,” he said in the video. 

READ MORE | Bill Gates confident a potential coronavirus vaccine will work in Africa, but Twitter does not think so

The Western Cape government plans on moving thousands of people, living in informal settlements, to temporary sites. The move is part of the City’s plan to space people out and prevent a surge in Covid-19 infections.

But Fezeka Mrwetyana, a resident in Dunoon, Cape Town, told News24 she will not budge.

“I can’t leave, I want to stay here. Only if they promise me it’s a permanent place for me. They have water, toilets, everything and it’s as close as Dunoon,” Mrwetyana explained.

She has been living in Dunoon for the last 28 years, and says her life is there.

WATCH | Plans in motion to move thousands from Dunoon, but some residents say they won’t go

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE REST OF THE WORLD?

Cases update:

For the latest global data, follow this interactive map from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.

Late on Saturday night, positive cases worldwide were close to 1 187 000, while deaths were more than 64 000.

The Unites States had more than 300 000 cases, while Italy and Spain both had more than 124 000.

Italy had more than 15 300 deaths.

READ MORE | All the confirmed cases worldwide

Latest news:

The US government has begun advising people to wear masks if they go outside, pointing to research that shows the coronavirus could be spread just by breathing.

The advice came as America logged another huge rise in its death toll, almost 1 500 in one day, and as new infections continued unabated.

It also came as China, the origin of the outbreak, held a national day of mourning for its citizens killed by the disease.

Since Covid-19 emerged late last year, around 1.1 million people have fallen ill. Almost 60,000 people have died.

WATCH | Americans told to wear masks over virus breathing spread fears 

The coronavirus pandemic has put the spotlight on shortcomings in health care in several North African countries, even as governments moved quickly to announce restrictions to limit the spread of the virus.

“Our fate is in the hands of a health system that we have neglected for years”, a doctor in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh said in a video widely shared on social media.

Covid-19 patients in Morocco have denounced the conditions in public hospitals, reigniting nagging controversy over the underfunded health sector.

In a stagnating Tunisia, the government has struggled to mobilise funds to face the Covid-19 pandemic.

READ MORE: Virus crisis shines light on troubled North Africa health care

HEALTH NEWS:

While the coronavirus pandemic is spreading panic and becoming a nightmare for people around the world, going into lockdown for 21 days can be even more stressful, especially if you’re isolated with your loved ones – and things start to get a little heated.

South African psychiatrist, Professor Renata Schoeman, explains the importance of having boundaries in this kind of situation.

WATCH | Coronavirus: Cooped up with loved ones during lockdown? Here’s how to survive

Uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic can worsen your anxiety, especially if you’re going to be alone during the next 21 days. Local psychiatrist, Professor Renata Schoeman, gives us some practical tips on how to prepare, and not panic, during this trying time.

WATCH | Coronavirus lockdown: It’s really important that you keep the social connections going’

If you find yourself battling with mental illness, such as anxiety and depression, during the 21-day lockdown, you should consider reaching out for professional help, says South African psychiatrist, Professor Renata Schoeman.

WATCH | Not coping with self-isolation? Here’s when it’s time to reach out for help

HEALTH TIPS (as recommended by the NICD and WHO):

• Avoid contact with people who have respiratory infections 

• Maintain physical distancing – stay at least one metre away from somebody who is coughing or sneezing

• Practise frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, as your hands touch many surfaces and could potentially transfer the virus

• Practise respiratory hygiene – cover your mouth with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Remember to dispose the tissue immediately after use.

READ MORE: Coronavirus 101 

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A sponge found in Manado Bay, Indonesia, makes a molecule called manzamine A, which stops the growth of cervical cancer cells, according to a recent publication in the Journal of Natural Products submitted by researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and their collaborators. Collaborators include students and investigators at the University of South Carolina (UofSC), College of Charleston, Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia and the University of Malaya in Malaysia.

US policymakers considering physical distancing measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 face a difficult trade-off between closing schools to reduce transmission and new cases, and potential health-care worker absenteeism due to additional childcare needs that could ultimately increase mortality from COVID-19, according to new modelling research published in The Lancet Public Health journal.

A child with underlying health conditions is among 708 people whose deaths were reported in the past day.

As if the news on vaping wasn’t bad enough, a new study suggests that e-cigarette users are also at significantly higher risk of chronic lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and COPD.

Those risks rose even higher if vapers also smoked tobacco, researchers said.

E-cigarettes harmful on their own

“What we found is that for e-cigarette users, the odds of developing lung disease increased by about a third, even after controlling for their tobacco use and their clinical and demographic information,” said study senior author Stanton Glantz. He directs the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco.

In the new study, Glantz’s team tracked data on the cigarette and e-cigarette use of more than 32 000 US adults, none of whom had lung disease at the start of the study.

The researchers then recorded new lung disease diagnoses over the years 2013 to 2016. Those diagnoses included such common and debilitating illnesses as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).

“We concluded that e-cigarettes are harmful on their own, and the effects are independent of smoking conventional tobacco,” Glantz said in a UCSF news release.

Current and former e-cigarette users were 30% more likely to develop chronic lung disease, while tobacco smokers had more than 2.6-times increased risk. For people who vaped and smoked, risks of developing a lung disease more than tripled.

Dual users

“Dual users – the most common use pattern among people who use e-cigarettes – get the combined risk of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes, so they’re actually worse off than tobacco smokers,” Glantz said. The study couldn’t prove cause and effect, however, only associations.

The new findings were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

These findings are particularly relevant as the debate continues over whether e-cigarettes should be promoted as a “harm-reduction” tool for smokers looking to wean off traditional tobacco, the researchers said.

While they found that switching from smoked tobacco to e-cigarettes lowered the risk of developing lung disease, fewer than 1% of the smokers in the study had completely switched to e-cigarettes.

“Switching from conventional cigarettes to e-cigarettes exclusively could reduce the risk of lung disease, but very few people do it,” Glantz noted. “For most smokers, they simply add e-cigarettes and become dual users, significantly increasing their risk of developing lung disease above just smoking.”

Inhaling any foreign substance is bad

The researchers also noted that their findings are unrelated to the recent and highly publicized cases of acute lung disease linked to e-cigarette use – those were severe, sudden-onset cases that resulted in hospitalisation and death. More than 2 400 such cases have now been reported, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday.

Instead, “this study contributes to the growing case that e-cigarettes have long-term adverse effects on health and are making the tobacco epidemic worse,” Glantz said.

Two experts in lung health who reviewed the new study said it highlights another reason to avoid vaping and smoking.

“While vaping e-cigarettes was thought to be safe [apart from nicotine addiction], this study makes it clear that vaping nicotine is associated with pulmonary diseases such as asthma and COPD,” said Dr Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Dr Sameer Khanijo directs the Respiratory Care Unit at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York. He said the message is clear: “Smoking is harmful. E-cigarette use is harmful. Inhaling any foreign substance into the lungs is bad.”

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Nursing chiefs raise fears about protective equipment following the deaths of two nurses.

Busy moms and dads routinely stuff their handbag and bags with every item their family might need for the day. But that creates a minefield of choking and poisoning hazards for babies and toddlers, paediatricians warn.

A handbag, backpack or diaper bag can contain a hodgepodge of medications and supplements, cosmetics, hand sanitisers, candy, coins and other items that attract little hands. That can also set the stage for accidents, sometimes deadly.

“Young children are all inquisitive explorers,” said Dr Eric Owen Tyler, a paediatrician and executive board member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Alabama Chapter. “And mom’s purse is like a gold mine.”

Tyler said that over the course of his career, he has seen toddlers who have swallowed iron pills or pain medications, which can damage the kidneys or liver, or cause fatal overdoses. Some have even got their hands on birth control pills.

Bags can be overlooked

The case that “really sticks with me”, Tyler said, involved a two-year-old who managed to ingest her grandmother’s heart medication. The toddler died seven days later.

Even when parents are mindful of safe medication storage in the house, bags can be overlooked. Part of the issue, Tyler said, is that bags are packed and unpacked constantly, and switched out regularly – and parents may lose track of what’s inside.

“Something you hear a lot is, ‘I just forgot it was in there,'” said Dr Elizabeth Murray, a paediatric emergency doctor with the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York.

Keeping bags away from curious hands is the safest bet. But there are also wiser ways to pack them, according to Murray.

“We always want medications to stay in the childproof container they came in,” she said.

Injuries related to cosmetics

And make use of a bag’s various compartments, Murray advised. If a young child knows her snack or sippy cup is always in a particular place, keep it free of all other items she should not touch.

Medications are an obvious risk to youngsters. But bags often contain other, less apparent hazards, according to Tyler. Cosmetics – particularly nail polish and hair and skin care products – can draw kids’ attention and be swallowed or placed in the eyes.

Tyler cited statistics showing that between 2002 and 2016, almost 64 700 US children under age five landed in the emergency room for injuries related to cosmetics.

Meanwhile, coins, breath mints, cough drops and other small items present a choking hazard. Coins can also damage the digestive tract, Tyler noted, as can tiny button batteries found in car-key fobs.

Parents also need to be vigilant about any nicotine products, whether they be traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes or nicotine gum. Nicotine poisoning can make young children very ill, or even prove fatal.

Keep bags out of reach

Then there are firearms. It’s not uncommon, Tyler said, for people to carry guns or other weapons in a bag. And in recent years, news reports have highlighted tragic cases where a toddler retrieved a gun from a bag and accidentally shot himself or someone else.

Certain situations can increase the risk to toddlers, Murray said. One is during holiday gatherings, when many people are in one place and it can be hard to keep track of little ones’ every move.

Murray saw a tragedy like that play out: At a neighbour’s holiday party, her friends’ nine-month-old came across a methadone pill that had dropped to the floor, and swallowed it without anyone noticing.

Hours after putting her to bed that night, her parents found her dead. It turned out that the pill belonged to a relative who had visited the house.

Tyler said it’s critical for everyone who is around a young child to be mindful of what’s in their belongings, and to keep bags off the floor and out of reach.

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The government has pledged to increase daily testing tenfold by the end of the month.