In Episode 42 of Inside Covid-19, with schools set to re-open on Monday, there’s professional advice on how families can minimize virus-related risks this will introduce; actuarial body PANDA wants Government’s official coronavirus mortality modellers to share their assumptions after their projections have proved consistently inflated; we share the intensely personal experience of living with cancer during Covid-19 with our Biznews colleague Chris Bateman; and hear from New York University professor Scott Galloway who is proposing a Corona Corps of young Americans wanting to help fight the virus in Africa. – Alec Hogg
In the Covid-19 headlines today:
- Although globally confirmed coronavirus infections are still rising, deaths from the virus appear to be on a distinctive declining curve. Monday’s worldwide total of just over 3,000 mortalities is down almost two thirds on the daily record of 8,400 deaths recorded in mid-April. The hottest spots have also shifted away from Europe and, increasingly, the US, with Brazilian deaths of 732 on Monday fractionally higher than those recorded in the world’s worst hit nation, the US. It now looks pretty clear that the US is past the worst with its daily mortality trend in decline since April 21 when peaking at 2,600, more than three times the current level. The UK, which has the second highest mortalities after the US, is also well past its worst with Monday’s 111 deaths below a tenth of its daily peak, also recorded in mid April. On the other side, apart from Brazil, other countries now experiencing a rising mortality trend are India, Russia and Peru.
- With the South African coronavirus mortalities slowing in recent days, calls are growing for an updated response to projections that deaths will end up more than 50 times the current total. On Monday, SA’s daily death toll was 22, the lowest in a week and down by more than half on a recent peak. That took the country’s total mortalities to just over 700, far below last week’s forecast that deaths will reach 40,000. Panda, the group of actuaries, who have been questioning official mortality projections that started at 375,000, is calling for an urgent opening of the calculations to public scrutiny. They say the latest forecast is still at least four times above the likely result. Panda says such exaggerated projections panicked the Government into taking actions which have led to unnecessary damage to the economy, and will result in millions losing their jobs.
- According to the SA Association of Freight Forwarders, importers are facing a R1.4bn bill in storage and demurrage costs accumulated during the 27 days of Level 5 lockdown as more than 20,000 containers piled up in storage facilities. The Association’s CEO David Logan says during this period containers could not be legally delivered and says many of his 294 members, which between them manage around 70% of containers moving into and out of the country, face bills running into millions.
- Discovery hosts a “sending our children safely back to school” webinar at noon Wednesday as a public service ahead of next week’s re-opening of classrooms. Attendance is free with pre-registration at Discovery.co.za.
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