By Melani Nathan
- Just over a week ago, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa moved the country from alert level 1 to level 3, due to a surge in Covid-19 infections across the country. Alcohol sales have been banned, beaches along the country’s coastline have been closed and the curfew extended. Following a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council, Bloomberg reports that Police Minister Bheki Cele and Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma have ‘recommended the country move to virus alert level 4 for 30 days’, according to sources. However, Bloomberg reports that other officials were concerned about the effects tougher restrictions may have on the economy and have ‘called for the relaxation of measures including the ban on alcohol sales and the closing of the nation’s beaches.
- South Africa’s hope of securing an order of 1.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine designed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford from an Indian company may have been dashed by a ban on exports imposed by India’s government, Business Day reported, citing unidentified people. Until Monday South Africa was confident it had secured the order from the Serum Institute of India, which is making the vaccine under license. Talks are now being held directly with India’s government, two people familiar with the situation said.
- South African private sector activity barely changed in December as demand stalled and there were decreases in purchases and inventories. According to the IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index which dipped to 50.2 in December from 50.3 in November. This is its lowest reading for three months but still above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction. IHS Markit economist David Owen says “South African businesses struggled to make gains in December, as weak demand and issues sourcing raw materials meant total output was broadly stable since November. While PMI data over the fourth quarter of 2020 points to an easing of the downturn, demand indicators suggest that the economy has far to go to recover from the pandemic,” he added.
Listen on Spotify:
Listen on iTunes here.
Visited 1,379 times, 1 visit(s) today
