Earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a difficult truth – Covid-19 is far from over, with cases spiking on the Garden Route, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. He implemented beach bans and other restrictions.
At the weekend, the picture got more depressing, with different strains of the virus emerging in the Eastern Cape and, on the other side of the globe, in Britain. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was the proverbial Grinch on Saturday, putting an end to Christmas parties at short notice. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon followed up by moving the nation into strict lockdown from Boxing Day – with no travel allowed south of the border with England.
The big fear is that new strains of Covid-19 are more infectious, though much is not known about how the mutated versions of Sars-CoV-2 differ from the one that first emerged in Wuhan, China. Vaccines against the early version, which is still circulating, will take many months to roll out, and will only start in SA towards the second half of 2021. For the latest facts about the Eastern Cape mutation, see: Covid-19: Second wave spreads new virus strain in SA; hits younger people hard – Govt Q&A.
PS: In case you missed these:
- One of our most popular Rational Radio webinar downloads of the year is now available as a podcast: FirstRand founders: on business, entrepreneurship, friendship and life – #BestofBizNews
- Fractional property ownership and long-term investing – #BestofBizNews. Hear from EasyProperties CEO Rupert Finnemore on a new type of residential property investment. Independent financial advisors Dawn Ridler and Derek Smorenburg share tips on how to choose a good financial advisor and answer some of your burning money questions at this Finance Friday webinar.
- SA’s Nobel prizewinning scientist Prof Michael Levitt: Lockdowns are ‘a huge mistake’ #BestofBizNews. A fascinating interview by BizNews founder Alec Hogg.
A festive season treat from BizNews: Free audio book download for your listening pleasure. The in-depth, insightful Cyril Ramaphosa biography, The Road to Presidential Power – by Anthony Butler, read by BizNews founder Alec Hogg. Access it here: https://iono.fm/c/5507,
