Tuesday, 19 March, 2024
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Weekly Roundup

Estcourt Hospital guards fired, nurse suspended, following assault on patient

KwaZulu-Natal Health has fired two security guards implicated in assaulting an elderly patient at Estcourt Hospital, and placed a nurse who videod the incident...

President Ramaphosa’s new COVID-19 restrictions to curb third wave

Full text of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on 15 June 2021, announcing new COVID-19 restrictions: Fellow South Africans, It is exactly 15 months...

Only 1% of hospital beds in England now have COVID-19 patients

Sir Simon Stevens, head of the National Health Service (NHS), says hospitals are in a “much better position” than before, with far fewer patients,...

6 die after 37 of 40 people on Namibia bus tour test positive for COVID-19

Six elderly tourists died from Covid-19 after 37 out of 40 travellers on a bus trip in Namibia tested positive for the coronavirus, reports...

Feeling down, Down Under: Australian doctors’ launch online depression tool

An Australian network of privately practising mental health professionals has built and launched an online tool that allows people to quickly gain insight into...

SAMRC's wastewater tracking of Covid-19 signals KZN third wave

Wastewater analysis in KwaZulu-Natal indicates the province might already be in the third wave of Covid-19, reports News24, quoting Durban University of Technology's Institute...

Life Esidimeni survivors face bleak future — NGOs

Five years after the Life Esidimeni scandal, 125 of the surviving patients may be left destitute again, according to Rapport. NGOs who are caring for...

SAAPA voices concern over alcohol consumption by preteens

The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (Saapa) says strengthening liquor legislation would make the country a safer place for children, reports EWN. Saapa is particularly...

Oncology at Charlotte Maxeke to open following SAHRC intervention

The Oncology unit at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg will re-open this week, following numerous complaints from cancer patients regarding their medication, reports SABC...

JAMA editor resigns following backlash over racism remarks

Following a backlash after the Journal of the American Medical Association aired a podcast and posted a tweet questioning whether structural racism exists in...

WHO introduces new naming system for Coronavirus variants

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has proposed ew names for Coronavirus variants using letters from the Greek alphabet, in order to avoid stigma to...

FDA warning on cellphone effects on implanted medical devices

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has warned in a statement that certain cellphones and smartwatches, as well as some other electronic devices,...

Vavi: Government won’t be keeping its 2021 herd immunity promise

The SA government will not meet the target in the roll-out plan, to inoculate more than 40m — two-thirds of our population — by...

British GPs urged to be more alert in diagnosing lung cancer in non-smokers

Cancer charities in Britain are urging GPs to save lives by getting better at spotting the symptoms of one of the most lethal forms...

Strict lockdown in Zimbabwe city of Kwekwe following Indian variant death

Zimbabwe's health ministry has launched a two-week lockdown on the central city of Kwekwe and surrounding rural areas, after detecting the coronavirus variant dominant...

At least 8,700 patients died after catching COVID-19 in English hospitals

More than 8,700 patients died after contracting COVID-19 while in English hospitals being treated for another medical problem, according to official NHS data obtained...

Mediclinic may net R5.6bn from stake in UK's Spire

Hospital group Mediclinic may pocket £287.8m (R5.6bn) for its stake in the UKʼs Spire Healthcare Group, following an acquisition offer by Australiaʼs Ramsay Health...

EMA: Pfizer vaccine safe to store in fridge for longer than previously recommended

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine can be stored at fridge temperature for much longer than previously recommended,...

SA’s medical schemes will pay more than R300 a vaccine jab

The national Department of Health says private medical schemes will be charged more than R300 a shot to access the 51-million doses of COVID-19...

Mkhize: SA will 'start small' with vaccinating over 60s from Monday

People over 60 who have registered to receive the vaccine on the government’s system will soon receive a message to schedule their appointments, reports...

Mucormycosis: The deadly ‘black fungus’ afflicting COVID-19 patients in India

Mucormycosis, a rare “black fungus” that invades the brain and has a mortality rate upwards of 50%, is being increasingly seen in vulnerable patients...

SAHPRA appeals for a bigger budget to fill key vacancies

The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has appealed to the Treasury for a bigger budget, warning that it cannot do its job effectively...

Prof Abdool Karim warns on dangers of fast-spreading variants

The COVID-19 variants detected in SA could spread “quite quickly” and no-one should become complacent, warned Prof Salim Abdool Karim, in TimesLIVE report. The...

WTO chief hopes that COVID-19 patent waiver will be settled by December

The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said she hopes that by December the body’s members will have reached a “pragmatic”...

AstraZeneca struggles to get vaccine data together for US approval

AstraZeneca executives have struggled to pull together the full data necessary to apply for US approval of its COVID-19 shot. The Wall Street Journal...

Limpopo hospital fire leaves 2 patients dead

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has conveyed condolences to the families of the two victims who died on Tuesday (4 May 2020) when a...

SA awards first vaccine import and distribution contracts and makes up with J&J

The government has awarded contracts for importing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines, a vital step in preparing for its mass vaccination drive, which is due...

Patients with rare condition to struggle when Pfizer discontinues glaucoma drug

As Pfizer discontinues a drug used to manage a rare form of glaucoma, a small group of patients struggles to cope, Stat News reports. From...

Younger fatalities in Brazil signals a new direction to pandemic

Like in most countries, the pandemic in Brazil hit the elderly and immuno-compromised first and hardest. But, reports Stars and Stripes, in the past...

French wine tasters ask for vaccine priority to protect sense of smell and taste

French wine tasters have urged the government to prioritise them for vaccines after dozens were left unable to work when they lost their sense...

UK warning on companion animal cuddling after kitten dies of COVID-19

A kitten has died from COVID-19 in the first case of its kind in the UK, as cat owners are warned not to hug...

Western Cape hospital fire under investigation

An investigation has been launched into a fire which broke out at the Caledon Provincial Hospital on Thursday night, last week, reports News24. The...

Treatment at Charlotte Maxeke after fire to resume on 3 May

Operations at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital are expected to resume on 3 May after parts of the hospital were gutted by a...

Baghdad hospital oxygen tank explosion — fire kills at least 82

A fire caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad took at least 82 lives and forced some people to...

Israel records first day of no COVID-19 deaths in 10 months

Israel has recorded no new daily COVID-19 deaths for the first time in 10 months, as the country pushes ahead with its speedy vaccination...

Syndax announces positive interim data from leukaemia drug trial

Syndax Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline of cancer therapies, today announced updated positive data from the Phase 1 dose escalation...

Thembisa doctor dies after being tortured and stabbed

After being tortured and then stabbed multiple times in the head during a home robbery, well-known Thembisa medical practitioner Dr Oupa Chuene, 66, died...

PE hospitals' linen shortage: patients resort to curtains and newspapers

Linen cupboards at the Port Elizabeth Provincial and Livingstone Hospitals are running bare and doctors are struggling to admit patients because they do not...

SACP backs Ramaphosa's call for Nobel prize to Cuba's Medical Brigade

The SA Communist Party (SACP) has backed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to nominate the Cuban Medical Brigade for the Nobel Peace Prize, reports IoL....

SA experts warn that COVID-19 is 'here to stay'

South African experts have called for a reality check, says a Sunday Times report: COVID-19 is an airborne disease, so it's not going away....