New data points to fears of contracting COVID-19 at congested health facilities as the primary reason for people not seeking needed care and defaulting on their chronic medication, including HIV treatment. Amy Green reports.
The reinstatement of the ban on the sale of alcohol may have come as a surprise to many, but evidence suggest that it will have a significant impact on trauma and hospital capacity in the coming weeks. Elna Schütz investigates.
Research released on Wednesday shows a significant drop in antenatal and follow-up visits to health facilities during South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown. To help understand these statistics, Tiyese Jeranji spoke to some health workers and new and expecting mothers about being pregnant in a pandemic.
Findings from a large survey published today has revealed shocking statistics about the effects of South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown on child and household hunger. Experts say children may be the pandemic’s greatest victims and the country’s progress towards ending hunger may have been reversed. Kathryn Cleary reports.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called the COVID-19 pandemic the gravest crisis in the country’s democratic history. Now, with the Western Cape and Gauteng making up nearly 64 percent of the country’s total confirmed infections, Kathryn Cleary asked departments of health in both provinces how prepared they are for the coming peak.
Stigma and discrimination makes accessing healthcare services hard for many young people living with HIV. Has it become even harder during the COVID-19 pandemic? Nomfundo Xolo spoke to young people and activists in KwaZulu-Natal.
Already at an increased risk of serious COVID-19 illness, older persons in poor communities face an additional set of difficulties in staying safe and healthy. Siyabonga Kamnqa spoke to older people, experts, civil society organisations and government authorities on what can be done to protect older people.
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has approved its first COVID-19 antibody test amid criticism that it is too slow and too cautious in approving applications for the registration of such tests.
While COVID-19 infections and deaths are rising among those older than 60 years, residential care facilities battle to keep residents safe. Elri Voigt investigates how care facilities are responding, whether they are getting the support they need from government and if the data on the situation in care homes provides a reliable picture.
Are waste service workers becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 through their work? Is handling household waste an occupational hazard? Are the precautionary measures introduced by municipalities sufficient? Professor Wolfgang Preiser explains the science and puts the risks in perspective.
Hundreds of people daily search for recyclable materials to sell and food to eat at Arlington and Uitenhage waste disposal sites in Port Elizabeth. Luvuyo Mehlwana spoke to waste pickers about their fears of contracting COVID-19 from waste and to experts about the risks of this happening.
Six months more of pandemic-related disruptions could result in a spike of an additional 500 000 AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa alone by the end of next year, warns UNAIDS.