Newsbreak

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - The Verulam Day and Frail Care Centre, north of Durban, has deemed speculation of COVID-19 cluster infections at the facility as FAKE NEWS. This after rumours circulated, relating to a number of people at the facility having contracted the coronavirus. Manager Fathima Khan, says appropriate measures are in place to assist in pr...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak South Asian Correspondent Rana Senn - India will begin human trials today of its first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine by screening hundreds of enrolled volunteers. The government approved the exercise as 40,000 new coronavirus cases put the national tally at 1.1 million but some health experts warned that figure could be much higher. Rana Senn has the deta...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Education Expert Professor Labby Ramrathan says focus should be placed on learning and not on attending school. This as Grades 3 and 10 were expected to return to school today, however the department of education made a decision not to go ahead with this plan. Education Minister Angie Motshekga will meet with the ANC today ahea...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak's Hoosen Ebrahim & Taliesha Naidoo - The National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB) says they agree with the Minister of Education - Angie Motshekga to keep schools opened. They association is calling for grade 7 and 12 learners to remain at schools amid the ongoing debate whether schools should close or not amid the Coronavirus pandemic. N...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer, Rachel Vadi - Almost 200 residents living in the Lotusville Flats in Isipingo, south of Durban - have received some reprieve in curbing the spread of the coronavirus in their area. Resident and community activist Strachen James says people have been living in fear of contracting coronavirus after a well known member of the community died last...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer, Taliesha Naidoo - Community leaders in Chatsworth, south of Durban say they are concerned about the rising number of Coronavirus infections. At the weekend, a well-known medical aid scheme contacted it's members living in Chatsworth to indicate a rise in infections in the area that they have tracked from their claims data. Jakes Singh - Commun...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Teachers Union SADTU say they expect government to accede to their demands by the end of the weekend to have schools closed and only re-opened after the COVID19 peak in the country. SADTU say they will today be meeting with Department of Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga and other unions to present and substantiate the c...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Taresh Harreeparshad - On Mandela Day, Democracy is the vaccine needed to address the COVID-19 consequences. That's the sentiment of former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Judge Navi Pillay. Tomorrow the world celebrates Mandela Day- with the prime focus being taking action against poverty. UN Chief Antonio Guterres will deliver the Annua...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak's Executive Producer Salma Patel - A local community organisation is urging South Africans to begin Nelson Mandela Day with an interfaith prayer to avert the COVID-19 crisis. Mandela Day - which will be observed tomorrow - is a day set aside in memory of the father of democratic South Africa - Nelson Mandela. The Phoenix Religious Leaders Forum will hos...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - South African motoring journalist - 27-year-old Brenwin Naidu has been selected as one of four panellists, to judge at the prestigious 2021 World Car Awards competition. Officially launched in 2004, the World Car Awards is a non-profit organisation that acknowledges and celebrates new passenger vehicles, all culminating in the...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producers Taresh Harreeparshad and Tashlan Naidoo - In his second public imbizo, President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed governments commitment to supporting South Africans through the COVID-19 pandemic. But not all South Africans were convinced. Many questioned what they termed "irrational decisions" like the cigarette ban, the directive to open schools a...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Executive Producer Salma Patel - And now its time for a brand new feature called Women's Economy Wednesdays - we bring you the tips and tricks from business women and how they've built their businesses and managed to stay afloat during lockdown. Here is episode one featuring entrepreneur Janet Pillai from Cape Town...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Taresh Harreeparshad - Government could soon be able to determine COVID-19 hotspots by analysing waste water. This follows a study across the country that showed COVID-19 RNA in waste water plants. This can enable authorities to identify where the virus is- and roll out testing and preventative measures there. Prof Anthony Turton led the study...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Cold weather conditions in KwaZulu-Natal seemed to have scared off the sardines today. Let's find out what the rest of the week has in store with angling enthusiast and bait shop owner Adam Kamdar on Sardine Fever...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Salma Patel - Its the middle of winter and the cold weather could trigger allergies. But, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, should allergy sufferers take special precautions? Paediatrician and allergy specialist, Dr Thulja Trikamjee says South Africa is dealing with the winter and influenza season at the same time and this could affect allergy suffer...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - A new food delivery app being launched in Durban will aim to break into and service markets that have not yet been targeted. But, in launching the service during the wake of a global pandemic, the company say their drivers will undergo stringent health checks on a daily basis, in line with government protocols. CEO of the Dryva...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Education expert at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Professor Labby Ramrathan says the ideal situation will be to close all schools until after the COVID-19 peak in South Africa. He was reacting to Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, acknowledging that the ministerial advisory committee agreed to re-open the schools despite the...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - Up and coming Durban North musician Oliver Milne is back and this time is making waves on the international music scene. His latest single titled "This Girl" has been trending on local streaming platforms and also has the distinction of featuring on Apple Music's International Playlist. A more up-tempo song when compared to his...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - The Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) say almost 400,000 jobs may be lost in the sector in the coming weeks, after government announced a night curfew and another ban on alcohol. RASA CEO Wendy Alberts says 69 restaurants have permanently closed their doors in the last few week, while hundreds more say it's financia...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - Countries around the world who are in the race to discover the first successful COVID-19 vaccine should not "cut corners" during the trial phase. This is according to retired South African epidemiologist, Dr. Jo Barnes. She told Newsbreak that medical scientists are most afraid of countries who quickly approve and export a vacc...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Fishing Expert Adam Kamdar - There have been reports of sardine sightings along the KwaZulu-Natal south coast this morning, but have any nets been taken? Let's find out with angling enthusiast and bait shop owner Adam Kamdar on Sardine Fever.

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Justice Minister - Ronald Lamola - has warned that, as a last resort, people could be arrested for failure to wear a face mask in public. Chairperson of the Phoenix Community Policing Forum in Durban, Umesh Singh says the amount of people in the area not wearing a face mask and maintaining a social distance is becoming frighten...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak producer Hoosen Ebrahim - The tourism sector remains outraged at the current regulations governing the industry. They claim that government have backtracked on a decision to open accommodation for leisure within provinces. Chief Executive Officer at the Tourism Business Council - Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa says businesses in the tourism market are now suffer...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - Ahead of Mandela Day this weekend, a group of children known as "The Little Acorns" are set to wow audiences in a special fundraising concert. The "acorns" hail from the Bhai Rambharos Home for Children and aim to collect much-needed funding for themselves and their home-schooling. The fundraising concert will be live-streamed...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Taliesha Naidoo - Around 460 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss and 34 million of these are children. But hearing loss can affect anyone at any age. It's most common among people older than 60 years of age. Just like regularly checking your eyesight, checking your hearing ability is just as important. In this week's Medical Mo...