The International Relations Department says it's working on bringing more South Africans, who are stranded in other countries, back home. Sixteen South Africans who were stranded in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates due to the lockdown arrived back in the country on Thursday and are currently under self-quarantine. This is the first group to be repatriated after President Cyril Ramaphosa relaxed the lockdown regulations. Dirco says they will give priority to those who are stranded at airports, the elderly and the sick.

Government is working at ways of easing lockdown measures while keeping COVID-19 infections under control. Today some restrictions were eased relating to emergency workers, and as Samkele Maseko reports, the next few weeks may see more.

South Africa’s coronavirus cases leapt again to 554 on Tuesday, the most of any country in Africa, as its 57 million people rushed to prepare for an unprecedented lockdown that begins Thursday. Across Africa, 43 of its 54 countries now have cases, with the total at 1,788. Thirteen countries have reported 58 deaths. South Africa has not recorded one. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday night announced the 21-day lockdown. Rwanda and Tunisia earlier announced lockdowns.

South Africa is counting down to the start of the 21- day National Lockdown

It is 12 midnight, and South Africa has just began it's 21 day lockdown period. The president also encouraged South Africans to adhere to regulations.

President Cyril Ramaphosa briefs media on #coronavirus

President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected a request by the Gauteng Liquor Forum to lift the ban on the sale of alcohol. The forum, which represents about 20 000 tavern and shebeen owners, has threatened to go to court.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation later this afternoon about decisions taken during a special cabinet meeting on measures to tackle the coronavirus. This as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country increased by 13 to 51. All the new cases relate to people who have travelled across Europe.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a three-week total shutdown, beginning midnight on Thursday, to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Commander in Chief of armed forces, President Cyril Ramaphosa met the police ahead of the midnight lockdown.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has convened a Command Council meeting. The meeting is aimed at assessing the progress and challenges on the implementation of the national lockdown. Present in the meeting are deputy President David Mabuza, Ministers, the Nine Premiers and representatives from SALGA. Issues of the on the agenda is Responses by provinces to COVID19. The economic recovery plan will also be at the top of the agenda as South Africa has been downgraded to Junk Status by Rating Agencies Moody's and Fitch.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has addressed the military as the country prepares for a 21-day lockdown.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation live on Thursday evening, day 14 of the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has addressed the military as the country prepares for a 21-day lockdown. SABC news reporter Samkele Maseko is tracking that story for us.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government will assess the effectiveness of the 21-day lockdown, which is due to end on 16 April, in the coming days. He was speaking on the sidelines of his visit to the National Water Command Centre at Rand Water in Johannesburg.

A summary of the president’s address to the nation, implementing a national lockdown from Thursday 26 March.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa will go into lockdown for 21 days, starting from 26 March 2020, midnight.

As South Africans try to cope with a radical change of life. President Cyril Ramaphosa says a proper assessment of the 21-day lockdown will be done in the next few days. He wouldn't entertain questions about a possible extension. While inspecting operations at Rand Water, south of Johannesburg, he said the COVID-19 pandemic had given the country an opportunity to speed up service delivery.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Monday evening to discuss the measures currently being undertaken to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The address by the president follows Sunday's meeting of the National Command Council which assessed the efficacy of the national lockdown that came into effect on Thursday, 26 March.

Animals have begun reclaiming the empty streets and without us humans in the way nature is thriving. The lockdowns have caused nitrogen dioxyde pollution levels to dive in Italy and China. From a climate perspective, the coronavirus pandemic is not entirely negative. the hastily implemented measures drastically cut emisssions - measures that otherwise would have taken years to come into effect. Can the corona crisis help our planet to breathe again?

The pandemic closing factories and keeping cars off roads may be good for emissions, but all of those gains are short term. While millions of workers are spending days at home, the Trump administration hasn’t dropped its work to counteract environmental progress. Today, it’s set to announce one of the most sweeping and consequential regulatory rollbacks of Trump’s presidency: a reversal of vehicle emissions standards enacted by the Obama administration. The old rule forced auto-makers to increase fuel efficiency year-by-year at a rate of 5%, by taking mileage and emissions into account. Now car-makers will only have to increase efficiency by just 1.5% year-over-year. The rule was already in the works before the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the U.S., and it comes after the EPA announced it is no longer requiring companies to comply with a wide swath of environmental laws if they cite the pandemic. So while pollution may be down for the time being in a few big cities in the U.S., a trend that’s playing out in India and in Hubei province, where levels of nitrogen dioxide fell by 40% during a strict lockdown, government moves to boost withering economies could turn back that progress. As Hubei province opens back up, drivers are getting back behind the wheel, and auto-makers are back at work. Plans to reignite China’s economy could also reignite pollution—a report released by the NGO Global Energy Monitor found that China has approved plans for more coal-fired power capacity in the first three weeks of March than in all of 2019. In the U.S., the congressional bailout package is helping fuel-inefficient airlines, while shunning the sector responsible for two of the fastest-growing occupations in the country: solar and wind technicians.

Jennifer Johnson reports on the alarming COVID-19 numbers in the United States, where the death toll has doubled in two days, as President Donald Trump extends social distancing guidelines to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Nitrogen dioxide emissions have declined in northern Italy since its coronavirus lockdown, data shows.

More lockdown violations... more arrests. Still many seem undeterred. Police and Johannesburg Metro Police conducted roadblocks across the city. Scores were arrested at Diepsloot, north of the city.

Police Minister Bheki Cele says 55 people have been arrested for not respecting the lockdown curfew.

Let's take a look at COVID-19 statistics in South Africa.

There are 25 confirmed deaths linked to COVID-19 in South Africa and the number of positive cases has jumped to 2028. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize joins us now for more after spending the last few days in KwaZulu-Natal.

There is a wave of uncertainty that the World is grabbling with, amid the Coronavirus ongoing devastation. South Africa, is not exempted from 2003 confirmed cases and 24 deaths. And while these figures are far below the 6 000 cases expected by the start of the month, the country will now be under lockdown for a further 14 days, ending 30th April. This was announced yesterday by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also announced additional measures to further slow down the infection rate. To discuss, unpack that address, we now speak to Director of ASRI, Angelo Fick

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa is now 1 655. This is an increase of 70 from the previously reported cases. There are 11 COVID related deaths in the country at this time. The provincial breakdown is as follows: GAUTENG 704 WESTERN CAPE 454 KWAZULU - NATAL 246 FREE STATE 87 EASTERN CAPE 31 LIMPOPO 19 MPUMALANGA 18 NORTH WEST 11 NORTHERN CAPE 8 UNALLOCATED 77

The COVID-19 lockdown has disrupted school schedules around the country. Next week, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, will present her proposal for the rest of the 2020 academic year to Parliament. One consideration is to move the June and September exams to November and December, another is to cancel any further school holidays. There are concerns that the re-opening of schools cannot happen in isolation. In other words there will have to be enough transport for teachers and scholars who need it, parents will need to work to pay fees and there'll need to be consistent testing of learners to make sure schools don't become infection sites.

Taxi drivers in Port Elizabeth are up in arms. They're protesting against lockdown regulations limiting the number of passengers they can transport. Drivers say they cannot afford to transport fewer passengers given the very high price of petrol. Score of drivers have gathered at Njoli square on Tuesday, asking for this decision to be revised saying they're working at a loss.

Two people were arrested for allegedly selling and buying illegal informal traders' permits in Protea Glen, Soweto. The men also allegedly sell fake medical certificates at a cost of R400 each. They will face fraud charges and contravening lockdown regulations. Police used a decoy to lure them. He was also arrested and taken to the police station, where he was later released.

Law enforcement agencies are tackling lockdown fraud.  Johannesburg Metro Police are cracking down on people selling fake informal trading permits.

From Texas to Washington, hundreds of Americans defied all medical advice to join protests against lockdown measures across the country meant to keep them safe during the coronavirus outbreak. Many of the protests have blended calls for defying government tyranny with calls for Trump’s re-election. The protests have mixed legitimate calls for economic help during the stay-at-home orders, and then there are bogus conspiracy theories about the virus, often while ignoring public health advice measures meant to prevent its spread. "I eat the right food I take vitamins, I drink the right water, vitamin D, vitamin C, it's been proven already. So we have everything that we need - we don't need a vaccine," one protester told reporters at a protest in Washington. State health officials have warned that a premature return to business-as-usual will result in a spike in infections of the novel coronavirus.

President Donald Trump and the White House task force provide daily update to the nation on the coronavirus pandemic for Sunday, April 19. RELATED: Gov. Andrew Cuomo gives updates on coronavirus pandemic in New York https://youtu.be/eFV_Js1-bZU As New York begins an aggressive antibody testing campaign this week and some states are begin to loosen restrictions in an effort to restore the economy, The White House provides its daily update on COVID-19 for Sunday, April 19.

In a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, a majority of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus. 52% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, while 44% of voters say they approve.

Health CAS Dr. Mercy Mwangangi full briefing on state of COVID-19 in Kenya

During a daily briefing alongside the coronavirus task force on Friday, U.S. President Trump discussed new coronavirus numbers out of China as well as reports on the origin of the virus. Trump was asked about China doubling its figures of deaths in Wuhan on Friday in what the Chinese government said was a statistical correction, with Trump saying in reply that the U.S. can't have the most deaths from the coronavirus, “the most in the world has to be China.” The president was also asked about U.S. intelligence reports that they're investigating the virus emanating from a lab in Wuhan, China. “They talk about a certain type of bat, but that bat wasn't in that area. That bat wasn't sold at that wet zone.”

Protesters have taken to the streets in states across the US, demanding that governors reopen economies shut by the coronavirus pandemic. Rallies in Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Washington state took place on Sunday, following earlier protests in half a dozen states. Agitation for easing restrictions has grown, despite the risk of a Covid-19 resurgence posed by reopening too soon. US President Donald Trump has signalled support for the protests. The US has become the centre of the Covid-19 crisis, with over 735,000 cases and some 40,000 deaths - but signs have emerged that it is reaching the apex of the outbreak and that infection rates are slowing in some states.

President Trump called protesters demanding an end to the lockdown "responsible people” - hours after encouraging demonstrations in Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia. Trump had earlier called for the “liberation” of the Democrat-run states in a series of incendiary tweets. The president admitted Thursday it was up to governors to reopen their states amid the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming 29 were close to ending their lockdowns. Asked about the protesters Friday, Trump said: "These are people expressing their views. They seem to be very responsible people [...] they’ve been treated a little bit rough."

Protesters have voiced their anger over lockdown restrictions in the US in a series of demonstrations. Measures brought in to try to stop the spread of Covid-19 have been criticised as too harsh by some, while others say they aren't tough enough.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation this evening - on additional economic and social relief measures that form part of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The President's address flows from recent deliberations at Cabinet, the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President's Coordinating Council, and the National Economic Development and Labour Council, among others.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Tuesday night. All sectors of the economy have been feeling the pinch during the month-long lockdown.

Some hope and anxiety tonight ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa's address to the nation about government's social and economic relief plans during the coronavirus pandemic.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a R500 billion support package for the economy as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic. Addressing the nation on Tuesday night, President Ramaphosa has said this amounts to 10% of the Gross Domestic Product.

When South Africa registered its first coronavirus infection in early March, the government was swift to implement measures to combat the spread of the disease. While testing capacity and protective gear remain an issue, early figures suggest the strict policies are working. But among those most vulnerable to this pandemic are the homeless. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has promised that homeless people will be looked after during the lockdown. In Cape Town, that means taking them off the street and putting them into a camp - which Doctors Without Borders says is more likely to spread coronavirus than if they stayed where they were.

Following the coronavirus outbreak, which forced many countries including South Africa into lockdowns, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced plans to assist the countries citizens and its economy.

South Africa has confirmed its first two coronavirus deaths, as the number of confirmed cases rises to more than a thousand. The news comes at the start of a three-week nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the virus. The military has been deployed to help enforce measures that include restictions on people leaving their homes for anything but essential trips. Alcohol sales and dog-walking have also been banned. More of the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic: - Three months into the outbreak, and the total number of confirmed cases globally has passed half a million - and the death toll is more than 24,000. - France has reported its fifth-highest death count. It's jumped by a quarter in just one day and the death toll is still climbing. - German company Bosch says it's developed a coronavirus test for use in medical facilities that delivers results in 2.5 hours - twice as fast as other tests.

South African Medical Association says it is concerned about the country's capacity to place a large number of people under quarantine amid the global Coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking to reporters at the White House Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump defended his use of the term "Chinese Flu" to describe COVID-19, saying its use was a deliberate retaliation for claims that the virus was brought to China by U.S. military personnel. Trump also added that he doesn't think the U.S. airline industry is at fault for the spread of COVID-19 across the globe, and pledged to help the domestic airline industry recover from the impacts of the virus' spread. Trump also said that on "the day" that COVID-19 outbreak is contained, Americans "will know" when they "all of a sudden say wow, that's looking good."

Dr. Bruce Aylward, the Canadian head of the World Health Organization's COVID-19 mission in China, has just returned from Wuhan. Global National's Dawna Friesen asks him about what lessons can be learned from the outbreak there, and why he believes worst-case scenario planning for countries like Canada is essential.

Chinese journalists have shed light on their country’s deadly coronavirus cover-up which has led to tens of thousands of deaths and sent global economies crashing to a halt. Sky News Australia presents COVID-19: Ground Zero – an investigation into what caused the killer coronavirus and how China managed to bury the truth for so long. South China Morning Post news editor Josephine Ma told Sky News her government covered up more than 200 cases of coronavirus in 2019, delaying global warnings and allowing the spread of the virus to leak into other countries. Ground Zero also details the incredible steps nations around the world are taking to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) provided an update on COVID-19 on Monday. They said there were over 70,000 cases reported by China, with 1,772 deaths, as well as 694 reported cases from 25 countries and three deaths in total.

World Economic Forum and World Health Organisation: Covid-19 in Africa media briefing

In Chicago, African Americans comprise 30% of the population but account for a staggering 72% of deaths.

Africa Centres For Disease Control and Prevention says it is strengthening its capacity to reach out faster to African member states that need assistance responding to cases of the coronavirus. The Africa CDC says it has faith that South Africa will effectively combat the spread of the virus in its country because in the continent it is one of the countries with a strong health system.

#Coronavirus #COVID19 #CoronavirusSA The facts - at the start and end of your working day.

A man who tested positive for Covid-19 has been arrested at a village outside Tzaneen in Limpopo SABC News reporter Mike Maringa, is with Limpopo Health MEC DR. Phophi Ramathuba at Pietersburg hospital in Polokwane.

Calm has been restored to Marabastand after taxi commuters clashed with metro police. The taxi was full, violating the lockdown regulations that kicked in at midnight.

Law enforcement and private security guards spent the early hours of Friday morning telling people to get into their homes as the 21-day national lockdown begins in South Africa. Cars were pulled over and pedestrians questioned between midnight and 3am as to why they weren't in their homes. The country will remain on lockdown for the next 21-days with supermarkets, pharmacies and health facilities still remaining open.

Will South Africa stay on a hard lockdown, or will we see industries re-opening in a phased approach? The country's been on lockdown for 28 days now, and we have another seven to go. President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to address the nation this evening on what comes next.

Which industries or businesses will follow mining and be re-opened during the lockdown?

President Cyril Ramaphosa visits COVID-19 facilities around Gauteng

South Africa will benefit from Cuba's global effort to fight Covid-19.

Trade and Industry Minister, Ebrahim Patel says an estimated 1.5 million South Africans will be able to return to work, under Level 4 restrictions, which kick in on May the first.

South Africans wait for word from the President as to whether lockdown regulations will be eased, phased out, or extended.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has urged people to continue to stay at home as the total number of deaths reached 34 Wednesday..

Mass screening and disinfecting have started at South Africa’s mining houses, as the industry prepares for a return to work.

U.K. Environment Secretary George Eustice and Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England provided an update on the COVID-19 battle in the U.K. on April 26.

There is a mix of hope and despair in the coronavirus wrap today. Europe's first human trial of a potential vaccine is underway in the UK while the jobless rate continues to climb in the United States.

Today, the U.S. passed 50,000 deaths due to COVID-19. Chuck Todd says, "At this rate, in just a few days, more Americans will have died from Coronavirus over a span of roughly 9 weeks than died in the Vietnam War over a span of 12-years." Aired on 4/24/2020.

#Kenya #KTNNews #KTNPrime #COVID19 #CoronaVirus

While South Africa citizens are under lockdown, we take a look at how things are being done in the white Afrikaner town of Orania - and whether they are under lockdown.

More than 200 Cuban doctors were welcomed as they landed in South Africa to help the country in its fight against COVID-19.

The HSRC conducted a survey on how South Africans are responding to the lockdown and to the Corona Virus.

The World Health Organisation says the spread of COVID-19 can only be halted if there's unity.

President Trump ordered meat-processing plants to stay open to protect the food supply in the U.S., drawing a backlash from unions that said at-risk workers required more protection

Smaller labs and hospitals are reporting a critical shortage of Covid-19 testing supplies as President Donald Trump touts that there are enough tests to reopen the country.

There are now over 1 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States.

Bill Gates joins CNN's Fareed Zakaria to discuss potential timelines for the discovery and production of a coronavirus vaccine.