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December

• South African President Reinstates Restrictions to Control Resurgence of COVID Cases VOA 29 Dec 2020 -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he is reinstating a ban on alcohol sales and ordered the closure of all bars as a necessary step to control a resurgence of the coronavirus, including a new variant of the virus.
• Restrictive measures may be taken for flights from S.Africa amid fears of new strain Global Times 25 Dec 2020 -- The Chinese mainland is likely to follow the international trend in suspending flights to and from South Africa, which has been hit hard by COVID-19, predicted Chinese medical and public health experts, who worry that a new variant of the coronavirus being reported there may bring risks and uncertainties to China's generally stable epidemic situation.
• UK Bans Entries From South Africa After New COVID-19 Strain Different to UK Variant Found Sputnik 24 Dec 2020 -- The United Kingdom on Thursday banned entry for passengers traveling from South Africa after a second new variant of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, allegedly originating from South Africa was found in the country, the Department of Transport said.
• South Africa Sees New Virus Variant, But Stresses: Don't Panic VOA 22 Dec 2020 -- South African health officials say the nation's new COVID-19 wave is driven by a new variant of the coronavirus. But they say if there is one overarching message about the new variant, it is this: don't panic.
• Germany wants to restrict travel with UK and South Africa: spokesperson People's Daily 21 Dec 2020 -- A German government spokesperson announced on Sunday that Germany plans to limit travel possibilities with the UK and South Africa.
• South Africa's Coronavirus Cases Cross 900,000 - Health Ministry SPA 18 Dec 2020 -- South Africa's total reported coronavirus cases surpassed 900,000 today, on Friday, just a fortnight after it reported crossing 800,000, signaling a rapid rise in infections in the country battling a second wave, Reuters reported.
• South Africa Announces Restrictions for Second Coronavirus Wave VOA 15 Dec 2020 -- Beaches and booze are high on the government's hit list as South Africa enters its second wave of coronavirus infections — and a long-awaited monthlong summer break for the majority of residents.
• South Africa reports 2302 new confirmed coronavirus cases SPA 01 Dec 2020 -- South Africa reported 2302 new confirmed coronavirus COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours and 58 dead.

November

• Former South African President Zuma Makes First Appearance Before Judicial Commission VOA 17 Nov 2020 -- Former South African president Jacob Zuma appeared Monday before a commission investigating corruption allegations during his presidency.
• S. African president issues warning against COVID-19 resurgence People's Daily 12 Nov 2020 -- With COVID-19 cases flaring up again in some parts of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned against complacency about the virus in a television address on Wednesday.
• S. Africa launches third COVID-19 vaccine trial People's Daily 10 Nov 2020 -- South Africa on Monday launched the country's third COVID-19 vaccine trial, which tests whether an experimental vaccine can protect people from contracting the novel coronavirus or developing serious symptoms.

October

• South African President Self-Quarantining after Possible COVID Exposure VOA 29 Oct 2020 -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is self-quarantining at home after coming into contact with a dinner guest who tested positive for COVID-19.
• S.African president begins self-quarantine People's Daily 28 Oct 2020 -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa began self-quarantine after one of the 35 guests who attended an event here with him over the weekend tested positive for COVID-19, the presidency said in a statement Wednesday.
• S. African health minister tests positive for COVID-19 People's Daily 19 Oct 2020 -- South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and his wife tested positive for COVID-19, his office said in a statement late on Sunday.

September

• Flights to South Africa Resume After Six-Month Pandemic Hiatus SPA 30 Sep 2020 -- After closing its airspace to commercial flights from abroad for six months due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa is set to open its skies again on Thursday, though leisure travellers from high-risk countries will not immediately be allowed, dpa reported.
• South African President warns pandemic has set back African development UN News 22 Sep 2020 -- Despite the continent-wide approach taken by African countries to combat COVID-19, the pandemic has set back their development aspirations, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
• South Africa says ‘surprised’ by ‘bizarre’ report of Iran plot to kill US envoy Press TV 18 Sep 2020 -- South African Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor says her country is “as surprised as its Iranian friends” after learning about the American news website Politico’s report of a “plot” by Tehran to assassinate the US envoy to the African nation.
• South Africa Says Insufficient Evidence Of Iranian Plot To Assassinate U.S. Ambassador RFE/RL 18 Sep 2020 -- South Africa's State Security Agency said September 18 that it had found no evidence to support a media report that Iran was planning to assassinate the U.S. ambassador to Pretoria.
• South Africa Easing Restrictions as Coronavirus Infections Drop VOA 17 Sep 2020 -- President Cyril Ramaphosa announced late Wednesday that South Africa will begin allowing travel in and out of the country beginning October 1 amid a substantial decline in coronavirus cases.
• South Africans Bristle Over Alleged Trump Comments on Mandela VOA 08 Sep 2020 -- South Africans are angry about comments that U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly made in private about South African icon Nelson Mandela, the nation's first black president and Nobel Peace laureate. The alleged comments - which Trump denies - are full of profanity and include Trump saying of Mandela, "he was no leader," and are part of a tell-all book by indicted former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

August

• COVID-19 to increase poverty, inequality in S. Africa: UNDP People's Daily 26 Aug 2020 -- COVID-19 will lead to major setbacks in addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality and make many South Africans fall off the middle-class to below the poverty datum line, said the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in a study on the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in South Africa.
• Ramaphosa Addresses South Africa's Corruption VOA 24 Aug 2020 -- South Africa's president has delivered a withering description of the corruption that plagues the ruling African National Congress.
• S. Africa begins second COVID-19 vaccine trial People's Daily 18 Aug 2020 -- South Africa's University of Witwatersrand on Monday started the second COVID-19 vaccine trial in the country, said the institution.
• US Company to Begin Second Phase of Human Trials in South Africa for COVID-19 Vaccine VOA 18 Aug 2020 -- A U.S. based vaccine development company is set to begin the second phase of human testing for its COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa, which is in the midst of a surge in coronavirus cases.
• South Africa's COVID-19 recovery rate reaches 80 percent People's Daily 17 Aug 2020 -- South Africa's COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 80 percent from 48 percent more than one month ago, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said Sunday.
• South Africa Has Reached Coronavirus Peak, President Says VOA 17 Aug 2020 -- South Africa, with the continent's highest burden of COVID-19, has reached the peak of the pandemic, according to the president and top health officials. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a loosening of restrictions but said that he is not yet breathing a sigh of relief.
• South Africa lifts toughest virus measures as case numbers fall SPA 16 Aug 2020 -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday announced that stringent coronavirus regulations would be eased on Sunday as the country's infection rate falls, according to dpa.
• U.S. donates COVID-19 protective gear to South African Health Services AFRICOM 14 Aug 2020 -- The U.S. government and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) delivered approximately $340,000 in personal protective equipment to the South African National Department of Health (NDoH), August 15.
• Over 27,000 S. African health workers infected with COVID-19: health minister People's Daily 14 Aug 2020 -- The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the South African health sector, having infected 27,360 health workers since its outbreak in early March, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday.
• S. Africa's COVID-19 recovery rate reaches 75.9 pct People's Daily 13 Aug 2020 -- South Africa's COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 75.9 percent, with the number of recoveries currently standing at 432,029, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday.
• Africa Approaches 1 Million Coronavirus Cases VOA 06 Aug 2020 -- The African continent is fast approaching 1 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, with South Africa alone accounting for more than half-a-million cases. World Health Organization officials say they're sending a team of experts to South Africa in coming weeks, as the health minister warns the nation could see a "second wave." Meanwhile, other African nations are looking at creative ways to respond to the pandemic.
• WHO Deploys Dozens of Experts to South Africa to Help Slow Coronavirus Spread VOA 06 Aug 2020 -- A team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) is in South Africa to help the country get control of its rapid rise in coronavirus cases.
• South Africa: UN health agency sends experts to help battle against COVID-19 UN News 05 Aug 2020 -- new "surge team" of leading UN health experts is on its way to South Africa to ramp up the COVID-19 response there, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
• South Africa's COVID-19 cases exceed half mln Global Times 02 Aug 2020 -- South Africa's COVID-19 cases have exceeded the half-a-million mark to reach 503,290, South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced Saturday.
• South Africa hits 500,000 infections, President hopeful SPA 02 Aug 2020 -- South Africa has surpassed 500,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, but President Cyril Ramaphosa said Sunday he sees promising signs that the rapid growth of cases has stabilized and that the country's strained health system is managing to cope.

July

• South Africa's COVID-19 Upsurge Possibly Representative of Broader Continent Dynamics, NGO Says Sputnik 29 Jul 2020 -- The rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa could be testament to a broader spread of the disease across the African continent, possibly downplayed due to inaccurate reporting, Graciano Masauso, the founder of the Africa Health Organization (AHO), said.
• South Africa Closes Schools For a Month as Coronavirus Cases Surge VOA 24 Jul 2020 -- South Africa will close most public schools for a month and extend the 2020 school year into 2021, Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday, as the nation's case burden of coronavirus grows past 400,000 – Africa's highest infection number.
• South African Hospitals Forced to Turn Away COVID-19 Patients VOA 16 Jul 2020 -- Some South African hospitals are turning away hundreds of people infected with the coronavirus because of a lack of medical staff and equipment, a doctor says.
• South Africa Lockdown Deprives Needy Children of Food VOA 15 Jul 2020 -- The COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa, the country worst hit by the virus on the continent, is raising worries about children getting adequate nutrition. The malnutrition of children has long been a problem in South Africa, but measures to control the pandemic have cut off some of the vulnerable from government meals programs.
• South Africa Bans Alcohol Sales, Sets Curfew to Suppress Virus Spread VOA 13 Jul 2020 -- Coronavirus is spreading rapidly in South Africa, a development that has prompted officials to announce a host of new measures and restrictions. The country now accounts for about 40% of all coronavirus cases on the African continent, and the virus is spreading rapidly.

June

• South Africa Takes Part in Human Trial for Potential COVID-19 Vaccine VOA 25 Jun 2020 -- South Africa is taking part in Africa's first human trials aimed at producing a potential vaccine against the novel coronavirus, which continues to surge in the country.
• South Africa sees highest daily surge of COVID-19 cases, total approaching 100,000 Global Times 21 Jun 2020 -- The cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa stood at 92,681 as of Saturday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
• South Africa's COVID-19 cases approaching 100,000 People's Daily 21 Jun 2020 -- 11 from Eastern Cape, three from KwaZulu-Natal and 32 from Western Cape. This brings the total deaths to 1,877," the minister said.
• South African President Announces Reopening of Businesses Under Strict Guidelines VOA 18 Jun 2020 -- South Africa will soon begin reopening full-service restaurants and casinos under strict conditions after nearly three months of being under lockdown restriction to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
• South Africa Reopening of Schools Amid COVID-19 Outbreak VOA 09 Jun 2020 -- School children in South Africa are returning to class amid the COVID-19 outbreak that has closed schools for several weeks.

May

• South Africa Eases Restrictions on Religious Gatherings VOA 28 May 2020 -- Go ahead and pray -- it's OK.
• South Africa wants COVID-19 vaccine to be shared by all: president Global Times 25 May 2020 -- Any COVID-19 vaccine, if developed in the world, should be made freely and equitably available to citizens of all countries, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
• S. Africans allowed essential travel abroad amid coronavirus pandemic Global Times 24 May 2020 -- The South African government on Saturday approved essential travel for its nationals who want to return to countries where they are based.
• South Africa records 399 deaths from COVID-19 Global Times 21 May 2020 -- South Africa recorded a total of 399 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic as of Wednesday, an increase of 27 in the past 24 hours, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
• South Africa Set to Move Toward Easing Lockdown Restrictions VOA 14 May 2020 -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said most of the country will move toward relaxing coronavirus restrictions later this month even as the number of confirmed cases topped 12,000.
• South Africans Tire of Lengthy Viral Restrictions VOA 11 May 2020 -- To say South Africa is tired of the lockdown would be a gross understatement.
• Chinese company donates supplies to help S. Africa province fight COVID-19 People's Daily 08 May 2020 -- Dr. Zamani Saul, Premier of The Northern Cape Province Government in South Africa, has expressed his thanks to Chinese company Longyuan Mulilo Wind Project for its donations to help fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
• South Africa receives medical supplies from China People's Daily 01 May 2020 -- Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, received a consignment of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) donated by global internet group Naspers on April 30.

April

• Drones Spread Word About COVID-19 in Rural South Africa VOA 28 Apr 2020 -- Drones are helping to spread messages from the sky on how to prevent coronavirus infection in the far-flung, poor, rural areas of northern South Africa. The Greater Tzaneen Municipality has been pioneering the use of drones in South Africa as a tool to educate people about COVID-19 prevention in local languages and monitoring potential hotspots. So far there is only one coronavirus infection in the municipality.
• South Africa's President Announces $26 Billion Coronavirus Rescue Package VOA 22 Apr 2020 -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled a $26.3 billion "extraordinary budget" to help the country recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
• China President Pledges Help to South Africa in Coronavirus Fight VOA 09 Apr 2020 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is offering support and resources to African countries, especially South Africa, in their fight to control the COVID-19 epidemic.

March

• South Africa Begins Nationwide Coronavirus Lockdown VOA 27 Mar 2020 -- South Africans on Friday began the first day of a three-week nationwide lockdown aimed at stemming the tide of coronavirus cases, now topping 900 in South Africa.
• South Africa to Lock Down for 21 Days, Starting Midnight Thursday VOA 26 Mar 2020 -- South Africa begins a 21-day lockdown at midnight Thursday aimed at stopping the country's rising number of coronavirus cases, with which as of Wednesday tallied 709 confirmed cases, the highest on the continent.
• US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran amid coronavirus outbreak Press TV 18 Mar 2020 -- The United States has announced a new round of sanctions against Iran as part of its so-called "maximum pressure" campaign against the Islamic Republic.
• U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Chinese, South African Firms Over Iran Deals RFE/RL 18 Mar 2020 -- The United States has imposed sanctions on nine companies and three individuals for allegedly doing business with Iran's petrochemical industry.
• African nations step up measures to contain COVID-19 outbreak Press TV 16 Mar 2020 -- President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said South African would close its borders from Wednesday to all foreigners from countries highly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
• South Africa: 'National State of Disaster,' President Says VOA 16 Mar 2020 -- South Africa has declared a "national state of disaster" because of COVID-19.
• Ethiopia Confirms First Case of Coronavirus VOA 13 Mar 2020 -- Ethiopia's Health Minister Lia Tadesse confirmed the country's first case of coronavirus Friday.
• South Africa Sees First Local Coronavirus Transmission VOA 12 Mar 2020 -- South Africa has seen its first locally transmitted case of novel coronavirus, a week after the nation reported its first case on March 5. That brings the country's total number of confirmed cases to 17, with cases in at least five of the country's nine provinces. Meanwhile, South Africa's military is preparing to bring home 122 COVID-negative citizens from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus originated.
• South Africa Confirms 1st Coronavirus Case VOA 05 Mar 2020 -- South Africa's health minister on Thursday confirmed the nation's first case of the novel coronavirus, in a 38-year-old man who had recently traveled to Italy.

February

• Former South Africa President Faces Arrest for Trial No-Show VOA 05 Feb 2020 -- A South African court has issued an arrest warrant for former president Jacob Zuma, after his repeated failure to appear for his long-stalled corruption trial. The action raises the stakes on a trial that has dragged on for years, with Zuma due back in court - or else in police custody - on May 6.
• Arrest Warrant Issued for Ex-South African President Jacob Zuma VOA 04 Feb 2020 -- An arrest warrant has been issued for former South African President Jacob Zuma after he failed to appear for a scheduled court appearance Tuesday on corruption charges.

January

• Coronavirus Fears Affect Africa's Most Mature Economy VOA 28 Jan 2020 -- South African officials say they're ready for the possible spread of coronavirus to African shores.
• Africa's Biggest Economy Jittery Over Coronavirus Fears VOA 28 Jan 2020 -- South African officials say they're ready for the possible spread of the deadly coronavirus to African shores.