Police Minister Bheki Cele says some South Africans are not obeying lockdown regulations and warned Level 4 regulations could be reversed as Covid-19 has the potential of “wiping off humankind”.
Cele was speaking during a joint law enforcement operation in which cars were stopped to check for compliance in Krugersdorp on Friday.
As the country entered its first day of a Level 4 lockdown, physical distancing was not observed in some areas.
“I saw this thing of running, I think we will be making some form of recommendation to the National Command Council about it.
“Not just that, I saw … people running in clubs, walking with their dogs and they were even swimming – something that is [criminalised] in the regulations,” Cele said.
#Lockdownlevel4 Police Minister Bheki Cele is here and stopping cars. He tells media he doesn’t think SA is taking regulations seriously and might make a request to the Command Council regarding jogging and cycling in clubs and outside regulation restrictions pic.twitter.com/oRiSttiIqy
He added the police were calling on South Africans to refrain from breaking lockdown regulations and only conduct essential business.
Problem
“This is a problem… I don’t know if they are taking this matter seriously, they should be.
“The fact that we have arrested so many people who were drinking in their cars tells you that we will have to work hard, and by the way, remember what the president said – if things are not going a proper way, reversal is easy… From what we have seen, South Africa is misbehaving,” Cele said.
He added people’s actions currently suggested “we can forget about Level 3” and did not “deserve” the relaxation of restrictions.
“The flouting of regulations was not because people did not know about them,” Cele said.
Deaths
“People know. What I guess they do not believe is that there have been a lot of deaths.
Cele leads an operation in Krugersdorp on Friday. (Azarrah Karrim/News24)
“As South Africans, we are still lucky but we are beginning to pick up – the day before yesterday was the first time ever we had 354 at a go … and 10 deaths in one day,” Cele said.
He added it was possible South Africa could follow in the footsteps of Italy or the US where tens of thousands of people have died.
“The problem is that it will not only be you who dies, you will die with the rest of us. This thing has the potential to wipe off the nation, wiping off humankind,” Cele said.
Whenever societies are placed under stress, conspiracy theories blaming this or that nefarious agent for secretly fomenting the threat inevitably arise.
It’s no different during the current coronavirus crisis.
Some of the evidence-free hoaxes circulating now include theories that the virus is a military bioweapon created in a Chinese lab; that it was made and even patented by tech billionaire Bill Gates; or that new 5G cellular phone towers are the real villain – either by transmitting the virus or by causing a “weakening” of the immune systems in people nearby.
In all of these conspiracies, the “powers that be” know all about this, but choose to keep silent.
Potentially life-saving behaviours
For the vast majority of Americans who don’t subscribe to these notions, an eye-roll is the most common response. But experts stress that while bogus, conspiracy theories can do real harm to Americans’ health.
In the context of a health crisis, conspiracy theories can lead devotees “to refuse to engage in behaviours that have been scientifically proven to be good for their health and the health of their communities,” explained Joanne Miller. She’s associate professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware.
That includes potentially life-saving behaviours such as social distancing, aimed at helping all Americans.
In cities across the United States, people who are convinced that the coronavirus pandemic is a hoax or, at the very least, exaggerated, are gathering in close-knit crowds to protest government restrictions – a sure way to help spread the virus, experts say.
And even when successful interventions against Covid-19 do arrive, conspiracy theorists may avoid them, Miller said.
“Conspiracy theories often, but not always, arise as explanations for an incredibly negative, surprising event, such as a pandemic,” Miller said.
“Such events often make people feel uncertain, anxious, and that they’ve lost some control over their lives,” she explained. “And one way to reduce feelings of uncertainty, anxiety and loss of control is to tie bits and pieces of information about the event into a nice, neat conspiratorial bow.”
Conspiracy theories also reject reality “in favour of some plot involving a group of people with malevolent intent that is deliberately kept secret from the public,” added Dr Joseph Pierre. He’s acting chief of the Mental Health Community Care Systems of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
Importantly, Miller said, those plotters are often pegged as powerful, criminal, and in search of political or personal gain.
Need for control
Both Miller and Pierre agreed that conspiracy theories have been around since the dawn of time. One reason is that they can “make us feel special about being privy to a secret truth that’s hidden from the rest of us ‘sheep’,” said Pierre.
Another is the human tendency to cite “omnipotent forces” to explain natural events, “similar to our collective need to believe in God”, he said.
“And then there’s the need for control, certainty and closure,” he added. “[Because] most of us find that believing that bad things happen randomly for no reason to be pretty unsettling.”
Miller seconded that thought.
“It’s very anxiety-producing to believe the truth about the virus,” she said. “That it occurred naturally, and that we don’t yet know how to stop its spread. So, one way to reduce that anxiety is to believe, for example, that 5G towers are spreading the virus. That gives us something to fight against.”
And that fight isn’t just rhetorical: This week, the Associated Press reported that anti-Covid-19 arsonists set fire to 5G cell towers across the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus and Belgium. Phone service was interrupted for thousands.
“It’s heart-rending enough that families cannot be there at the bedside of loved ones who are critically ill,” Nick Jeffery, CEO of wireless carrier Vodafone UK, said on LinkedIn, the AP reported. “It’s even more upsetting that even the small solace of a phone or video call may now be denied them because of the selfish actions of a few deluded conspiracy theorists.”
No easy answers
Celebrities can join the conspiracy theory bandwagon, adding to its legitimacy for some.
As noted by the AP, actor Woody Harrelson recently shared a video purporting to show Chinese people taking down a 5G tower. That film clip turned out to be old footage of pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong pulling down a “smart lamppost” over surveillance fears.
So, what’s the solution? People being what they are, Miller and Pierre agreed that there’s no easy answer.
Conspiracy theorists are often suspicious of bureaucrats or scientists, so the best response to conspiracy theories is to quickly rebut them as they arise, and to try to engage believers in conversations aimed at re-establishing trust.
But, “it’s really difficult to debunk conspiracy theories with factual information,” Miller noted. “For a person who believes the theory, any factual information you provide can be turned on its head and be used as additional evidence for the conspiracy, [as in] ‘look how deep this goes!'”
What about Facebook, Twitter and other social media banning posts citing bogus theories?
“This is a tricky one, because it’s not clear where the line should be drawn,” Miller said. “On the one hand, a large majority of us might agree that certain posts are conspiratorial or push other types of misinformation and are therefore dangerous and should be taken down. But who gets to decide what’s conspiratorial?”
Pierre warned that, unfortunately, “misinformation is big business, whether for profit or for political gain. We also live in a country where free speech is a core national value. Together, that makes limiting the exposure of people to misinformation very challenging.”
Branch Manager in Cape Town | Trucking/Transport | Job Mail | 4622329
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Tyre Industry has a vacancy open in Cape Town for a Branch Manager. MUST have Experience & Vast knowledge in the Tyre Industry & able to grow the business. Must have previous experience in managerial role in similar field Must be able to work under pressure Must be willing to work long hours If you meet all the criteria s above, then please email CV’s with landline numbers to: recruitment@vnapersonnel.co.za and sales2@vnapersonnel.co.za
SAP UI5 SOFTWARE ENGINEER – ABAP with JAVA (Contract) in East London | Other General Employment | Job Mail | 4677090
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Support of SAP Business Analysts in day-to-day functions e.g. investigations, testing etc.
Integrate into a dynamic team building next-generation solutions for the company globally
Willing to learn new technologies, teach and share knowledge with other team members
Promotion of continuous improvement culture within the team
Design, research, develop, analyze and suggest new concepts as well as strategies
Lead and direct different cross-functional programs and projects of varied sizes and types
Exercise decision-making and independent judgment while being aligned with customers and management
Promote innovations to support business requirements through activities that test, pilot and implement innovative concepts for optimal customer experience
Manage ideas from design stage through to implementation
Roll out and analyze the effectiveness of initiatives that leverage multiplatform technologies
Initiate, develop and maintain a range of working relationships, within IT, the business and CoC
Perform all outputs in compliance with the Company’s Integrity Codes and SHEQ requirements
Perform delegated SHEQ tasks and duties and Inform superiors about deviations
Requirements
Extensive SAP ABAP development skills
The main focus on FIORI / SAP UI5
SAP OData services
Webdynpro for ABAP
Integration with MS Office
Workflow
Experience
Experience with NetWeaver Fiori/Gateway, Solution Manager, Web Dispatcher, Business Objects
Experience using SAP S/4 Hana
Experience in RESTful Service specification, development, and testing
Demonstrated ability to foster an environment for ideation, prototyping, and production
Demonstrated business acumen to take from design to implementation and preferably experience scaling a concept
Must have IT Development and Systems Knowledge
Experience with software development methodologies and practices (Agile, Scrum, etc.)
Experience in rolling out initiatives that leverage multiplatform technologies
Willingness to travel nationally and internationally
Ability to perform the minimum required physical and mental requirements of the function
QUALIFICATION
Minimum NQF 7 – BSC/BCom/BTech in Information Technology or B. Eng. (Industrial Engineering) or relevant equivalent
EXPERIENCE
Minimum 5+ Years’ experience SAP ABAP Development
5 years’ experience in IT/Manufacturing advantageous
in UMHLANGA RIDGE, UMHLANGA, KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA
1.0 BEDROOM APARTMENT TO LET IN UMHLANGA RIDGE
Listing Features
Listing Description
Bedrooms: 1.0
Bathrooms: 1.0
Building Size: 60
Erf Size 0
Garages:
Carports/Parking Bays: 1.0
Pool: No
Exterior Wall:
Domestic Accommodation: 0.0
Flatlet:
This unit is perfectly positioned in the heart of Gateway, a few minutes walking distance to Gateway. Living area is very spacious with a wrap around balcony, with great in land street views. Corner unit which makes it more private, 24 hour security, with biometric entrance, complex has camera monitoring. Don’t hesitate to contact the agent to book a personal meeting to view this property. Please take note that viewings can only be done after lockdown.
This is more than just a family home. You actually have to view this home to see all it offers. Situated in the much sought after Sunninghill Gardens, this delightful home consists of a “two in one” – a home plus a 2 Bedroom cottage or work from home. Nestled in a park like setting with beautifully manicured gardens, tranquil Herb garden and private seating area, this is the perfect spot to recharge after a hectic day. The home comprises 4 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms, open plan modern Kitchen with enough place for all the appliances you would ever need. In addition, it has special features such as an extra large servants quarters with full bathroom, double auto garage with enough parking space for an additional 4 vehicles, plus a wine cellar to die for! The main en-suite opens onto the stunning garden and pool area. Upstairs you will find the other 3 Bedrooms and Bathroom. An added advantage to this lovely home is a totally separate Cottage with 2 Bedrooms, 1.5 Bathrooms, Lounge and open plan Kitchen with bar and patio area, Double garage and extra parking. In addition to all this, you will have your own private security with the security of Sunninghill Gardens just outside your gates, How convenient is that? Close to all major Highways, Shopping centres and schools like St Peters college, Reddam and Rivonia Primary View by appointment only
A Social Worker â Key Populations Programme vacancy is urgently available at our Client, Wits Health Consortium’s Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (RHI) in Cape Town Metropole. Based in Southern or Tygerberg subdistrict (Bellville) – Western Cape Province.
Background
The Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI) is a renowned African-led research institute that seeks solutions to Africa’s health challenges.
It is located within the University of the Witwatersrand and addresses some of the greatest public health concerns affecting our region, including HIV and its related problems, sexual and reproductive health and vaccinology. This is done through pioneering, multi-disciplinary research; responsive technical support and innovation in health services; and evidence-based policy development and advocacy with national, regional and global stakeholders.
The Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI) is a leading research institute attached to the University of the Witwatersrand. We address some of the greatest public health concerns affecting the region, including HIV, sexual and reproductive health, and vaccinology. We do this through pioneering, multi-disciplinary research; responsive technical support and innovation in health services; and evidence-based policy development and advocacy with national, regional and global stakeholders. Our Key Populations Programme seeks a Technical Advisor to join our senior leadership team.
Main purpose of the job
Provide comprehensive case, group and community work services within fixed and community settings.
Support stakeholder engagement and community mobilization.
Location
Cape Town Metropole. Based in Southern or Tygerberg subdistrict (TBC).
The Wits RHI Key Populations Programme seeks to advance the South African HIV response amongst key populations, specifically sex workers and transgender women. Our sites offer an integrated package of HIV prevention, care and treatment; primary health care; gender-affirming health care (hormone treatment); psychosocial support services; and referral to a range of social services. Our services are peer-educator and nurse driven with a high level of community engagement.
Key performance areas
Implement social work services along the continuum of care from prevention and early intervention to tertiary services within a multi-disciplinary team comprising professional nurses, medical officers, community health care workers and peer educators.
Provide individual counselling/ therapy to key population members, including support for gender-affirming trans health care in collaboration with clinical psychologist.
Conduct varied support and therapeutic groups, included ART and PrEP adherence groups
Initiate community work interventions to create demand for services and mobilise key populations.
Optimise stakeholder engagement with key population lead CSOs, government departments, NGOs, and social service organisations.
Provide supervision to a team of lay counsellors and peer educators
Conduct debriefing and offer psychosocial support to peer educator teams
Serve as an advocate for trans health services
Capacitate peer educators and other personal cadres to provide psychosocial support to trans clients.
Contribute to the formulation of implementation science research questions and support study implementation.
Advocate for accessible and acceptable health and social services for key populations.
Undertake stakeholder and community engagement in increase uptake of services.
Develop and manage referral protocol and network; refer clients for further management to appropriate institutions as necessary
Provide key populations sensitisation and competency training to social, health and law enforcement agencies
Perform and comply with administrative procedures associated with accurate project/ clinical record keeping and reporting including client records and confidentiality.
Required minimum education and training
BA Social Work degree
Registration with South African Council of Social Service Professionals (SACSSP)
Driving License
Required minimum work experience
3 to 5 years’ experience working in an NGO / community setting
Desirable additional education, work experience and personal abilities
Preference will be given to trans specifically or LGBTQI identified professionals
Previous work experience with LBBTQI community member
Understanding of the challenges facing key population members in the health context; prior sensitisation and/or hormone provision and monitoring experience or training desirable
An ability to communicate and work well with Key Population members; prior counselling experience with key populations is desirable
Previous experience in Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) services and ART adherence support.
Knowledge of national, provincial and district health and social service structures
Able to priorities own workload and work towards deadlines
Self-motivated, able to work independently, takes initiative and work as-part of a multidisciplinary team
Pro-active, able to exercise discretion and independent decision making
Able to speak South African languages
Attention to detail
Report writing skills
TO APPLY
Only if you do meet the minimum job requirements and experience as mentioned above, you may submit a detailed updated CV – Please Apply Online
Please take note that the applicants who do not adhere to the above criteria will not be considered for the respective position.
The closing date for all applications is 08 May 2020.
Wits Health Consortium will only respond to shortlisted candidates.
Candidates who have not been contacted within two weeks of the closing date can consider their applications to be unsuccessful.
In accordance with our Employment Equity goals and plan, preference will be given to suitable applicants from designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 and subsequent amendments thereto.
Please note that AJ PERSONNEL is only responsible for the advertising of the advertisement on behalf of their client Wits Health Consortium.
AJ Personnel does not have any salary or other information regarding the position.
SCAM ALERT – PLEASE BE AWARE! NOT AJ PERSONNEL OR ANY REPUTABLE AGENCY NOR ANY CLIENT WILL ASK MONEY FOR INTERVIEWS. NO FEES WILL BE CHARGED FOR ANY INTERVIEWS OR OFFERING YOU A JOB!!! – DON’T BE SCAMMED!!!
Teachers’ union Naptosa is calling on Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga to postpone the announcement of a proposed date for the reopening of schools, until a risk assessment is conducted at all facilities in the country.
The association made the call just hours before the minister and her higher education counterpart, Minister Blade Nzimande, were scheduled to brief the nation and outline a way forward for the academic year.
A briefing was supposed to take place on Monday but was postponed because the departments were still consulting stakeholders.
On Wednesday, Motshekga’s deputy, Reginah Mhaule, and director general in the basic education department, Mathanzima Mweli, presented the Covid-19 basic education sector plan to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Basic Education and the Select Committee on Education, Technology, Arts and Culture.
However, the union believes the presentation confused the public.
The document outlined that the department had several non-negotiables, which included, among others, that classrooms should not exceed 40 pupils and that screenings and deep cleaning should take place at schools.
Naptosa said the preconditions have now been raised by the unions which have been consulting with the department.
It added that the non-negotiables should already be in place before schools reopen and that all personal protective equipment (PPEs) must be delivered in time.
It added that the time frames in the department’s plan were not realistic.
“The time frame for the reopening of schools proposed in the presentation leaves little or no time for all the measures to timeously be in place, leaving Naptosa with little choice but to withhold our support for such a proposal.
“With Grade 12 and 7 learners to return to school, it means that, barring a few exceptions, all the approximately 26 000 schools must be fully equipped to ensure the health and safety of our teachers, education support staff and learners amid the Covid crisis. This is clearly not achievable,” Naptosa’s executive director Basil Manuel said.
He said while the department said PPEs would be delivered to schools before the reopening, orders were only placed recently and it would be impossible for it to be delivered on time.
The department’s plan also outlined that it would ensure that scholar transportation was sanitised and that the PPEs would only be provided for quintile 1 to 4 schools.
Constitutional right
The union, however, says that every child has a constitutional right to health and that even those from quintile 4 and 5 come from non-affluent homes.
“The department also has to be very specific as to whose responsibility it will be, should children come to school without the necessary masks. Will it be the parents, the principal or the school? As for school transport, will the department be able to ensure screening of learners before they are transported? Because it will make little sense for them to be in vehicles where there will be close contact, only to be screened once they get to school. ”
The union said while it was engaging with the department, it called for a proper risk assessment, with the involvement of the unions, in each province.
But it said that there seemed to be no indication that this was done.
“We therefore demand that the minister postpones the date proposed by the department for the reopening of schools until such an assessment has been completed or that she makes a public declaration that every school to be re-opened is fully Covid-19 equipped.”
“In the absence of such a postponement or declaration, and based on the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe working environment to employees, Naptosa will seek legal advice on whether members could be compelled to return to work.”
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has dismissed an application by a group of Muslim leaders and entities to declare certain parts of the lockdown regulations unconstitutional because it prohibits prayers, specifically the Muslim daily prayers, in places of worship.
The application was brought by Muhammed Bin Hassim Mohomed, Anas Mohammed Chotia and the As-Saadiqeen Islamic Centre.
Judge Brenda Neukircher said in her judgment that every citizen had been called upon to make sacrifices to their fundamental rights entrenched in the Constitution. She said this was done for the “the greater good”, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She added that the government had put together a task team to consult extensively on the safety of citizens in order to flatten the curve and prevent the country’s health system from collapsing.
“I cannot find that the restrictions imposed are either unreasonable or unjustifiable and thus the application must fail,” she said.
New research adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests men are far more vulnerable to severe Covid-19 than women are.
Although both genders fall ill in the same numbers, men are 2.5 times more likely to get severe disease and die, the study from China showed.
The finding comes as scientists in New York and California are starting to test a novel hypothesis that sex hormones might play a part in disease severity.
Last week, doctors on Long Island started treating Covid-19 patients with oestrogen to boost their immune systems, The New York Times reported. And beginning next week, physicians in Los Angeles will start treating male patients with progesterone, a hormone that is predominantly found in women. Progesterone has anti-inflammatory properties and might prevent the immune system from overreacting, the researchers explained.
Hormones may not be the answer
“There’s a striking difference between the number of men and women in the intensive care unit, and men are clearly doing worse,” Dr Sara Ghandehari, a pulmonologist and intensive care physician at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, told the Times. She is the principal investigator for the progesterone study.
But experts who study sex differences in immunity warned that hormones may not be the answer. Even elderly women with Covid-19 are outliving their male peers, despite drastic reductions in levels of hormones for women after menopause, they noted.
In the study from China, published on 29 April in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, the differences between men and women showed up early in the coronavirus pandemic.
“Early in January, we noticed that the number of men dying from Covid-19 appeared to be higher than the number of women,” explained researcher Dr Jin-Kui Yang, a physician at Beijing Tongren Hospital.
“This raised a question: Are men more susceptible to getting or dying from Covid-19? We found that no one had measured gender differences in Covid-19 patients, and so began investigating,” Yang said in a journal news release.
More research needed
Included in the study were 43 patients treated by Yang’s team, plus data on an additional 1 000 Covid-19 patients. The researchers also looked at the records of 524 SARS patients from 2003.
According to one large Covid-19 dataset, more than 70% of the patients who died were male, which meant that men had 2.5 times the death rate of women.
Being a man was also a risk factor for more severe illness, regardless of age.
Men who had SARS were also more likely to die, compared with women, Yang’s team noted. Also, men had higher levels of the ACE2 protein involved in both sicknesses, which may be an explanation.
Although more research is needed, Yang recommended that “additional supportive care and prompt access to the intensive care unit may be necessary for older male patients”.
