Tuesday 19 January - DAILY NEWS SUMMARY
Pretoria News (www.pretorianews.co.za) Page 1 – Minister spells out plans for varsities Page 5 – Samsung heir jailed
The Star (www.iol.co.za)
Page 1 – ‘I’m not plotting against Ace’
Page 7 – S Korea seeks talks on war sex slavery
Citizen (www.citizen.co.za)
Page 1 – Where are the hospital beds?
연합뉴스 (www.yonhapnews.co.kr) 남아공 "2차 감염파동 절정 지나서 가고 있다"
Minister spells out plans for varsities
• Pretoria News
• 19 Jan 2021
• NTANDO MAKHUBU ntando.makhubu@inl.co.za
HIGHER Education, Science and Technology Minister Dr Blade Nzimande.
THE COUNTRY’S universities and colleges are on track to complete the 2020 and 2021 academic years, Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Dr Blade Nzimande said yesterday.
Nzimande told a media briefing that 10 of the country’s 26 institutions had finished their formal academic years. He said they were wrapping up special exams. The remainder would follow suit at different times.
“Once the 2020 academic year is completed, the 2021 academic year will start after the matric results are released so that new students are given an opportunity to be admitted,” he said.
Nzimande said the department had invested R68 766 000 in funds reprioritised from the 2019/20 and 2020/21 budget allocation towards Covid-19 research and development. “They will target specifically areas of diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, surveillance and
epidemiology, including genomic epidemiology.”
His department worked continuously on science and innovation interventions with, among others, the Department of Health, the South African Medical Research Council, the Academy of Science of South Africa, the CSIR and the Human Science Research Council.
“We also have on board the National Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa and the Biovac Institute,” said
Nzimande, who also revealed that many staff members and students had tested positive for the coronavirus and some had died.
In universities, 1 499 staff and 1 588 students had tested positive by mid-November, while 48 staff and 10 students had died, he said.
“We will be receiving an updated report on infections and fatalities at our universities tomorrow (today). We know that infections will have risen over the festive season,” he added.
The TVET sector had also suffered, and in the period between December 15 and January 11 Nzimande said 146 staff members had been infected, with 123 recoveries, and 23 deaths.
“The infection rate in Community Education and Training Colleges has seen 21 students, three support staff and 74 lecturers test positive. Of these, 20 student and three staff, plus 62 lecturers, have recovered.”
He said there had been four deaths – one a student and three lecturers – while at the Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) the infection rate was 57, with four deaths.
He said the numbers could increase as data collection during the festive season had not been at its best. “The system has been closed for the festive season, but the department will
continue to collect data as soon as the sector fully reopens and we will continue to update the public.”
For continued learning and teaching in the post-school sector, he said the department had been working closely with other experts, scientists and stakeholders, especially the World Health Organization, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, the Department of Health and other agencies to build comprehensive programmes, systems, controls and infrastructure for a sectoral response to Covid-19.
“This included the establishment of guidelines, protocols and capacity building – which is all grounded in science,” he said.
“We have updated all Covid protocols, guidelines and training materials with the evolving scientific advancements, to enable retraining and strengthening management and front-line teams for the reopening of institutions during level lockdown 3 this year,” he said, adding that Covid, student health and wellness challenges and epidemics, including mental health, gender-based violence and HIV, among others, were receiving attention and services.
“Our approach is that whilst focusing on Covid 19 we must, however, not lose focus on the other health and welfare challenges in the sector.”
During the lockdown, more than 100 000 students across all campuses continued receiving HIV services, contraceptive support, access to reporting and subsequent gender-based violence support services.
The 24-hour hotline for mental health and gender-based violence established last August had managed more than 5 000 crisis calls.
He said the pandemic had placed an increasing strain on mental health and gender-based violence. “I urge all students to access this free helpline number, 0800 363636.”
Additionally, the higher education health team started retraining all institutional and campus Covid task teams in order to respond to the pandemic, while more rigorous training on campus was ongoing for front-line workers and student and staff volunteers, who will be redeployed across campuses to manage the pandemic.
“I must also acknowledge that this has been a challenging time for the academic staff of our institutions, who have had to adapt rapidly to new forms of teaching and student support, and who have shown commitment to learning themselves and supporting students, often across multiple different platforms.
“I commend this work, as well as the work of institutional managers, administrators and support staff who have worked hard to adapt to the necessary changes,” he added.
Samsung heir jailed
• Pretoria News
• 19 Jan 2021
•
SEOUL: Samsung Electronics vicechairperson Lee Jae-yong was jailed yesterday for corruption linked to his management succession.
The Seoul High Court sentenced Lee, an heir apparent of South Korea’s biggest family-run conglomerate Samsung Group, to two and a half years in prison for corruption charges, including bribery.
With a suspended prison sentence, he was released from jail in February 2018 after serving about one year behind bars, but the Supreme Court returned the case to the high court calling for harsh punishment.
‘I’m not plotting against Ace’
Ramaphosa faces mammoth task to bring peace, unity to ‘divided’ ANC, denies ‘faction rival’
• The Star Early Edition
• 19 Jan 2021
• GIFT TLOU gift.tlou@inl.co.za
| NOKUTHULA MBATHA African News Agency (ANA)IN A wide-ranging interview with The Star recently President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was willing to appear before the Zondo Commission, and that he was unable to talk about the issue of the CR17 documents as it was before the court.
“I reject that notion, that’s not how I deal with comrades, that’s not how I do business.
RESTORING peace and unity in the ANC seems to be somewhat of a mammoth task, while there are growing speculations of factions and divisions in the governing party.
Amid all the speculation, the party’s leader and country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been rumoured to be working on a plan to oust ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule.
In an interview with The Star, Ramaphosa highlighted that the ANC needed to be united and strengthened to execute its tasks diligently and win elections.
Asked if unity would be restored in the party if Magashule stepped aside, Ramaphosa was diplomatic in his response stating that they were all committed to focusing on the ANC.
“The ANC is much bigger than all of us, it’s bigger than me and anyone else.
“The ANC has been in existence much longer than all of us and it’s a precious vehicle that we need to ensure that it’s strengthened.”
Ramaphosa said they have to face up to the challenge of keeping the party united, renewed and strong. He, however, confirmed that there was factionalism and divisions within the party, and that they have always been upfront with the challenges they faced.
“We were given a clear mandate to unite the ANC and get rid of factions and to make sure that we bring the ANC groupings together. We imposed unity on a number of structures within the organisation and I have been very consistent on the unity process.”
Ramaphosa laughed off allegations that he plotted the ousting of former president Jacob Zuma, and was now behind the moves to remove Magashule from the party.
“That’s never been my wish, you never heard it from my mouth. I reject that notion, that’s not how I deal with comrades, that's not how I do business.
“That is not the way I behave, not at all. I know that some people believe that PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA On plotting former president
Jacob Zuma ousting
but it’s never been part of my make up.”
With Covid-19 in full tilt, it is an open secret that Ramaphosa has his plate full in trying to strike a balance as
the president of the nation and leader of the embattled ANC.
He has himself been at the centre of controversy on a number of occasions,
with questions raised over the unsealing of the CR17 campaign documents, which will reveal the financial records of donations received by his campaign.
In his defence, Ramaphosa said that the process of unsealing the CR17 documents was in court.
“Not in my instance, of course, it happened as it did. In the end those will be either unsealed or another decision will be taken and I’m not a judge of that,” he said.
Also hanging over his head are the latest developments at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, where former Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe accused the president of being conflicted when he was appointed to head up the Eskom war-room strategy which was supposed to turn around the struggling state-owned entity.
Ramaphosa simply indicated that some of Molefe’s testimony was “fantastical” and that his time would come at the Zondo Commission.
“I will also have an opportunity to respond. It’s very easy to sit on a chair and write
allegations. There are a number of people who have also been accused of a whole number of things.
“This is not the only issue prompting me to go; I had already committed that I will be going.”
Ramaphosa remained tight-lipped on the ongoing arms deal corruption case implicating Zuma.
“I don’t know what one would say. There are processes that must ensue in terms of our various other processes. I’ve done nothing to instigate that as much other people believe that I did, nothing might be (further) from the truth.
“Some might want to say I'm the one stoking the fire but there is no truth in that.”
S Korea seeks talks on war sex slavery
• The Star Early Edition
• 19 Jan 2021
•
SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in said yesterday that he was opposed to forcibly selling off Japanese assets in the country to fund reparations for victims of wartime sexual slavery.
Seoul and Tokyo have been at loggerheads over a South Korean court order mandating Japan to pay 12 women over $90 000 (R1.3 million) each over their exploitation as so-called
“comfort women” by Imperial Japan during World War II.
One support group said it may take legal action to force the seizure of Japanese assets if Tokyo continues to refuse payments. According to South Korean state news agency Yonhap, Moon said at his New Year’s press conference that such a move would be unfavourable for bilateral relations, preferring the diplomatic route.
Where are the hospital beds?
The R12 million upgrade to Bronkhorstspruit hospital, which was meant to have delivered 150 additional hospital beds to the facility, is far from complete, with the project resembling an abandoned construction site.
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 19 Jan 2021
• Marizka Coetzer marizkac@citizen.co.za
Picture: Neil McCartney
Heaps of sand, pipes, scaffolding and barbed wire are the only hint you get something is being built behind the Bronkhorstspruit hospital. The R12 million upgrade to the hospital is a construction site with unpainted walls, building rubble and no hospital beds.
Not a soul is seen in sight besides the security guard at the gate.
Tshwane Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Bronwynn Engelbrecht said the extra beds should have been completed by 15 December but that was delayed when subcontractors downed their tools and demanded more money to finish the job.
BMW South Africa spokesperson Diederik Reitsma said the upgrade to the hospital, where 150 additional beds will be added, was 95% complete.
“It is not a huge delay, the hospital is nearly finished,” he said.
Reitsma said he visited the site over the weekend and said the dispute was between contractors and subcontractors and that work would commence soon.
“BMW has already delivered on its promise to help fight Covid-19 by upgrading nine hospitals and four clinics,” he said.
Other hospitals which benefitted from the upgrades include Dr George Mukhari Academic, Jubilee and four primary health care clinics in the Tshwane district.
The Soshanguve Clinic received a new Covid-19 screening and testing facility earlier this month.
Belinda Mahlangu was sitting in line to get tested outside the clinic and said she is impressed with the new building.
A young man, seated not far from her, did not share her compliments about the clinic.
The man, who did not want to be named, said he brought his father to the clinic.
“The building might be nice but the service sucks. We brought our father in for an emergency and we are still waiting two hours later,” he said.
“We have been sitting here from 11 am to past 1pm with no help.”
The man pointed to nurses inside the screening stations and said they were very rude to his ill father.
Meanwhile, department of health spokesperson Kwara Kekana has slammed DA Gauteng shadow health MEC Jack Bloom’s recent press release, saying parts of the statement were factually inaccurate. Kekana said the Bronkhorstspruit Hospital had been a 50-bed district hospital since its inception in December 2015 and offered 24-hour services for accident and emergency, midwife obstetric units, inpatient in one building with one entrance and exit point.
Kekana said in 2018 an additional eight beds were donated to the hospital which was repurposed to admit the patient under investigation (PUI) section as the main hospital couldn’t due to the infrastructural constraints.
“There was a need for additional bed capacity support which came from the BMW partners.”
“Other reasons were the increase in numbers of the PUIs that could have been managed at district level without having to be transferred to Tshwane district hospital or Mamelodi regional hospital. That alleviated the pressures on our cluster.” Kekana said it was estimated more than 200 000 people from Cullinan and Rayton would benefit from the hospital.
“Bronkhorstspruit as a community needs this additional bed capacity increase to address the number of referrals and its inability to provide a comprehensive service package in line with district hospital and community needs,” he said.
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국가기간뉴스 통신사 연합뉴스
인쇄닫기
남아공 "2 차 감염파동 절정 지나서 가고 있다"
(요하네스버그=연합뉴스) 김성진 특파원 = 즈웰리 음키제 남아프리카공화국 보건부장관은 18 일(현지시간) 남아공이 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나 19) 2 차 파동의 정점을 지나서 가고 있다고 말했다.
음키제 보건장관은 이날 eNCA 방송에서 지난주 신규 확진이 감소하기 시작했다면서 남아공이 2 차 파동의 정점을 지났을 수 있다고 시사했다.
이날 기준 코로나 19 신규 확진자는 9 천 10 명으로 지난 6∼9 일 2 만 명을 웃돌며 연일 최다치를 기록했던 당시의 절반 이하로 내려왔다.
남아공 코로나 19 발병 추이(작년 3 월 23 일∼ 올 1 월 18 일) [현지매체 뉴스 24 코로나 19 대시보드 캡처, 재판매 및 DB 금지]
그는 "회복률이 계속해서 증가하고 있는 것은 긍정적 신호"라고 덧붙였다. 이날 현재 완치율은 83%다.
그는 감염력이 더 큰 코로나 19 변이 바이러스가 지난해 7 월 1 차 파동 정점보다 훨씬 더 심각한 파동을 몰고 왔다고 말했다. 남아공은 지난 11 월부터 감염자가
다시 급증하기 시작했고 12 월 중순에는 변이바이러스가 2 차 파동을 주도하는 것으로 밝혀졌다.
음키제 장관은 주간 신규 확진자가 전주 대비 23% 감소한 것이 낙관의 근거라고 설명했다.
이러한 감소세의 배경에는 여러 요소가 있지만 "록다운(봉쇄령) 규제로 인해 물리적 거리 두기가 강화된 것도 포함된다"고 말했다.
다만 보건 시스템이 아직 상당한 압박을 받고 있다고 그는 말했다.
병원 입원은 계속 늘어나 지난 16 일의 경우 1 주 전보다 18%나 증가했다고 음키제 장관은 말했다. 많은 보건 직원은 중환자 병상, 산소 호흡기, 인력 등이 부족하다고 보고했다.
살림 압둘 카림 코로나 19 보건장관자문위원회 공동위원장은 이날 브리핑에서 새로운 변이 바이러스가 "인간 세포에 좀 더 효과적으로 달라붙을 수 있다"면서도 데이터상 입원이나 사망을 더 증가시키는 것은 아닐 수 있다고 말했다.
남아공 코로나 19 누적 확진자는 134 만 6 천 936 명이다. 사망자는 하루 새 344 명이 새로 늘어 3 만 7 천 449 명이다.
한 남아공 보건직원이 지난 14 일 개인 보호장구를 착용하고 있다.
[로이터=연합뉴스 자료사진]
(요하네스버그=연합뉴스) 김성진 특파원 = 즈웰리 음키제 남아프리카공화국 보건부장관은 18 일(현지시간) 남아공이 신종 코로나바이러스
감염증(코로나 19) 2 차 파동의 정점을 지나서 가고 있다고 말했다.
음키제 보건장관은 이날 eNCA 방송에서 지난주 신규 확진이 감소하기 시작했다면서 남아공이 2 차 파동의 정점을 지났을 수 있다고 시사했다.
이날 기준 코로나 19 신규 확진자는 9 천 10 명으로 지난 6∼9 일 2 만 명을 웃돌며 연일 최다치를 기록했던 당시의 절반 이하로 내려왔다.
남아공 코로나 19 발병 추이(작년 3 월 23 일∼ 올 1 월 18 일) [현지매체 뉴스 24 코로나 19 대시보드 캡처, 재판매 및 DB 금지]
그는 "회복률이 계속해서 증가하고 있는 것은 긍정적 신호"라고 덧붙였다.
이날 현재 완치율은 83%다.
그는 감염력이 더 큰 코로나 19 변이 바이러스가 지난해 7 월 1 차 파동 정점보다 훨씬 더 심각한 파동을 몰고 왔다고 말했다. 남아공은 지난
11 월부터 감염자가 다시 급증하기 시작했고 12 월 중순에는 변이바이러스가 2 차 파동을 주도하는 것으로 밝혀졌다.
음키제 장관은 주간 신규 확진자가 전주 대비 23% 감소한 것이 낙관의 근거라고 설명했다.
이러한 감소세의 배경에는 여러 요소가 있지만 "록다운(봉쇄령) 규제로 인해 물리적 거리 두기가 강화된 것도 포함된다"고 말했다.
다만 보건 시스템이 아직 상당한 압박을 받고 있다고 그는 말했다.
병원 입원은 계속 늘어나 지난 16 일의 경우 1 주 전보다 18%나 증가했다고 음키제 장관은 말했다. 많은 보건 직원은 중환자 병상, 산소 호흡기, 인력 등이 부족하다고 보고했다.
살림 압둘 카림 코로나 19 보건장관자문위원회 공동위원장은 이날
브리핑에서 새로운 변이 바이러스가 "인간 세포에 좀 더 효과적으로 달라붙을 수 있다"면서도 데이터상 입원이나 사망을 더 증가시키는 것은 아닐 수
있다고 말했다.
남아공 코로나 19 누적 확진자는 134 만 6 천 936 명이다. 사망자는 하루 새 344 명이 새로 늘어 3 만 7 천 449 명이다.
sungjin@yna.co.kr
<저작권자(c) 연합뉴스, 무단 전재-재배포 금지> 2021/01/19 18:37 송고
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