Covid-19 weekly round-up: SA gears up for local elections during a pandemic

South Africa is set to hold local government elections on 1 November, but the Covid-19 pandemic has put electoral systems to the test in a number of ways.

The Electoral Commission (IEC) will soon have to face the challenge of upholding Covid-19 health and safety protocols for millions of voters.

Researcher at the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), Thembelani Mazibuko, said that nothing can be done about the fact that elections need to take place during a global pandemic.

He said the IEC has done its best to ensure that the pandemic does not violate the free and fair nature of the elections.

The Electoral Commission has released a detailed Voting Station Covid-19 protocol that all stakeholders need to adhere to for election day.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla said during a media briefing last week that one of the best ways to ensure citizens are safe when they turnout to vote is to get vaccinated.

South Africa has administered close to 17 million Covid-19 doses according to the Department of Health.

UK scientists to review SA data for travel red list

Scientists from the United Kingdom said it will be reviewing data from experts to determine if South African will remain on the Covid-19 travel red list or not.

A high-level meeting took place on Monday, where the South African Department of Health and the British High Commission in Pretoria said they discussed the prevalence and risk of the variants of concern.

South Africa was placed on the “travel red list” due to the supposed “continued presence” of the Beta variant.

In an academic article awaiting peer review, director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (Krisp), Professor Tulio de Oliveira, and his team found that the Delta variant rapidly replaced the Beta variant and fueled the country’s third wave.

Earlier this year the UK introduced a “traffic light” system in an attempt to contain and mitigate the effects of Covid-19.

Red, amber, or green lights are assigned to other countries indicating different rules including terms of travel and quarantine requirements.

Pfizer CEO predicts life will return to normal within a year

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that within a year the world will return to normal life, adding that annual Covid-19 vaccination shots will be necessary.

Bourla said in an interview with ABC over the weekend that returning to normalcy might come with limitations as he predicts there may be more Covid-19 variants.

Moderna chief Stephane Bancel, shares the same sentiment as he said last week that the pandemic will be over in a year.

Former Food and Drug Administration chief Scott Gottlieb has said that the current wave of Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta coronavirus variant is going to be the end of Covid, but it may linger around as an endemic.

Bourla said vaccinations might only last at least a year and the most likely scenario is annual vaccination, however he says Pfizer is going to review the data.

Keep an eye out next week for another roundup of the top Covid-19 stories.

kelly.turner@africannewsagency.com