The Africa Union and AfricaCDC, in partnership with SANBI, KRISP, H3AbioNet and the Africa Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases have started a weekly Webinar series to capacitate African researchers on the generation and analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomic data in Africa.

The official number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in South Africa doesn't reflect the true scale of the crisis, with provinces that have been hit hardest by the outbreak showing a surge in fatalities, health experts say.

The official number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in South Africa doesn't reflect the true scale of the crisis, with provinces that have been hit hardest by the outbreak showing a surge in fatalities, health experts say.

South Africa has joined the United States, Brazil, India, and Russia as the countries with the most recorded COVID-19 cases. On Saturday, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced the country has 350,879 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

CAPE TOWN - Genome sequencing, by colleagues at Stellenbosch University and the Network for Genomic Surveillance, was used to trace most of the very first COVID-19 cases reported in the Western Cape back to Europe.

There were multiple — possibly hundreds — of introductions of the novel coronavirus virus to Cape Town from foreign travellers and return citizens, scientists found.

Durban - The newly launched Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Consortium for Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial by the AU Commission is a glimmer of hope as the first vaccine trial gets under way in South Africa.

The Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) presents a molecular epidemiological study of the first twenty-one SARS-CoV-2 whole genomes sampled in the first port of entry, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), during the first month of the epidemic.

This report focuses on the first SARS-CoV-2 388 genomes from Africa. These genomes were accessed from GISAID and analysed against a backdrop of reference sequences. By comparing our viral genomes against others, we can infer how and when SARS-CoV-2 was introduced into Africa and how it has spread within the continent.

KRISP is a founding member of the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa. A network of laboratories, scientists and academic institutions that have joined forces to ensure the public health responses to COVID-19 in South Africa have access to the best possible scientific data.

Nick Hammer chats to Prof Tulio De Oliveira, Dr. Richard Lessells and Prof Yunus Moosa about the trial on the UK of Dexamethasone for COVID-19.

Experts weigh in on how to avoid inaccurate results during Covid-19 testing. Distance, hair and sweat can all affect the reading of the temperature scans you've been experiencing at work, shopping malls and schools.

With Covid-19 now growing by leaps and bounds in South Africa, a Mail & Guardian survey has spotlighted the nationwide shortage of staff, equipment and facilities needed to cope with the infected people who are set to flood the healthcare system when the outbreak hits its peak.

Results of a study conducted in the United Kingdom have been hailed as a game-changer in the fight against COVID-19. A University of Oxford study has shown that the drug, dexamethasone, has been proven to reduce one in eight deaths in critically ill patients on ventilators.

L'Afrique apporte sa pierre à la science (9). Cinq cents personnes du Cap, foyer de l'épidémie de coronavirus en Afrique du Sud, participent à une étude en double aveugle sur le vaccin contre la tuberculose.

On 9 March, a patient who had recently traveled to Europe and had symptoms of COVID-19 visited the emergency department of St. Augustine's, a private hospital in Durban, South Africa. Eight weeks later, 39 patients and 80 staff linked to the hospital had been infected, and 15 patients had died—fully half the death toll in KwaZulu-Natal province at that time.

L'Afrique apporte sa pierre à la science (3). Dans une étude saluée par la revue « Science », le laboratoire Krisp établit avec une rare finesse la chaîne de contamination dans un hôpital de Durban.

An investigation into the first major outbreak of Covid-19, at a Durban hospital, shows that staff members spread the virus, raising concerns about the safety of healthcare workers as infections rise.

South Africa leads this continent in many ways. Right now, it is poised to lead Africa into the next, most dangerous phase of the pandemic, as the country braces itself for a dramatic rise in infections that will almost certainly overwhelm its relatively well-resourced healthcare system.

The report outlines in detail how SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, spread through Netcare's 149-bed facility in Durban. This piece in Bhekisisa also contains simple take-away messages and recommendations on how to protect health care workers and hospitals from COVID-19. Download the full investigative report here.

The South African Obstetric Surveillance System Consortium in partnership with the SA MRC Maternal and Infant Health Strategies Unit and KRISP/UKZN invites clinicians from South African obstetric institutions to participate in this national study.

Durban, South Africa, March 9. A man goes to the emergency room of the San Agustín hospital. He coughs, his head hurts. They admit him and share a stay with a woman who has had a heart attack. That man has just come from Europe, the lady lives in a nursing home.

South Africa's lockdown seems to have stopped the winter influenza outbreak in its tracks. School closures and travel bans are likely to have prevented seasonal flu from taking hold. A mild flu season will help in the fight against Covid-19, but lifting lockdown could result in flu resurging.

A new investigative report details the rapid spread of coronavirus disease in St Augustine's Hospital in Durban, and how it could have been prevented. The study, which Bhekisisa has seen, was conducted by researchers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's (UKZN) Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine and the KwaZulu?Natal Research Innovation & Sequencing Platform, KRISP.

As schools get ready to reopen, models suggest the country will still not have enough ICU beds at the virus peak. In the meantime, court battles rage while unions fight to keep miners safe.

This report presents the findings and recommendations of an investigation into a nosocomial outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at St. Augustine's Hospital in Durban, South Africa. The investigation began on 4 April after the identification of a number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and three deaths at the hospital. Investigation methods included medical record reviews, ward visits, and interviews with health care workers and management. A detailed timeline of patient cases was constructed to generate hypotheses as to the spread of infection through the hospital. In addition, DNA sequencing of severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid extracted from nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab samples was performed and phylogenetic analysis was conducted.

The report by a University of KwaZulu-Natal-led research team was made public on Wednesday following an investigation at the facility. A new report shows that 14% of all COVID-19 cases in KwaZulu-Natal can be traced to the coronavirus outbreak at Netcare's St Augustine's Hospital in Durban

A newly released investigation report revealed there were a total of 15 patient deaths and 119 confirmed Coronavirus cases at the Netcare St Augustine Hospital.

An investigation has found there were 119 confirmed cases of coronavirus identified at Durban's St Augustine's Hospital by the end of last month. The probe into the COVID-19 outbreak at the hospital was led by a team at UKZN.

Durban - An investigation into the Covid-19 outbreak at Durban's St. Augustine's Hospital has found the cluster outbreak was as a result of patient to patient transfer after both were admitted to the hospital around the same time.