For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: Another 183 people die of Covid-19 complications; Life Esidimeni inquest to decide criminal liability kicks off; And, Ramaphosa says citizens must work together to mitigate effects of unrest

Another 183 people die of Covid-19 complications

Another 11 215 cases of Covid-19 have been detected, and 183 people have died, according to the latest National Institute for Communicable Diseases report.

The NICD reported that the most new cases were from Gauteng (39%), followed by the Western Cape (19%), Limpopo and Mpumalanga (9% each), KwaZulu-Natal and the North West (7% each), the Eastern Cape (5%), the Free State (3%), and the Northern Cape (2%).

The positivity rate from testing is 29.3%.

The 183 deaths bring the total number of fatalities to 66 859.

Life Esidimeni inquest to decide criminal liability kicks off

After years of waiting, the process to determine whether anyone should be held criminally liable for the Life Esidimeni tragedy kicked off on Monday morning.

Judge Mmonoa Teffo is leading the inquest that will determine whether anyone should be held liable for the deaths of 144 mental healthcare patients. Over 30 witnesses are expected to testify.

The patients died when the Gauteng health department terminated a contract with Life Esidimeni leading to the mass transfer of patients to non-governmental organisations.

Prior to the inquest, retired deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke arbitrated the case. After the arbitration, Moseneke awarded families monetary compensation.

And, Ramaphosa says citizens must work together to mitigate effects of unrest

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on individuals to help with food relief, support businesses in distress and to also join small volunteer teams that are helping to clean up affected communities.

This in the wake of the violent protests that engulfed parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng last week.

Ramaphosa stated that businesses have been destroyed and livelihoods lost at a time when citizens were already feeling the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said as people work to stabilise the country and secure essential supplies and infrastructure, they must work together to mitigate the effects of this unrest on society’s most vulnerable.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter [@Polity ZA]