Covid-19 cases: nearly 12,000; banks open R100bn SME loan scheme; SA may ease lockdown faster; Pick n Pay
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In today's news headlines:
* As the number of Covid-19 cases heads towards 12,000, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has announced that its chair Dr Clarence Mini has died from complications related to Covid-19;
* The Covid-19 loan guarantee scheme, with loans guaranteed by government for businesses with a turnover of less than R300m, has started taking applications;
* South Africa’s National Command Council, the body overseeing the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis, is considering easing lockdown rules more rapidly as the economy tanks and poverty levels soar, three senior officials have told Bloomberg;
* In other Covid-19 news making the global headlines, Wuhan will test its entire population of 11 million after the Chinese city where the pandemic began reported new infections for the first time since its lockdown was lifted. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman is the latest top official to fall ill, and Britons may not be able to travel outside the UK until September; and
* With supermarkets among the few businesses allowed to operate under Covid-19 restrictions you might expect them to enjoy bumper profits. But this is not the case. Pick n Pay Stores on Tuesday the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to hit its margins and profitability this year.
* As the number of Covid-19 cases heads towards 12,000, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has announced that its chair Dr Clarence Mini has died from complications related to Covid-19;
* The Covid-19 loan guarantee scheme, with loans guaranteed by government for businesses with a turnover of less than R300m, has started taking applications;
* South Africa’s National Command Council, the body overseeing the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis, is considering easing lockdown rules more rapidly as the economy tanks and poverty levels soar, three senior officials have told Bloomberg;
* In other Covid-19 news making the global headlines, Wuhan will test its entire population of 11 million after the Chinese city where the pandemic began reported new infections for the first time since its lockdown was lifted. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman is the latest top official to fall ill, and Britons may not be able to travel outside the UK until September; and
* With supermarkets among the few businesses allowed to operate under Covid-19 restrictions you might expect them to enjoy bumper profits. But this is not the case. Pick n Pay Stores on Tuesday the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to hit its margins and profitability this year.
