Corona Watch

Jo-Mare Duddy Booysen
South Africa

South African banks are unlikely to join forces to offer industry-wide relief to a sector hit by the coronavirus and will assess each case individually, Investec Bank Ltd's CEO has said.

The South Africa Real Estate Investment Trust Association, which represents real estate investment firms, has approached banks for a relief package, Richard Wainwright told Reuters.

It is unlikely that they would offer blanket relief, Wainwright said, adding that South Africa's aviation, hospitality, real estate and retail sectors have been most severely hit by the coronavirus crisis.

South Africa

AngloGold Ashanti's Mponeng mine in South Africa has been temporarily closed after 164 workers tested positive for the coronavirus, the gold miner said in a statement on Sunday.

The mine, the deepest in the world, only re-opened in April after being shut under a nationwide lockdown, and had been operating at around 50% capacity.

AngloGold Ashanti said it had conducted 650 tests at Mponeng since detecting the first case of the virus there last week.

It added that the vast majority of the cases were asymptomatic and all those who tested positive would be isolated in line with national health protocols, with on-site facilities available for those who need them. – Nampa/Reuters

Nigeria

Nigeria is wooing local companies to boost manufacturing and food production in the West African country, the central bank said, after the novel coronavirus disrupted imports and created large financing needs.

Central bank governor Godwin Emefiele recently said the bank was willing to provide hard currency for imports of machinery and raw materials that cannot be sourced at home.

He added that Nigeria would prioritise strategic imports or service obligations for US dollars to galvanise local manufacturing. – Nampa/Reuters

DRC

Government officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have denied any manipulation of its figures for coronavirus cases and deaths.

Late on Friday, the government reported that a doctor and a hospital administrator had been arrested and later released over accusations of falsely declared coronavirus cases.

President Felix Tshisekedi asked the health minister to investigate rumours of fake patient deaths linked to the virus.

Parliament voted on Friday to extend the state of emergency order by 15 days for the third time. – Nampa/AFP

Comments

Namibian Sun 2024-05-18

No comments have been left on this article

Please login to leave a comment

Premier League: Manchester United 3 vs 2 Newcastle | Brighton 1 vs 2 Chelsea LaLiga: Real Sociedad 1 vs 0 Valencia | Almería 0 vs 2 Barcelona | Las Palmas 2 vs 2 Real Betis | Celta Vigo 2 vs 1 Athletic Club | Getafe 0 vs 3 Atletico Madrid | Sevilla 0 vs 1 Cadiz | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 1 Granada SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 2 Napoli European Championships Qualifying: Southampton 3 vs 1 West Bromwich Albion | Leeds United 4 vs 0 Norwich City English Championship: Southampton 3 vs 1 West Bromwich Albion | Leeds United 4 vs 0 Norwich City Katima Mulilo: 10° | 31° Rundu: 10° | 30° Eenhana: 12° | 31° Oshakati: 13° | 31° Ruacana: 12° | 31° Tsumeb: 14° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 12° | 27° Omaruru: 13° | 30° Windhoek: 12° | 27° Gobabis: 13° | 27° Henties Bay: 19° | 33° Wind speed: 41km/h, Wind direction: NE, Low tide: 06:32, High tide: 12:50, Low Tide: 18:28, High tide: 00:56 Swakopmund: 20° | 23° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 06:30, High tide: 12:48, Low Tide: 18:26, High tide: 00:54 Walvis Bay: 22° | 32° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 06:30, High tide: 12:47, Low Tide: 18:26, High tide: 00:53 Rehoboth: 12° | 27° Mariental: 16° | 29° Keetmanshoop: 17° | 29° Aranos: 16° | 29° Lüderitz: 19° | 35° Ariamsvlei: 16° | 31° Oranjemund: 14° | 31° Luanda: 24° | 28° Gaborone: 13° | 27° Lubumbashi: 11° | 27° Mbabane: 11° | 23° Maseru: 8° | 23° Antananarivo: 14° | 24° Lilongwe: 15° | 26° Maputo: 19° | 26° Windhoek: 12° | 27° Cape Town: 15° | 20° Durban: 16° | 24° Johannesburg: 15° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 32° Lusaka: 15° | 26° Harare: 12° | 26° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.01 | EUR to NAD 19.73 | CNY to NAD 2.51 | USD to NAD 18.15 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.7 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.55 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.35 | USD to AOA 847.42 | USD to BWP 13.49 | USD to EGP 46.86 | USD to KES 130.48 | USD to NGN 1467 | USD to ZAR 18.15 | USD to ZMW 25.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 79530.63 Up +0.03% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1754.58 Up +0.81% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13426.13 Up +0.11% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 26142.84 Up +3.27% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 414.72/OZ UP +1.55% | Copper US$ 5.04/lb UP +4.12% | Zinc US$ 3 059.30/T UP 0.11% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 84.28/BBP UP +0.60% | Platinum US$ 1 084.88/OZ UP +2.19% Sport results: Premier League: Manchester United 3 vs 2 Newcastle | Brighton 1 vs 2 Chelsea LaLiga: Real Sociedad 1 vs 0 Valencia | Almería 0 vs 2 Barcelona | Las Palmas 2 vs 2 Real Betis | Celta Vigo 2 vs 1 Athletic Club | Getafe 0 vs 3 Atletico Madrid | Sevilla 0 vs 1 Cadiz | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 1 Granada SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 2 Napoli European Championships Qualifying: Southampton 3 vs 1 West Bromwich Albion | Leeds United 4 vs 0 Norwich City English Championship: Southampton 3 vs 1 West Bromwich Albion | Leeds United 4 vs 0 Norwich City Weather: Katima Mulilo: 10° | 31° Rundu: 10° | 30° Eenhana: 12° | 31° Oshakati: 13° | 31° Ruacana: 12° | 31° Tsumeb: 14° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 12° | 27° Omaruru: 13° | 30° Windhoek: 12° | 27° Gobabis: 13° | 27° Henties Bay: 19° | 33° Wind speed: 41km/h, Wind direction: NE, Low tide: 06:32, High tide: 12:50, Low Tide: 18:28, High tide: 00:56 Swakopmund: 20° | 23° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 06:30, High tide: 12:48, Low Tide: 18:26, High tide: 00:54 Walvis Bay: 22° | 32° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 06:30, High tide: 12:47, Low Tide: 18:26, High tide: 00:53 Rehoboth: 12° | 27° Mariental: 16° | 29° Keetmanshoop: 17° | 29° Aranos: 16° | 29° Lüderitz: 19° | 35° Ariamsvlei: 16° | 31° Oranjemund: 14° | 31° Luanda: 24° | 28° Gaborone: 13° | 27° Lubumbashi: 11° | 27° Mbabane: 11° | 23° Maseru: 8° | 23° Antananarivo: 14° | 24° Lilongwe: 15° | 26° Maputo: 19° | 26° Windhoek: 12° | 27° Cape Town: 15° | 20° Durban: 16° | 24° Johannesburg: 15° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 32° Lusaka: 15° | 26° Harare: 12° | 26° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.01 | EUR to NAD 19.73 | CNY to NAD 2.51 | USD to NAD 18.15 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.7 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.55 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.35 | USD to AOA 847.42 | USD to BWP 13.49 | USD to EGP 46.86 | USD to KES 130.48 | USD to NGN 1467 | USD to ZAR 18.15 | USD to ZMW 25.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 79530.63 Up +0.03% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1754.58 Up +0.81% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13426.13 Up +0.11% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 26142.84 Up +3.27% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 414.72/OZ UP +1.55% | Copper US$ 5.04/lb UP +4.12% | Zinc US$ 3 059.30/T UP 0.11% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 84.28/BBP UP +0.60% | Platinum US$ 1 084.88/OZ UP +2.19%