Cape Town - As you kick start your day, Nokuthula Khwela brings you the country’s biggest stories.
In our top stories:
While addressing the nation on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa has revised South Africa’s restrictions under alert level 1, which calls for the end of outdoor mask-wearing and will allow for larger gatherings. He said due to the changing nature of the pandemic the government would lift the National State of Disaster and replace it with new health regulations. The change to restrictions on gatherings means people can finally attend music concerts, football matches and more.
For more on this, read here.
Prices for Uber and Bolt trips shot through the roof on Tuesday as e-hailing drivers embarked on a nationwide strike, leaving commuters stranded. Uber and Bolt drivers have gone offline in protest over high commission rates, safety concerns and the lack of insurance in the industry, among other issues. The decreased number of drivers online caused a surge in demand and drove prices up.
More than 700 drivers will be participating in the shutdown expected to take place for the next three day
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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has raised concerns about psychiatric patients assaulting staff at the Helen Joseph Hospital. On Tuesday, Jack Bloom, the party’s Gauteng spokesperson for health said patients at the hospital have assaulted at least 32 staff members and caused extensive property damage in the past year.
He said damage included broken windows, damaged doors, electrical cables that were tampered with, and broken basins, taps, and toilet seats. Bloom said in one of the more serious attacks, a staffer was stabbed by a psychiatric patient and suffered a collapsed lung. The staff member had to be hospitalised.
For more on this, read here.