When we thought this country was already bursting at the seams recently with race and racism discourses and often accompanying invectives, we probably did not anticipate yet another combustible manifestation of South Africa’s most notorious malady.
Certainly not in the hallowed chambers of Parliament. But that is exactly where it burst forth once more.
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You’re sneezy, stuffed up, and feel bad all over. Is it a cold, or do you have the flu?
The symptoms can be a lot alike. But if you know the warning signs of the flu, you can get treatment quickly and work on feeling better, sooner.
What You Need to Know
Unlike a cold, flu symptoms usually come on suddenly. Another key difference is a fever, which might not happen with a cold. You might also have:
– Severe aches in muscles and joints
– Pain and tiredness around your eyes
– Weakness or extreme fatigue
– Warm, flushed skin and red, watery eyes
– A headache
– A dry cough
– A sore throat and runny nose
Adults with seasonal flu don’t usually vomit or have diarrhea, but children might.
Some symptoms can mean your illness is severe. Get immediate medical help if you have any of the following:
– Trouble breathing or shortness of breath
– Pain or pressure in your chest or belly
– Sudden
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People often believe that if you gather significant assets during your lifetime and put enough into your retirement or pension fund during your career, you don’t have to worry about living comfortably in your later years. But in an environment where medical costs are rising and markets are constantly fluctuating, is that really true?
Here’s a figure that might be surprising if you are planning to retire soon and haven’t considered your health care costs. If you are 65 and retiring this year, you will need about R990 000 during retirement to keep up the same cover you currently enjoy. For a couple, that total is about R1 990 000. (assuming you are on the Discovery Health Medical Scheme, on the Classic Delta Comprehensive Plan, a contribution of R4059 to your plan, and that your retirement grows in line with medical inflation- currently CPI +4%)
These numbers are based on the assumption that a man will live to be 85 and a woman 87, however with publications lik
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With the sustainability of medical schemes coming under increasing scrutiny, many companies may be left wondering whether offering restricted medical scheme membership to their employees is still a viable benefit.
Restricted membership medical schemes – those not open to the public and where membership eligibility is dependent on working in a certain industry sector, company, professional association or trade union – are gradually giving way to the larger open membership schemes that anyone can join.
That being said, restricted medical schemes have again achieved the highest scores in the Alexander Forbes Health Medical Schemes Sustainability Index released in January. SAMWUMED and Polmed (the top scorer for the third consecutive year), were once again top performers in the index.
It is evident that by pooling together certain individuals, restricted medical aids are able to better manage their risk exposures in some instances, collect premiums more easily f
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Yesterday, 6 June 2018, during a media conference, the mayor of the Mangaung Metro Municipality (Bloemfontein, Dewetsdorp, Van Stadensrus, Wepener and Soutpan), Ms Olly Mlamleli, indicated that she is going to propose that the Metro must buy between 1000 and 2000 tickets for the Bloemfontein Celtic soccer match and then hand these tickets out to the poor.
The ANC government is only interested in short term politics and the proposed purchase and distribution of the soccer tickets can be seen as a desperate attempt by the ANC to hold onto political power.
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The Western Cape’s biggest hospital is in such a dilapidated state that it will have to be shut down – and replaced.
This is what Parliament’s portfolio committee on health was told on Wednesday.
Head of the Western Cape Health Department, Beth Engelbrecht, told the committee the Hospital was in a dire state, its condition contributed to the billion-rand backlog in maintenance for provincial hospitals.
“Tygerberg Hospital is under severe pressure. The CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) assessed it and said the hospital must be replaced. We have spent R700 million just on maintenance in recent years and you walk through the hospital and you can’t see it – it is sewerage lines, gas lines and water lines,” she said.
Engelbrecht said it would cost an estimated R10 billion to replace the hospital. She said the department was canvassing National Treasury for funding.
Tygerberg Hospital works in partnership with Stellenbosch Univers
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Struggling state airline SAA is splurging millions on executives and consulting firms in a spending frenzy that has been described as “worrying”.
Its recently appointed chief executive, Vuyani Jarana, has said the increased expenditure is necessary to address a severe skills shortage.
The Mail & Guardian has established that SAA, which last week received yet another R5‑billion bailout from the treasury, is paying R25‑million to Deutsche Bank in a deal to analyse its financials and restructure its debt.
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As many as 400 000 gun owners who failed to renew their firearm licences on time will have to get rid of their guns or hand them over to the police‚ as they are now deemed to be in illegal possession of the guns.
The Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld an appeal by the minister of Safety and Security by dismissing a high court order which had declared that two sections of the Firearms Control Act of 2000 were constitutionally invalid.
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To obtain optimal value from your medical scheme plan, it’s critical to fully understand the scope of benefits it offers and to manage those prudently.
To obtain optimal value from your medical scheme plan, it’s critical to fully understand the scope of benefits it offers and to manage those prudently. It’s an especially important consideration during the winter months. This is according to Dr James Arens, clinical operations executive at Pro Sano medical scheme.
Minor ailments like a recurrent common cold, for example, may not necessarily require repeated doctor visits that could potentially use up benefits that might be more appropriately used elsewhere.
Dr Arens points out that the economic climate in recent years has seen many South Africans downscaling on their lifestyles.
“This often means ‘buying down’ when it comes to medical scheme cover. It’s understandable that when money is scarce, people wish to pay as little as possible while sti
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A disgruntled former prison employee lifts the lid on alleged money-wasting, sex between staff and inmates, and female staff watching porn with convicts at Modderbee prison in Springs.
He has also accused his former managers of firing him to cover up corruption and mismanagement at the facility on the East Rand.
The SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) took up the fight and paid for former warder Themba Masango’s legal representation when he took the matter to the Labour Court earlier this year, claiming unfair dismissal.
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More than 60000 South African households still use the bucket toilet system – 12 years past the initial deadline set by the government to eradicate them.
This is according to Statistics SA’s Non-Financial Census of Municipalities 2017 report released this week.
The report lifted the lid on the shameful picture in some of the municipalities.
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An 85-year-old pensioner had R300 000 stolen from his Nebdank account last week in a sim swap scam.
The man’s son, who would rather not be named, wrote to CapeTalk host John Maytham to relay the experience.
Forensic investigator Dr David Klatzow says the sim swap scam has become more prevalent over the past three years.
The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police officer was arrested on Monday, June 4, on 6th street and Turf Road in Turffontein, south of Johannesburg, for allegedly attempting to solicit a bribe and enforcing illegally whilst not on duty, Comaro Chronicle reports.
The 33 year old Male officer was arrested by the members of JMPD Internal Affairs after he had stopped a motorist for disobeying a red traffic light, he spoke to the driver and allegedly attempted to solicit a R3000 bribe from the motorist.
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Former president Jacob Zuma has issued a stern warning that he will not sit back and watch his critics provoking him.
Zuma was a keynote speaker at the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) meeting on free education held in Durban on Wednesday.
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Cosatu has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to sack health minister Aaron Motsoaledi, arguing that he is directly responsible for the continued deterioration of the healthcare system in the country.
“People are losing their lives on a daily basis and this has reached crisis levels. What has disappointed Cosatu the most is Minister Motsoaledi’s denialism and scapegoating.”
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