For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: Ramaphosa wishes Class of 2021 luck as exams begin; Load-shedding moved to Stage 4; And, South Africa records 331 new infections and 53 deaths

Ramaphosa wishes Class of 2021 luck as exams begin

President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his best wishes to the matrics of 2021, saying the country is immensely proud of the nearly 900 000 candidates who will be sitting for the National Senior Certificate examination.

Matric final exams kicked-off today with the language papers: English Home Language, English First Additional Language and English Second Additional Language.

Ramaphosa said the country can be proud of the determination, focus and sacrifice with which learners braved the 2021 academic year in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on school life, home life, social interaction and society.

He paid tribute to parents and educators who were also affected by the pandemic.

The President called on learners to adhere to Covid-19 safety regulations throughout the examination period and in the celebrations beyond. He also urged learners to present themselves for vaccination.

Load-shedding moved to Stage 4

Power utility Eskom has announced that it will implement Stage 4 load-shedding from 12pm today until 5am on Friday.

Thereafter Stage 2 load-shedding will continue until 5am on Saturday.

Over the past 24 hours a unit each at Medupi, Kusile and Matla power stations tripped, while a unit each at Lethabo and Arnot power stations were forced to shut down.

This constrained the power system further, requiring extensive use of emergency reserves, hampering the recovery of these reserves.

Total breakdowns currently amount to 14 957 MW, while planned maintenance is 5 301 MW of capacity.

And, South Africa records 331 new infections and 53 deaths

South Africa recorded 331 new confirmed Covid-19 infections on Tuesday and 53 deaths, bringing the confirmed death toll to 88 987.

There were 45 new hospital admissions in the past 24-hour cycle. In total, 4 069 people were in public and private hospitals for Covid-19.

According to the Department of Health, almost 22-million vaccine doses have been administered. Of those, 196 080 were administered in the last 24-hour reporting cycle. To date, almost 15-million people are fully vaccinated.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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