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Economy

SOUTH Africa ranked 84 out of 165 countries and territories in the 2021 Annual Report of Economic Freedom of the World, released this week by the Free Market Foundation. South Africa had adopted minimum wage and hiring and firing laws that had caused it to have one of the highest unemployment rates, with 75% of young people between 15 and 24 unable to find jobs. South Africa was overtaken by 15 ex-communist countries and seven African countries on the economic freedom list. | Political Bureau

Variants

ACCORDING to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases a new Covid-19, C.1.2, was detected in May, with several mutations. Variants spread more easily, but there is no evidence that they are becoming deadlier, writes Professor Burtram Fielding. I am confident the vaccines will still be effective in minimising severe cases. But it does not mean that you will not get the virus. Studies show that antibodies start waning after four to six months but still remain at levels high enough to minimise severe Covid-19. | IOL