Residents stand for hours in queues, putting their lives at risk for R350
By Mercury Reporter
By Thulasizwe Nkomo
Long queues of people have been queuing at South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) offices and paypoints across the country.
Apart from beneficiaries queuing for grant payments including the R350 social relief of distress grant, long queues were due to people waiting to apply for temporary disability grants. The grants lapsed on December 31 and Sassa urged applicants to visit their offices to reapply for the grants with a medical assessment.
Many Sassa offices, particularly in the Western Cape, have had long queues and reports of recipients sleeping outside.
SAâs blood stocks stable after low demand during festive season
By Mercury Reporter
By Thulasizwe Nkomo
The South African National Blood Services (SANBS) said while their blood stocks were currently stable, they still encouraged people to donate.
The SANBS said their stocks picked up after they had reported a shortage ahead of the festive season last year.
Chief Operations Officer at SANBS, Ravi Reddy, said their blood stocks was at 4.2 days, which was acceptable, but they aimed for a 5-day capacity.
He said the demand for blood during the festive season was relatively low because most hospital beds were allocated to Covid-19 patients.