Media coverage analysis shows record number of new Covid-19 cases in Gauteng

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Danette Breitenbach

Media coverage analysis shows that economic centres across all provinces in South Africa tend to record the highest number of new Covid-19 cases with the Western Cape in the lead. This past week, however, the Gauteng Province has shown some of the highest numbers recorded on a single day.

As the South African economy opens up, with some restaurants and salons having resumed operation, the number of new Covid-19 cases also sees record increases. News this week also points to calls for increased lockdown restrictions from some corners of society while others argue to reopen the economy. This week also saw more coverage of the taxi industry as they moved to fill taxis to full capacity from the initial 70% to help curb the spread of Covid-19.

This week’s sample media data includes a sample of 3 644 media items collected from online, print and broadcast sources from 24 to 30 June 2020. Online media and radio were the most dominant media types by volume of coverage in past week, as South Africans turn to media for information. Magazines remain the media type with the lowest Covid19 news and coverage, which may be because there are many daily changes and updates for monthly publications to remain relevant in the space.

Twitter and other social media platforms are where many South Africans share their view and inputs on how the country should deal with the spread of Covid-19. There are calls for increased lockdown restrictions from among some South Africans with debates of the economic effects post lockdown. Urban centres lead the charge in the number of Covid-19 and coronavirus mentions on Twitter where the most publicly available data can be analysed.