Dr Mariheca Otto is the Managing Director of Motto Business Consulting whose plans to have a bit of mom time at a retreat in Bali, went horribly wrong when all flights to South Africa were cancelled. Otto is stranded on the Indonesian island and is trying to run her business with only a cellphone at her disposal. She has managed to adapt how she works and has realised that many of the changes that businesses have to undergo, are going to be permanent. Her message to her clients is that she remains open for business; she even went ahead with the launch of  a Gender Measurement Perception Tool and is working on a book. Bali may not be the worst island to be stranded on; it is not quite Tom Hanks alone on an island with a ball he called Wilson, but Otto is separated from her four children. – Linda van Tilburg

In episode 14 of the Inside Covid-19 podcast, Allan Gray’s view on the share market rebound – and the way ahead after the crash; Ron Whelan applies his mind to the major issues of the moment from protection by the BCG vaccine to whether SA's lockdown will continue beyond April 16th; we find out how a South African businesswoman stranded in Bali is running her business by cell phone; and bad news for the economy and property prices, as a 4.5% contraction is in prospect.

The movements in stock markets over the last month have been astounding as financial markets react to the despair and hope induced by the coronavirus. There has been a rush for cash with investors pulling an unprecedented amount of  money from the market as Covid-19 spreads. Biznews founder Alec Hogg touched base with Duncan Artus from Allan Gray on what can be expected in the near and longer term. He provides his views on Naspers, British American Tobacco and Sasol, which registered a 46% surge on the Johannesburg Stock today. And although he says he is not allowed to give advice, Artus has been encouraging people to 'stick it for the long term.' - Linda van Tilburg

Most former executives involved in South African Airways and SA Express will in light of the financial difficulties of the two companies not easily be given accolades for good performance. The decision to appoint the acting CEO of SA Express, Siza Mzimela as the new Chief Executive of Transnet Freight Rail has therefore raised a couple of eyebrows. The Democratic Alliance described the appointment as bizarre as Mzimela only had aviation experience and said it was another example of cadre deployment with ineffective executives hopping from one state owned enterprise to another. DA Member of Parliament, Ghaleb Cachalia said her track record at the SOE was dismal as SA Express now faces liquidation. But Mzimela has received backing for her latest Transnet appointment from none other than Bonang Mohale, the man described as a powerhouse and leadership guru behind the growth of many companies. Mohale told Biznews founder Alec Hogg that Mzimela had his backing. – Linda van Tilburg

In today's news headlines: * As of late Tuesday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa stands at 1749, with 13 reported deaths.; * Get well messages have poured in for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has contracted Covid-19 and was admitted to the intensive care unit of a London hospital on Monday; * South African bank stocks recovered to make gains on Tuesday after the central bank signalled that its advice not to pay dividends did not include 2019’s and that the National Treasury was considering a scheme to encourage lending, reports Reuters; * Emerging-market currencies offer the best buying opportunity in more than two decades, according to Charlie Robertson, Renaissance Capital’s global chief economist - who particularly likes the rand right now; and * Chinese firms are getting ready for discounted deals in Europe, where the coronavirus pandemic has sent companies scrambling for cash to stay in business.

Here's the full half hour interview with South African schoolteachers Gary and Andy Cronje who were based in China when the Covid-19 crisis hit and spent weeks in lockdown there. They returned home to SA last month for their 14 day self-imposed isolation to be rapidly followed by the 21 day national lockdown - and then the news of the Covid-19 death of their 50 year old "brother" who fetched them at the airport. A fascinating tale from a couple whose lives over the last few months have been as intertwined. Riveting and sad, but with some good practical advice from a couple who have been through the Covid-19 mill.

They are widely seen as the soldiers on the front line and in at least two of the hardest hit countries in Europe and the world, the only line of defence in fighting the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. But what if that line of defence is so compromised they can't do their job? In the UK one in four of the doctors are now sitting at home in self-isolation after they've contracted Covid-19 and globally many doctors and health workers have fallen victim to the disease, most famously the discoverer of the disease in China. Learning from expert colleagues around the world in countries that had the pandemic ahead of us, our health care professionals have been preparing like soldiers preparing for a war to keep SA's citizens and our health care professionals safe. Dr Ross Hofmeyr, an anaesthesiologist at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, who literally stares death in the face when he has to push a tube down the airway of an affected patient, tells Alec Hogg in this riveting interview about the hospital's preparations that the frontline is definitely not them. It is people who need to remember to wash their hands.

In episode thirteen of Inside Covid-19, we hear from Bill Gates, who five years ago warned policy makers to prepare for a pandemic like the one we’re now experiencing; there’s a harrowing but riveting interview with our regular correspondents whose healthy 50 year old cousin succumbed to Covid-19 on Friday night; and a rare address from Queen Elizabeth II, whose son and Prime Minister are both infected. - Alec Hogg

In today's news headlines: * The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases was 1,655 as of Monday 6 April, with 11 deaths reported to SA authorities; * South Africa’s economy could contract by 2-4% and the budget deficit could be pushed to war-time levels, the Reserve Bank says; * BMW says all major markets experienced double-digit declines in March and extended factory halts across Europe, North America and South Africa by 10 days until the end of the month; * KFC-owner Yum! Brands has told landlords in South Africa that the US firm won’t be paying rent while outlets are closed during a three-week government-enforced lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic, says Bloomberg; * South African telecoms regulator ICASA announced on Monday an emergency release of broadband spectrum to meet a spike in internet demand during a lockdown to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, reports Reuters; and * UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is struggling to shake Covid-19 has been hospitalised, has tweeted that he is in good spirits and is still working remotely.

The two Durban schoolteachers, Gary and Andy Cronje gave us fascinating insights as they holed up in China, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. They managed to fly back to South Africa when schools in China closed and after another period of self-isolation in Johannesburg; they said they were ready  to return to China to resume teaching. But tragedy has struck. Gary’s cousin who drove them back from the airport has died from the coronavirus. He was Johan Vorster, a healthy 50 year old. The Cronjes told Alec of the guilt they felt, but also how they knew that Johan who was an ATM  technician could have picked up the disease somewhere else as they both recovered from illness in China. They stressed the importance of testing and tracing. – Linda van Tilburg

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has spent much of his time and philanthropic funds on fighting diseases like malaria in Africa, warned the world that one of the greatest risks to humankind was an infectious virus. In a TedTalk in 2015, he outlined how the world was not ready for an epidemic and would end up in debt to the tune of at least $3trn. His objective was to encourage world leaders to prepare. We are now in the midst of an attack by microbes, but there are glimmers of hope that the end is in sight. Stock market expert David Shapiro picks up on this theme with BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg, identifying the signals that are positive for investors. He also delves into the human side of the Covid-19 disaster, sharing how he believes the private sector can help the poor and financially distressed. - Jackie Cameron

The lockdown can seem endless, now that South Africa is past the halfway mark, especially when people are not even allowed to go out for exercise and where alcohol and cigarettes are prohibited. But right now; things are looking up for South Africa. The number of new cases and fatalities has plateaued and a study by Dr Gonzalu Otazu from the New York Institute of Technology has found that there is a correlation between countries that require citizens to get the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine to prevent TB and lower death rates from the coronavirus. This is a vaccine that the majority of South Africans receive as babies. Another plus for South Africa is its vast testing infrastructure due to the high number of HIV/Aids cases in the country, which the deputy director of the Reproductive Health Institute at Wits, Francois Venter has described as unprecedented in the world to ABC. So, it would be easy to rejoice and think we may be close to conquering the Covid-19 beast. In an interview with Biznews founder Alec Hogg for the Inside Covid-19 podcast, the deputy executive director of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit at Baragwanath Hospital, Dr. Neil Martinson had a word of caution and said that a second wave of coronavirus infections is possible if containment measures are lifted too soon. - Linda van Tilburg

With the number of coronavirus cases growing every day across the world; scientists are desperately looking for a silver bullet to stop the disease in its tracks or at least prevent fatalities from it. As the virus is new and moved so fast from China to the rest of the world; scientists are playing a catch-up race and are looking for shreds of evidence that some people may be spared from the full brunt of the epidemic. It did appear that older people were more likely to die from coronavirus complications than the young and judging from how the flu virus mainly effects people in the cold months; scientists are predicting that people in warmer countries like South Africa could expect less severe outbreaks. The higher fatality rate among men has also been ascribed to vaccinations that teenage girls receive to prevent complications when they become pregnant. And now a study by a professor at the New York Institute of Technology, Dr Gonzalu Otazu has found that there is a correlation between countries that require citizens to get the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG vaccine) to prevent tuberculosis and lower death rates from the coronavirus. South Africa has mandated this 100-year old vaccine since the 1940s and many will remember it as a stamp on the upper arm. This is clearly good news for South Africa where the infection rate and death rate are still relatively low compared to outbreaks in Italy and the United States. In the UK, BCG vaccines are only administered to people who travel to high risk areas and in some pockets in London. Dr Otazu told Biznews founder Alec on the Inside Covid-19 podcast that clinical trials need to be done to find out if there is indeed a causal relationship between the BCG jab and low Covid-19 fatality rates. This is not an indication that South Africans should become less cautious as he emphasised the importance of combining it with social distancing and many HIV/Aids patients do not receive this vaccination. – Linda van Tilburg

An adjusted format for the latest episode of Rational Radio where SA's favourite market commentator David Shapiro unpacks Covid-19 impact on the formal sector, and Kasinomics author GG Alcock explains what's happening in the informal market. They raise concerns about the practical implications of the lockdown on both sides of the economy - but catch their breath when we share the latest leg of the amazing journey for schoolteachers Gary and Andy Cronje. Their 50 year old fit and healthy cousin Johan Vorster (pictured), who fetched the couple from the airport when they arrived home from China, died of Covid-19 on Friday night. In between Bidvest chairman Bonang Mohale rallies to the defence of the new CE of Transnet Freight, Sizakele Mzimela, whose appointment has attracted much criticism.

In episode 12 of our Inside Covid-19 podcast, much needed hope for South Africa’s fight against the virus as research from a top US university suggests the BCG vaccination against TB, administered in the country for the past 80 years, provides protection against Covid-19. More on that coming up, including an interview with assistant professor Dr Gonzalo Otazu, head of the NYIT research team whose paper is global reshaping thinking and has sparked a fresh wave of clinical trials. Also in this episode, a US-based South African is spearheading a drive to get a skin prick Covid-19 testing kit into the market and we go to Groote Schuur for a peek into how SA medics are preparing for the expected wave of coronavirus patients.

Oil prices have been hammered as the coronavirus has led to evaporating demand. With no planes in the sky and few cars on the road, demand has flatlined and marginal oil producers are starting to fail. Some have pinned their hopes on a supply-side intervention, arguing that if large producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia cut their production, oil prices may find a floor. But in this episode, featuring content from the Bloomberg P&L podcast, we discuss why oil may yet fall to historic lows. We also look at potential opportunities in the stock market and ask just how painful the coronavirus-induced global economic hit is likely to be.

In today's news headlines: * As the number of Covid-19 infections breaches the 1m mark worldwide, with 1,500 in South Africa, and nine confirmed deaths, more than R2bn has been pledged by South Africans to the Solidarity Fund. * A Netcare hospital in KwaZulu-Natal is shutting sections as its bosses move to identify shortcomings in infection control and trace people who may have been infected with Covid-19 after 11 cases were linked to it. * The Solidarity Fund will pay for at least 5m protective medical face masks, according to reports, while the Western Cape's provincial treasury is to distribute thousands of food parcels. * Transnet is re-starting some of its operations to facilitate the delivery of commodities and supplies. * ArcelorMittal is the latest to use Force Majeure as a reason not to pay its suppliers, staff.

Policymakers are in crisis management mode, after the emergence and rapid spread of Covid-19. But what will the world look like when we emerge from our cocooned existences and try to kickstart our economies? Two of the world's top economic thinkers ponder this question, in this virtual discussion hosted by the World Economic Forum. Martin Wolf is the highly respected chief economics commentator for the Financial Times. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 2000 “for services to financial journalism”. Wolf examines the question from the British perspective. Mariana Mazzucato, who has Italian-US roots, is Professor of Economics of Innovation and Public Value; Founder and Director, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London. She is the author of The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy, which was shortlisted for the Financial Times-McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. They share fascinating insights on a situation that could easily re-shape the world on the scale that followed World War II. - Jackie Cameron

In episode eleven of Inside Covid-19, we hear how the smart money is playing the investment markets; a special treat as two rock star economists (Mariana Mazuccato and Martin Wolf) share how the world will change through Covid-19; the WHO shatters the myth of the virus only killing the elderly; a potential breakthrough in treatment through transfusions of the plasma of the previously infected; and smart investors are accumulating shares of Cloud and online retail companies.

In today's headlines: * As South Africa enters its second week of a government-imposed lockdown, the country has been praised globally for leading efforts to stop Covid-19 in its tracks on the African continent; * With economic activity almost at a standstill, around half of the jobs in all of Africa are at risk; * Global Property Research, which tracks property indices, says Africa is leading prices of the world's listed real estate companies downwards and warns international investors that SA companies want a two-year reprieve from paying dividends; and * Shares in MTN Group leapt as much as 18% on Thursday, helped by signs that the oil market could stabilise after a slump in prices.

Dr Alex Samuel's recent article on wsj.com is one of that massive global website's best read pieces. So I was delighted to get a positive response from the Canadian author after asking her to share some practical tips for South Africans suddenly made to give up their daily commute and water-cooler gossip. Here's the result - a fascinating half hour masterclass on how to make the most of the Covid-19 lockdown with its forced embrace of a lifestyle that has become a preferred option for tens of millions worldwide. - Alec Hogg

Small and medium business are in a particular squeeze right now as the quantitative easing measures from Government are not filtering down to them fast enough. In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that the economic impact of the coronavirus could lead to one in five SMEs running out of cash. In South Africa, Brendan Mullen from Secha Capital, whose biggest business is Stoffelberg Biltong, is an investment professional who has experienced the fall-out from the credit crunch in 2009. He says this time round the “war” as he calls it is not a Top Down one in the previous crisis; it is a Bottom Up War as the real victims are the SMEs. He told Alec Hogg that there should be a public-private partnership where credit lines can be extended quicker to keep the economy moving. The large supermarkets, he said should be more lenient with the smaller suppliers on payment terms. – Linda van Tilburg

In episode ten of Inside Covid-19, we speak to Adrian Gore about a breakthrough partnership between Discovery and Vodacom which opens a line to free Covid-19 related medical consultations for all South Africans. The analysts at John Hopkins University, the go-to global tracker of the spread of the virus, are fretting about the tidal wave about to hit Africa. A Harvard Professor says the impact of the crisis on the economies of developing countries like SA is so dire that a debt standstill should be declared.

In todays news headlines: * As the number of confirmed Covid-19 deaths registered at five, Discovery’s Adrian Gore and colleagues, and their partners at Vodacom, are the latest to step forward, in this case with a simple, powerful plan to create easy access to doctors for any South African who fears he or she might have contracted the deadly coronavirus; * African finance ministers want International Monetary Fund, World Bank and EU support for bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt relief amid the coronavirus crisis, Reuters reports; * Two ratings agencies downgraded big South African banks’ credit ratings to junk; and * Developing-nation assets kicked off the second quarter on a negative note on Wednesday as stocks from India, South Korea and Colombia slid, currencies declined and the risk premium on bonds rose.

The country may be in lockdown for 21-days and the economy is virtually standing still. For many farmers the closure of restaurants means that they have no market for their crops. At the same time, the closure of schools means that thousands of children who relied on schools to give them a meal a day, are no longer fed. Two Cape Town women, Iming Lin who runs Meuse Farm in Hout Bay and Ashley Newell have come up with a solution to shift the food flow to get the produce that farmers are growing to those who need it during school closures. What is interesting about their initiative, called FoodFlowza that was started just over a week ago, is that it not only provides the needy with food aid, it also gives farmers an outlet to sell their produce. South Africans can donate on their website a bag of vegetables that will go to a needy family. – Linda van Tilburg