South Africa faces third COVID wave, back to tighter blockade Coronavirus pandemic News

Four of the nation’s nine provinces, including Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, are already battling a third wave of infection.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa will re-impose more stringent measures against COVID-19, fearing that the entire country will soon face the third wave of the pandemic.

Four of the nation’s nine provinces, including Johannesburg and Pretoria, which has the largest population, are already battling a third bout of infection, Ramaphosa said on Sunday.

“It may be a matter of time before the country as a whole enters a third wave,” he said.

South Africa is officially the worst country on the continent, with more than 1.65 million cases and 56,363 deaths.

“The number of infections has started to rise significantly in various parts of the country,” the president said as hospital admissions also rise.

“Delaying the spread of the virus is especially important now so that as many people as possible can be vaccinated before the third wave reaches its peak,” he added.

The country has registered 4,515 new cases in the last 24 hours and Ramaphosa said the “positivity rate” among the tests conducted is now a “concern”.

The restrictions will force non-essential establishments such as restaurants, bars and fitness centers from Monday to close until 22:00 local time (20:00 GMT), as the temperature will be extended by an hour from 23:00 pm to 04:00 am.

Gatherings, including political events and believers, will be limited to 250 people outside and 100 homes inside.

Authorities have stopped tightening certain measures, such as restrictions on people’s movements during the day and a ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco products on several occasions last year.

South Africa has seen two previous rises in infections, the first in mid-last year and the second wave much worse, in December and January, when the emergence of a variant pushed infections and deaths to higher levels than the first wave.

Ramaphosa said the virus was following “the same trajectory” of these waves.

Experts have warned that this wave, which arrives with the winter in the Southern Hemisphere, could be even worse.

The rise in cases also paid more attention to the delayed spread of vaccines in South Africa. Only about 1.5% of the country’s 60 million people have been vaccinated.

The government, on fire over the rapid purchase of vaccines, said it has paid doses to cover 40 million of the 59 million South Africans, or enough to gain immunity from herds.

Ramaphosa has repeatedly condemned the “apartheid of the vaccine” because rich countries have bought most doses of the vaccine.

“As far as the African continent is concerned, we are making efforts to expand the manufacturing capacity of vaccines in order to be self-sufficient in vaccine production,” he said.

South Africa and India are campaigning to end the patent rights for coronavirus vaccines to help each country manufacture its own supplies.

The G7 Summit of the Wealthy Nations will discuss the issue at a UK summit next month.