Johannesburg, July 12 (PTI) South Africa on Sunday extended the COVID-19 restrictions for a fortnight with some easing amid rising infections.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday evening that restrictions under Level 4 of the country’s five-pronged lockdown strategy would continue for the next fortnight.
The country, however, allowed restaurants, eateries, gyms and fitness centers to reopen with 50 per cent capacity and adherence to COVID protocols.
Earlier, restaurants and eateries could only offer takeaway services.
Agricultural, livestock and game auctions will also now be allowed subject to certain conditions.
There will be a ban on all social, political, religious and other gatherings, while there will be a curfew from 9 pm to 4 am and the sale of liquor will be banned.
Schools will remain closed till 26 July.
“These measures were urgent and they were absolutely necessary to contain the third wave, which is being fueled by the new Delta variant. Our priority is to break the chain of transmission by limiting social contact,” Ramaphosa said.
“As things stand, the infection remains very high. With the rapidly spreading delta variant, we are experiencing a third wave that is more severe than the first and second waves.” Ramaphosa said that for the past two weeks, an average of about 20,000 new cases have been reported in the country daily. Currently, there are over 2,00,000 active COVID-19 cases in the country.
In the past two weeks, more than 4,200 South Africans have lost their lives to COVID-19.
The economic hub of Gauteng accounts for more than half of new infections, while cases are rising rapidly in the Western Cape, Limpopo, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces.
Ramaphosa also expressed concern about the pressure on the health system.
“By next week, daily hospital admissions across the country are likely to reach levels seen during the peak of the first two waves. Deaths related to COVID-19 in hospitals are also increasing and the deaths seen at the peak of the first wave are increasing. have crossed the mark,” he said and added that the government would go ahead with the vaccination process.
“Our national immunization program is expanding at a rapid pace. To date, more than 4.2 million people in South Africa have received vaccine doses, of which one million have been in the past seven weeks. More than double the rate of vaccination. In the last month, further increase will continue,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the government and the private sector are working together to increase vaccination capacity. Currently, 1,90,000 people are vaccinated each week.
He said, “We are working to ensure that vaccination sites are located close to where people live to make it easier for them. We work with community, religious and traditional leaders to mobilize communities to get vaccinated. Will continue to work.”
The President said that one of the biggest challenges facing the country is the availability of vaccine doses.
“It has been a challenge for both South Africa and the rest of the African continent.
“Over the past few days, the African Union … and the European Union have reached a landmark agreement that will significantly improve the supply of vaccines to our country and our allies on the African continent.
“Through this agreement, Aspen will distribute more than 17 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses to South Africa and other African countries over the next three months, starting in late July. This number will double monthly from October.
“We are negotiating that over time the drug substance will be produced in South Africa, so that many countries on our continent can have a wholly owned African vaccine manufactured on African soil,” he said.
Ramaphosa also welcomed President Joe Biden’s announcement that the United States would donate 15-20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to African countries through the COVAX facility.
The health ministry reported 21,610 new cases overnight, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 2,179,297.
Another 265 people succumbed to COVID-related complications overnight, taking the total deaths so far to 64,138. PTI FH SMN SMN
(This story is published as part of an auto-generated Syndicate wire feed. Headline or body have not been edited by ABP Live.)
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