At the onset of December, South Africa saw a surge in its daily coronavirus cases. The alarming situation forced the President to inflict much more stringent conditions. He imposed a ban on outdoor and indoor gatherings and introduced dusk to dawning curfew. Similarly, he prohibited the selling of alcohol and urged people to adhere to the mandatory covid-19 safety regulations.
President Ramaphosa cautioned the nationals, warning them that the country was in a dangerous situation after the government had confirmed over a million covid cases in a single day. Moreover, the state health officials had confirmed a new, faster-spreading variant of the virus, contributing to the daily surge. Medical centers had confirmed the vast rise in the incoming covid-19 patients.
In a televised speech, Mr. Ramaphosa stated that the new 501. V2 variant was well established in the country, and that they needed to act swiftly before the cases reached a level past their control. Besides setting stringent measures, President Ramaphosa has also been leading in the vaccination campaigns against covid-19.
SA reports a Decline in Covid Cases
South Africans finally rejuvenated following a decline in the number of new covid-19 cases. President Ramaphosa enlightened the public with this news on Sunday after making a public announcement that the nation had moved from covid alert level three to one. Such a report was great news, more so as some months ago, SA’s health system was devasted.
“New infections, admissions to hospitals, and deaths have fallen significantly and continue to decline steadily. In a week that has just passed, the country recorded just under 10000 new infections. A month ago, in the last week of January, the country recorded over 40000 new cases. And a month before that, in the week of December, the country recorded close to 90000 new cases,” said Ramaphosa.
South Africa’s Vaccination Campaigns
South Africa is among the African States which have already kicked off their vaccination campaigns. Amid the ongoing inoculation campaigns, Mr. Ramaphosa stated that the country had secured up to 11 million vaccines from Johnson and Johnson. They expect to provide 57 to 85 percent efficacy against mild to severe cases of the contagious novel virus.
Of course, the J&J vaccine was a sudden switch from the previously acquired one million AstraZeneca vaccine doses. Lab analysis confirms that the virus was only 22% effective against the new variant, which dominated most parts of the country. As part of the vaccination procedure, 67000 health care workers have already been vaccinated over the last ten days. Vaccination of the medical personnel is crucial for South Africa, considering they are the front lines in the fight against the virus.
Meanwhile, the number of vaccination centers in the country has grown from 17 to 49 as more people are showing up for the process. Since the outcome and the people’s reaction are positive, SA is likely to overcome the pandemic. Though a decline in daily cases, SA stands to be the hardest hit African State. Currently, it has a cumulative total of over 1.5 million coronavirus cases and about 50000 deaths.
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