The emergence of Coronavirus across the globe has severely impacted numerous nations. It has disrupted not only normalcy but also crippled economies. Since its outbreak, countries worldwide have initiated Draconian measures hoping to control its spread. Social distancing, sanitizing, wearing masks, and lockdowns include some of the restrictions different countries imposed. In Africa, South Africa happens to be one of the states the virus has taken a toll on.
Because South Africa is a populous state, it recorded high COVID-19 cases during the first wave of the infection. Therefore, most of the activities in the country came to a standstill. Their President, Cyril Ramaphosa, had set strict regulations, exempting people from their usual lifestyle. Nonetheless, these restrictions resulted in the South African economy experiencing a severe plunge. Hence, President Ramaphosa relaxed the regulations to control the situation, allowing people to carry out their activities, but with limitations.
A New Variant of COVID-19
Meanwhile, as experts worldwide are trying to find a suitable vaccine to combat the virus, research reveals the virus’s variants. Scientific research has confirmed the presence of these variants in South Africa and the UK. According to experts, the South African variant carries a mutation called E484K, which is highly contagious. Therefore, it won’t be long before the South African government re-imposes exceedingly strict regulations.
Military to Aid in Enforcing COVID-19 Restrictions
Due to the new rising variant of corona in South Africa, the government has re-employed lockdown regulations. However, the police are having a challenge controlling the residents in the country. As such, the South African government has promised to deploy its National Defense Force in the Western Cape to help execute the restrictions. Beaches along the garden route seem to be among the regions these authorities hope to keep out of contact mainly since people are still visiting them.
Doctor Keith Cloete, head of the provincial health department of South Africa, stated on Thursday that the issue of military aid was still under discussion. Nonetheless, South African police are doing their best in reinforcing the restrictions. The South African police spokeswoman shared a video online of the officers arresting a kitesurfer, who had broken the lockdown regulations. As of now, the majority of the beaches in most provinces in the country remain closed. The South African government hopes that it would control the spread of the new corona variant.
The Current State of COVID-19 in SA
The state of Coronavirus in South Africa has drawn the attention of many. The World Health Organization particularly has urged countries to conduct greater surveillance as new COVID-19 cases are emerging. Dr. Zweli Mkhize, the health Minister of South Africa, stated that many have tested positive since the recent variant outbreak during a press briefing. However, the most shocking was the Wednesday results when South Africa recorded over 20000 new Coronavirus cases within a single day. These results ignited fear among the South Africans, who are now hoping to keep safe from the virus. Other than South Africa, the whole World at large hopes to recover from the unceasing infection. And because vaccines will soon be available, the virus might be no more in the future.
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