By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation at 20h00 on Tuesday evening (15 June) on developments in the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The president’s address follows a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Counci (NCCCl), the president’s Coordinating Council and Cabinet.
“As South Africa rolls out its national Covid-19 vaccination programme, government and social partners are continuously monitoring infection, treatment and patient recovery rates, as well as compliance with health regulations and other prevention measures.
“The president’s address will be broadcast and streamed on a range of platforms that are accessible to South Africans and international audience,” the presidency said.
Ramaphosa is expected to announce a move to a level 3 lockdown as the country sees a surge in Covid-19 cases caused by a third wave of the virus and varying strains.
This would mean an earlier evening curfew, a reduction on the size of public gatherings, and restrictions around the sale of alcohol.
South Africa reported 5,552 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday (14 June), taking the total reported to 1,752,630.
Deaths have reached 57,879, while recoveries have climbed to 1,611,447, leaving the country with a balance of 83,304 active cases. The total number of vaccines administered is 1,777,288.
SA is now on level 2 restrictions, which permit alcohol sales in line with liquor laws, impose a curfew between 11pm and 4am, and allow public gatherings of up to 100 people indoors and 250 people outdoors.
Stats showed that almost twice as many people were hospitalised per day during the second wave compared to the first wave.
“The second was really severe.”
“The three waves follow the same kind of pathway, which means in the next two weeks the cases in the epicentre Gauteng are really going to go high and that means we are going to need beds.