By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to announce several lockdown measures on Sunday evening (27 June), as the country struggles with the third wave of Covid-19 infections.
The President’s address follows meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President’s Coordinating Council and Cabinet.
Some of the proposals considered included the following:
- A complete ban on gatherings;
- A complete ban on the sale of alcohol;
- Moving school holidays forwards;
- Telling people to work from home.
It has also been suggested by some health experts that additional restrictions be introduced for Gauteng, which is the current epicentre of the third wave.
In a media briefing on Saturday, acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane confirmed that the highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19 is likely behind the current surge in new cases in South Africa, with new data showing that the variant is rapidly becoming the dominant one in the country.
The minister reiterated that the country is in a third wave, with infections rapidly rising. Gauteng continues to be the epicentre of the wave, she said.
“We remain very worried about the rise in hospitalisation, which is putting a lot of pressure on the healthcare system – we expect this trend to continue in other provinces,” she said.
She noted that while initial modelling predicted that the peak of the third wave would be lower than that of the second wave, this was based on the assumption that the country would not suffer a new variant.
This has now been proven not to be the case, she said, with South Africa’s scientists acknowledging that the Delta variant – first discovered in India – is spreading in the country.
South Africa reported 17,958 new cases on Saturday, which represents a 25.6% positivity rate.
A further 157 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 59,778 to date. Gauteng accounts for the majority of new cases (11,303), followed by the Western Cape (1,854).
Livestream Video Below:
Video Courtesy of SABC.