THE government is worried about the spike in Covid-19 cases across the country, Acting Health Minister Mamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane says.
SA recorded an increase of more than 13 100 new Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours, according to the latest statistics released on Sunday.
The country’s positivity rate is at 16.3%, which is more than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended positivity rate of 5%.
“We are monitoring all the provinces and we are seeing an increase across all the provinces, and this trend of increase is worrying us,” the acting minister said during a radio interview.
“We are also monitoring hospitalisations because it is important for us to see the capacity in order to respond to those who need help. Our country’s positivity rate is 16.3 %, so that tells you that there is a case for us to be worried.”
20 June 2021 #COVID19 statistics in South Africa #CoronaVirusSA https://t.co/Bp93egcp1U
— Department of Health (@HealthZA) June 20, 2021
With Gauteng accounting for 66% of the new cases recorded, the minister said the government was paying special attention to the province and was concerned about "super-spreader" events in the province.
"There are too many super-spreader events, and our message for Gauteng is purely to say: ’Don't leave, unless there's a need and when you leave the house. Go to a place where you know you are safe’," Kubayi-Ngubane said.
From the desk of the President - Monday, 21 June 2021 - https://t.co/1zqmttPN5O - We are now in the midst of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic pic.twitter.com/QFgKjuBZQd
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) June 21, 2021
Meanwhile, writing in his weekly open letter to the public, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa was in a third wave of Covid-19 infections. He warned that all citizens would need to do their part to help limit the toll, including adhering to lockdown regulations and, if they could, going beyond the gazetted requirements.
Ramaphosa said “The climb in new cases has been extraordinarily rapid and steep over the past few weeks. The number of daily new cases jumped from below 800 in early April to over 13 000 in the past week.
“In other words, it increased more than fifteen-fold from the last low point.Once again, we have to avoid social gatherings of all kinds, whether for family, friends, business or recreation.”
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