IN HIS address to the nation on Sunday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the Delta variant of Covid-19 was driving the increase in infections in the country’s third wave.
The variant, which was first detected in India at the end of March, has now been found in 85 countries.
Ramaphosa said the Delta variant was thought to be twice as contagious and more transmissible than the Beta variant, which dominated the second wave in South Africa.
There is now emerging scientific evidence that people previously infected with the Beta variant do not have full protection against the Delta variant, and may be re-infected.
The Delta variant has now been detected in five provinces: the Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the Delta variant was first detected in South Africa in the beginning of May after four people tested positive for the variant.
Two cases were from Gauteng and two from KwaZulu-Natal.
Alcohol ban, schools to close: Here are the level 4 restrictions
South Africa has been moved to adjusted alert level 4 for the next two weeks.
On Sunday evening, Ramaphosa announced tighter restrictions that include a ban on alcohol, a tightened curfew, school closures and a restriction on gatherings.
He said the government would assess the impact of the new restrictions after 14 days to determine whether they needed to be maintained or adjusted.
- All gatherings are prohibited, including religious, political, cultural and social gatherings.
– The sale of alcohol for both on-site consumption and off-site consumption is prohibited.
– The new curfew is between 9pm and 4am.
– Travel in and out of Gauteng for leisure purposes is prohibited (travel for work, business or transit purposes is exempted).
– Funerals may not exceed 50 people.
– The closure of schools and other educational institutions has been brought forward, and schools will start closing from Wednesday.
SA opens up vaccinations to people under 60
Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane announced on Friday that people aged 50 and above were able to register for the Covid-19 vaccine and would be able to receive their shots from July 15.
She said the government was worried about the decrease in the demand for vaccine for people aged 60 and over.
Department of Health Deputy Director-General Dr Nicholas Crisp said only half of the targeted population in the over-60 group has registered on the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) to receive their shot.
He said registration on the EVDS has been far better in rural areas than in urban areas.
Keep an eye out next week for another round-up of the top Covid-19 stories.
kelly.turner@africannewsagency.com