[ad_1]
- South Africa has entered a second wave of infections, surpassing 6,000 new cases of Covid-19.
- The cabinet will discuss the new situation and President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation soon.
- The 15-19 year old age group has shown the highest number of infections in the past two days.
South Africa registered 6,709 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed that a second wave has hit the country.
In a special live television broadcast on Wednesday night, Mkhize said increases were seen in about six provinces.
The maximum age range for new cases in the last two days is between 15 and 19 years.
“This is a new issue and this is the most worrying thing,” Mkhize said.
“It is believed to be due to a large number of parties involving young people who drink alcohol without adhering to non-pharmaceutical interventions; they do not wear masks and there is no social distancing and hand sanitizing either.
SEE | News24 Covid-19 Dashboard – Track Spread, Recovery, and Mortality Stats Here
“A report from KwaZulu-Natal last week showed that the pattern was more widespread than previously thought. This inevitably leads to over-spreading activities spreading to the rest of the country, as the age group is very mobile and the most operators are largely asymptomatic, “he added.
Events
Many of the new cases have been associated with Ballito Rage events in KwaZulu-Natal.
Other Rage events have been canceled, and Garden Route and Cape Metro authorities have been canceling planned events as a second wave became apparent.
FULL SPEECH | Ramaphosa Declares Nelson Mandela Bay a Covid-19 Hotspot
Mkhize said that new cases have been detected mainly in the Western and Eastern Cape, as well as in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which are considered the main drivers of the new wave of infections.
The breakdown of the new positive tests on Wednesday is:
Western Cape: 30%
Eastern Cape: 24%
KwaZulu-Natal 23%
Gauteng: 17%
Free State, Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga recorded 1% of new cases, while the Northern Cape recorded less than 1%.
The average positivity of the test has gone from around 10% (out of every 100 tests performed) to around 18%.
Numbers increased from less than 1,000 new cases per day [towards the end of September], and has steadily increased from 2,000 new cases to 6,000.
Another 135 Covid-19-related deaths were reported, of which 56 occurred in the Eastern Cape, 15 in the Free State, 16 in Gauteng, 7 in KwaZulu-Natal, 7 and 48 in the Western Cape.
READ | All Rage Festival events postponed ‘until further notice’
A total of 22,574 people have died, but 754,658 have recovered (91.5% of patients).
Speak to
The cabinet will discuss region-specific reports as well as plans and proposals from provincial and municipal governments, and President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation in due course.
Mkhize called on people to be responsible during the Christmas season to prevent more people from getting infected, being admitted to hospital or dying.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape government said Knysna Provincial Hospital received additional oxygen by bulk order on Wednesday to meet demand from Covid-19 patients.
Thirty of the hospital’s 31 Covid-19 cases were receiving oxygen, and daily oxygen use had more than doubled since the resurgence.
“We must all do our part to limit exposure to the virus. Follow the rules, wear your mask, limit exposure by limited interaction with others,” said Dr. Andries Brink, Knysna / Bitou sub-district medical manager .
