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South Africans were warned to prepare for a second wave of Covid-19 infections that was attributed to a series of massive end-of-the-year parties hosted by students.
Zweli Mkhize, the health minister, said on Monday that the number of new infections was increasing rapidly and warned that if the trajectory continued, health systems would be overwhelmed.
“A new and more worrying topic is… a lot of parties and young people drinking alcohol without adhering to [social distancing and other measures] … This inevitably leads to wide-spread events… We have to contain these mass parties and gatherings, ”Mkhize said.
An event in the southeastern coastal city of Ballito earlier this month attended by more than 1,500 fresh out of school has been accused of unleashing a massive wave of infections.
Nearly two-thirds of those present at the “Ballito Rage” festival, a series of parties, concerts and club nights, tested positive, including hundreds who returned to their homes hundreds of miles from the venue.
Authorities are trying to track down everyone who attended the festival, urging them to isolate themselves.
Organizers said the event had received the go-ahead from local authorities and that the venues had been inspected by police.
Similar events involving students in Cape Town were accused of accelerating a second wave of infections in and around the city, a favorite with tourists.
New infections in South Africa are highest in the 15-19 age group, statistics show.
“This age group is very mobile and most operators are asymptomatic,” Mkhize said.
South Africa has recorded 861,000 cases of the virus, with 23,276 deaths, according to official statistics. Studies of excess mortality suggest a death toll of more than 50,000 due to the outbreak. President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Monday night.
The disease claimed another high-profile victim over the weekend. The prime minister of Eswatini, which borders South Africa, died on Sunday at age 52 after being hospitalized with Covid. The tiny kingdom has recorded 127 confirmed deaths so far among 1.2 million residents.
“Their Majesties have ordered that I inform the nation of the sad and untimely passing of His Excellency Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini. His Excellency passed away this afternoon while under medical care in a South African hospital, ”said the Deputy Prime Minister. Themba Masuku said in a statement.
South Africa, the most industrialized nation on the continent, was widely praised for its initial response to the pandemic, but criticism has since risen as the government has struggled to maintain public trust amid accusations of widespread corruption, arbitrary decisions on restrictions. and administrative incompetence.
The difficulty, if not outright impossibility, of social distancing in the poorest and most densely populated urban areas of South Africa was a factor that allowed the spread of the virus in the first months of the outbreak.
The severe curfews inflicted massive suffering on large numbers of people who have no regular income but depend on daily income to pay for their basic needs.
The second wave of infections appears to have been accelerated by events targeting the more prosperous parts of South African society.
There have been more than 2.3 million confirmed Covid cases on the African continent, with more than 2 million recoveries and 55,000 cumulative deaths. according to the World Health Organization.
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