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South Africa has entered the new year with another record rise in daily Covid-19 infections, and the health department has reported 18,000 new cases in the country.
At the end of the year, the total number of confirmed cases in South Africa stood at 1,057,161, while deaths increased by 436 to 28,469.
Recoveries have reached 879,671, giving South Africa a balance of 149,021 active cases, a figure that is also steadily increasing during the latest resurgence.
The government has responded to the second wave of infections by returning the country to lockdown level 3, imposing stricter restrictions on social gatherings and banning alcohol, which it says leads to too many trauma cases in hospitals, which are already struggling. satisfy the demand.
Health Minister Dr Zwelini Mkhize said that most of the comments from South Africans and critics of the lockdown have focused on Covid-19 vaccines and the availability, or lack thereof, for South Africa.
However, he said that while the focus on the vaccine is important, it distracts from the duty of all citizens to do what they can at this time to stop the spread of the virus.
“Vaccines have dominated the conversation and we appreciate that everyone shares our sense of urgency to acquire and distribute vaccines equitably, beginning with the most vulnerable in our population.
“However, I am concerned that the dominance of these issues will take our focus away from the things that will save our lives now. The fact is that the virus will continue to mutate and a new variant will always be discovered, that’s just a matter of time, ”he said.
The minister said the fact is that we do not have a vaccine at this time.
“The virus will not wait until these issues are resolved: no matter how fast we work. That is why it is important to continue using a mask, social distancing, washing hands and disinfecting, ”he said.
# COVID-19 Statistics in SA as of December 31.
Use the COVID Alert SA app to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community. Start using this privacy-preserving app today! Add your phone to the fight! Download the Covid Alert SA app now! https://t.co/8YKEqaiiRF pic.twitter.com/JdkTzcrq1l
– Dr. Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) December 31, 2020
President Cyril Ramaphosa said this week that the spread of the virus is being driven by a lack of compliance with lockdown and social distancing regulations, as well as a new local variant of the Covid-19 virus that appears to be more contagious.
The variant has also been found in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, which has subsequently restricted travel to and from South Africa.
This week, France identified a first case of the South African variant of the virus, the Health Ministry said.
The man went into isolation at home immediately after symptoms appeared a few days after returning from South Africa, the ministry said. The authorities have not identified any “risky” contact cases and the person has made a full recovery.
To limit the spread of new Covid-19 variants, France requires that people traveling from the UK and South Africa provide new negative evidence.
Mkhize cautioned against fueling the idea that the South African variant is somehow causing new outbreaks in other countries, noting that other local variants in those countries were discovered long before the South African variant was found.
“The UK variant has already been identified outside the UK, as reported by Professor Neil Ferguson, a leading British scientist who told the UK science and technology committee on December 23, 2020 that the evidence from Denmark, a country with a relatively low infection rate, suggests that ‘almost certainly’ the new variant of the virus identified in the UK is already in the ‘vast majority, if not all’ European countries, “he said.
He urged South Africans to do their part, right now, to stop the spread of the virus.
“I echo the president’s request that we remain absolutely focused on what each and every one of us can do now to protect ourselves and others. We know that wearing masks and social distancing in particular are very difficult to do all the time. But this is the reason why it is increasingly important to focus our minds collectively on these simple life-saving interventions, “he said.
Read: Record number of daily Covid-19 infections reported in South Africa
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