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President Cyril Ramaphosa will convene a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council in the coming week to discuss the possible implementation of stricter COVID-19 lockdown measures.
This is according to a The Sunday Times report, which said the president will remind ministers and senior officials who are part of the council of their holiday breaks.
“I can say with confidence that the meeting will be on Tuesday,” a government source told the publication.
The revised regulations could include more restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather at indoor and outdoor events, stricter limits on the movement of people, border closures and more restrictions on the sale of alcohol.
This development occurs when the Minister of Health, Zweli Mkhize this week warned that the government will need to review current lockdown restrictions as COVID-19 infections have skyrocketed.
“We must warn South Africans that we will have to review current restrictions and consider new measures to ensure that we curb this alarming rate of spread,” he said.
“It will be important for us to assess the situation, identify the hotspots in these areas and make recommendations based on these findings and the results of what has been implemented in the hotspots that have been identified so far,” explained Mkhize.
Mkhize’s statement was made after the country reported more than 14,000 new COVID-19 cases on December 23.
Daily new cases of the virus increased in the following days with 14,305 reported on December 24 and 14,796, the highest number so far, on record through December 25.
The sharp rise has been attributed in part to a new mutation in the virus, called 501Y.V2, which appears to be more transmissible than the original variant.
Public and private hospitals in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, as well as the Western and Eastern Cape have reported running out of ICU beds and oxygen in recent days due to the surge.
About 1 million cases
As of December 26, South Africa has recorded a cumulative total of 994,911 COVID-19 cases, an increase of 11,552 since Christmas Day.
So far, 26,521 deaths related to the virus have been identified, of which 245 were recorded in the previous day’s report.
Most of the deaths were recorded in the Eastern Cape, with 118 identified in the reported cycle.
It was followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 57, Western Cape with 55, Gauteng with 12 and Mpumalanga with 3.
While the increases in positive cases and deaths are less than in previous days, it should be noted that far fewer tests were performed in the last 24-hour cycle.
While 37,817 new tests were done before the last report, the 14,796 cases reported on Christmas Day occurred after 52,223 new tests had been done.
The table below shows the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in each province.
| Province | Case numbers | Deceased |
|---|---|---|
| Gauteng | 272,504 | 5,317 |
| west cape | 194,174 | 6,162 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 180,250 | 3,958 |
| Eastern Cape | 165,988 | 6,802 |
| Free State | 61,685 | 2,152 |
| northwest | 38,404 | 577 |
| Mpumalanga | 34,723 | 638 |
| North Cape | 24,791 | 372 |
| Limpopo | 22,392 | 543 |
| Total | 994,911 | 26,521 |
# COVID-19 Statistics in SA as of December 26.
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/pZfpsScp3W
– Dr. Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) December 26, 2020
Now Read: UK Bans Travel From South Africa After Two COVID-19 Variant Cases Detected
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