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Young South Africans are calling for tougher measures against the coronavirus, as the country reports an increase in cases and declared a second wave.
On Wednesday, South Africa reported 6,700 new cases, the highest since August, bringing the total number of cases since the outbreak to more than 800,000 with more than 22,000 deaths.
The situation is expected to get worse as the festive season begins, with many travels and celebrations.
“It’s been a difficult year, people want to party, but, you know, I think the government should put stricter restrictions on similar gatherings because now I see that the gatherings actually increased rather than decreased,” said the student Mohau Mkhabela.
“I think there was a little mistake, a little mistake on his part.”
South Africa’s new wave is likely to rise so rapidly that it could overwhelm hospital capacity in some regions, warned the country’s health minister, Zweli Mkhize.
“This (COVID-19) thing wasn’t moving as fast as it is now, and I think maybe in the Eastern Cape, the hot spots, those four provinces, the so-called hot spots, should be locked down and level five lockdown implemented.” said Sinalo Madolo, an administrator.
“That is the best situation to go back to level five, because now people think that everything is back to normal and they don’t have the mask on.”
No closure has been announced, but last week President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a ban on the sale of alcohol and a curfew.
The government says young South Africans are the drivers of the new wave, with the largest number of new cases in the 15-19 age group.
The spike has been attributed to large numbers of young people attending parties, consuming alcohol and not wearing masks or maintaining a social distance.
