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Africa News for Monday, December 28, 2020
Source: africanews.com
2020-12-28
File photo of South Africa during the running of the bulls
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) called for new lockdown restrictions on Monday. The peak of COVID-19 in the country reached 1 million confirmed cases on Sunday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa called an emergency meeting Sunday of the National Coronavirus Command Council on the spike in cases.
“Nightclubs, weddings, shebeens (local taverns), going to the mall just to go to the mall, not wearing their masks. And we would also like to see the number of people reduced, especially in churches,” said Dr. Angelique Coetzee, President of the South African Medical Association (SAMA).
The southern African nation’s new variant of the coronavirus, 501.V2, is more contagious and has quickly become dominant in many areas of the resurgence, experts say.
“We are in our holiday season and we are also seeing a lot of trauma related incidents like car accidents, alcohol and drug abuse, as well as their normal stuff like hypertensive patients or heart attack patients needing care,” added Dr. Coetzee. .
With South African hospitals reaching full capacity and with no signs that the new surge is peaking, Ramaphosa is expected to announce a return to restrictive measures designed to slow the spread of the disease.
The South African Medical Association says hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of patients.
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