Over two million South Africans have been infected with the coronavirus as the country reaches a third wave peak and threatening a new wave in the future, Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has said.
Noting that although the number of new infections had started to decline, Kubayi cautioned that the country was not out of the woods yet with its current 2,356,049 cases.
“The number of new cases has been on the downward trend,” she said.
There were 13,719 new infections recorded on Friday.
“We’re cautioning and extremely worried because the many gatherings that we saw during the unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal may lead to another surge in numbers,” Kubayi warned.
She said the health ministry would continue to monitor the situation closely by ensuring that it screened communities that were at the heart of the looting and violent protests.
Kubayi also appealed to those who took part in those gatherings to ensure that they visited the nearest healthcare facility if they felt any symptoms of Covid-19.
“We’re worried that some may stay away because, in contact tracing, people are expected to give indications where they have been — and because of fear of arrest, they are likely to stay away,” the minister said.
She revealed that “quite a number” of people who were arrested during the looting tested positive for the coronavirus, she said.
“This is an indication that we should be concerned about those who have been in the protests,” Kubayi said.
Some 337 people died and over 1,000 people were arrested during the weeklong unrest that targeted malls, shops and other commercial facilities in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng provinces after former president Jacob Zumba was jailed two weeks ago.
NM/jn/APA