South African Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe is the latest high-profile figure to test positive for Covid-19 in the country, a senior minister in the presidency said on Sunday.
Mantashe tested positive on Saturday after experiencing mild symptoms, according to Minister in the Presidency, Modli Gungubele.
“Minister Mantashe is in good spirits and he is currently in self-isolation (receiving treatment),” Gungubele said in a statement.
The government has urged South Africans to “vaccinate and remain disciplined in observing all Covid-19 safety protocols to ensure a safe and joyful festive season with family and friends,” the minister said.
Mantashe follows his boss, President Cyril Ramaphosa, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week.
Ramaphosa remains in isolation at his Cape Town home where he was reported to be “comfortable and in high spirits”.
South Africa is now into a fourth wave mainly driven by the highly transmissible mutant variant Omicron which was first identified in the country two weeks ago.
NM/jn/APA