South African Deputy President David Mabuza has called on his compatriots to learn to live with the Covid-19 pandemic as the virus demanded “changes from everyone, more ingenuity and adaptiveness”.
Delivering his annual Christmas message, Mabuza said the prevailing environment dictated by the pandemic and the global response to it had brought to “the fore both challenges and opportunities that have changed how things are done.”
“To date, we have demonstrated our ability to adapt and innovate, as we did with the recently held elections of our local representatives, whose task is to provide essential services to our communities,” the deputy president said.
He added: “Through the recent elections, we confirmed that even under extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, we do act with courage in making our voices heard.”
He commended the world-class work that South Africa’s scientists were doing in collaboration with other scientific communities in the world, leading to the recent discovery of the mutant omicron variant which has now spread in over 80 countries but remained less lethal compared to the delta variant.
“Through collaborative work and international solidarity, our scientists continue to excellently and timely make discoveries that benefit the world in taking science-based decisions that place us in a better position to defeat Covid-19, he said.”
South Africa and the rest of the world are relentlessly combating the omicron with vaccination campaign and by observing safety protocols of Covid-19 prevention like washing hands, mask wearing and keeping distance.
NM/jn/APA