South Africa’s Health Minister Joe Phaahla is the latest citizen to contract the coronavirus after he tested positive for the disease on Tuesday, his office has said.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said Phaahla tested positive after experiencing minor symptoms.
“Minister Phaahla took tests and the results came back positive – and he immediately self-isolated,” the ministry said.
It added: “This is a reminder that the pandemic remains among us and is infectious.”
Despite the attack, the minister would “continue to perform his official duties from home for seven days, while his planned contact meetings have been rescheduled, or are now due to take place virtually.”
Phaahla previously received two doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which he believed had boosted his immunity against the severity of the virus, according to the statement.
“The ministry would like to remind the public that lifting the Covid-19 restrictions doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. And vaccination remains accessible at all times at selected sites,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, South Africa now has 4,000,894 confirmed Covid-19 cases after 263 of new infections were detected on Tuesday, the ministry said.
The latest data showed that the country lost 13 patients to Covid-19 between Sunday evening and end of Tuesday, pushing the death toll to 101,935.
NM/jn/APA