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South Africa Extends Curfew As COVID-19 Cases Surge

South Africa tightened coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, extending a curfew and limiting alcohol sales in the face of a surge in infections over the past two weeks.


File photo: Customers stand in a queue outside Makro in Pretoria East on March 24, 2020. – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 23, 2020 announced a 21-day national lockdown to start later this week to contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus which has affected more than 400 people and ordered the military to enforce the ban. Phill Magakoe / AFP.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) nurse Bhelekazi Mdlalose (L), 51, performs a swab test for COVID-19 coronavirus on a health worker at the Vlakfontein Clinic in Lenasia, Johannesburg, on May 13, 2020. Michele Spatari / AFP
File photo: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) nurse Bhelekazi Mdlalose (L), 51, performs a swab test for COVID-19 coronavirus on a health worker at the Vlakfontein Clinic in Lenasia, Johannesburg, on May 13, 2020. Michele Spatari / AFP

 

South Africa tightened coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, extending a curfew and limiting alcohol sales in the face of a surge in infections over the past two weeks.

The country, the worst affected by the pandemic on the continent, has seen the daily figures for new cases double over the past two weeks, while hospital admissions have climbed by nearly 60 percent over the same period.

The spike comes as South Africa struggles to roll out its inoculation programme.

It announced at the weekend that it would discard two million of doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following contamination concerns at one of the US drugmaker’s sites.

“A third wave of infections is upon us. We have to contain this new wave of infections,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in an address to the nation.

The curfew has been extended by an hour and will run from 10:00 pm to 4:00 am (2000-0200 GMT), while restaurants and bars will have to close an hour beforehand.

Retail alcohol sales will be restricted to daytime from Monday to Thursday.

Public gatherings will be limited to a maximum of 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.

“The measures we are putting in place now are appropriate to the level of risk and necessary to save lives,” Ramaphosa said.

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In this file photo taken on March 22, 2020 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (C) conducts a media briefing at the end of a meeting with various business leaders and political party leaders on matters relating to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Phill Magakoe / AFP
In this file photo taken on March 22, 2020 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (C) conducts a media briefing at the end of a meeting with various business leaders and political party leaders on matters relating to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Phill Magakoe / AFP

 

South Africa has recorded more than 1.76 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with 58,087 deaths.

Its vaccination drive has been slow moving with only slightly under two million people have received a dose, out of the population of 59 million people.

But Ramaphosa was confident that the pace will pick up as Africa’s largest drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare, which has a contract to package Johnson & Johnson doses at its factory in Gqeberha city, vowed to ramp up production.

Aspen announced on Monday that it would replace the discarded two million vaccines by the end of June.

South Africa aims to immunise more than two-thirds of its population by the end of this year.

AFP