The past 24 hours in the country have proved particular chaotic as protests, looting and vandalism continue following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma last week. It remains to be seen how these actions will pan out or indeed when it will stop, but at the moment it places the current fight against COVID-19 in South Africa in jeopardy.

On Sunday evening President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that the country would continue under adjusted level 4 lockdown until 25th July in an effort to limit the spread of the virus, which has surged during the third wave as a result of the delta variant, which is ravaging Gauteng in particular.

It is unclear whether a further two weeks will be enough to bring the numbers under control, but the latest figures slow a decline, albeit still quite high.

This as 11 182 new cases have been reported over the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of infections recorded to date to 2 206 781. Added to this is 220 new fatalities being recorded, as the death toll so far rises to 64 509. As for the recovery rate, it is now at 88.1 percent.

The National Department of Health (NDoH) also confirms 4 390 891 vaccines have been administered as of 17:00 on 12th July, with those aged between 35 and 49 capable of registering to receive vaccinations from 15th July and head to sites from 1st August.

The full breakdown of COVID-19 in South Africa is as follows:

As always, in order to stay up to date with the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa and abroad, we advise the following materials and platforms:

• Dr Zweli Mkhize on Twitter
• COVID-19 Connect on WhatsApp – add 0600 123 456 as a contact and say “Hi”.
• World Health Organisation
• SA Coronavirus website
• SA Government
• SA Presidency

[Image – Photo by Mat Napo on Unsplash]