Staff Reporter
South Africa has entered the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has said.
In a televised national address on Wednesday night, Mkhize said at least four provinces in the country have recorded sustained increases of coronavirus cases in recent weeks and there were fears the resurgence could worsen if left unchecked.
“We are now in a second wave,” said Mkhize.
“The majority of the new cases today are from the Western Cape which accounted for 30 percent, followed by the Eastern Cape with 24 percent, KwaZulu-Natal 23 percent and Gauteng 17 percent.”
“The Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West each accounted for one percent of the new cases respectively,” he added.
The Northern Cape accounted for less than a percent.
Until recently, the increases were mostly pronounced in certain districts in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape resulting in them being declared hotspots and put under localised restrictions last week.
The minister however said the latest numbers across South Africa showed the country had entered a second wave.
Mkhize said a second wave is determined by looking at the number of tests done, the positivity rate, the number of positive cases, the numbers of people who are admitted and the number of fatalities.
“All these put together must show a sustained increase over a period of seven days,” he explained.
Mkhize also expressed concern that more younger people were contracting the killer disease mostly from public gatherings such as super-spreader parties.
“The age distribution has also shown a different pattern from the norm,” he said.
“The age group of 15-19 years showed the highest number of cases over the past two days.”
“We are seeing the pressure has built up in a number of provinces . . . We now need to understand we have a responsibility to enjoy the festive season with restraint,” warned the health minister.
Cabinet is expected to meet soon and decide on the new measures needed to contain the spread of the acute respiratory disease.
Over the past 24 hours, about 6 079 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in the country.
A total of 135 COVID-19-related deaths were reported today – the Eastern Cape recorded the highest at 56, Western Cape 48, Gauteng 16, Free State 15 and Kwa-Zulu-Natal seven.
The Free State has now recorded a total of 2 030 deaths and 53 068 recoveries.
At least 59 501 people have contracted the coronavirus in the province since the first case was confirmed in March.