President Cyril Ramaphosa informed South Africans tonight that the country will stay on adjusted alert level 3.
He made this announcement when he addressed the nation on the country’s response to the pandemic following meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) and Cabinet.
“This pandemic is now at its most devastating. Since January 1, SA recorded nearly 190 000 new infections and more than 4 600 Covid-19 related deaths so far in 2021,” said Ramaphosa.
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“More than 148 000 people have been admitted to hospital and as a proportion of the population, the province with the highest average number of cases over the last seven days was KwaZulu-Natal.”
Infections in Gauteng are expected to increase as residents return to the province following the festive break.
In expressing concern about the number of hospital admissions, Ramaphosa said there are now over 15 000 people in hospital nationally. “This places a huge strain on health facilities, staff and equipment. About a third of Covid-19 patients in hospitals are on oxygen, therefore there is a focus on health facilities, increasing oxygen supply and activating field hospital beds.”
He said research undertaken by SA scientists show that the increase in infections is largely driven by the new variant known as 501.v2, which spreads much faster than the earlier variants.
“Although this new variant does not cause more severe illness, it does place added pressure on the health system. We must avoid what has been described as the three Cs – closed spaces, crowded places and close contact with others.”
“As we start 2021 let’s set a clear path of working together and recovery. Firstly, we must do everything possible to slow the rate of transmission and, as we have done before, flatten the curve of infection. Secondly we will undertake a programme of vaccination to achieve immunity across the population and thereby slow the spread of the virus.”
He called on South Africans to avoid funerals which he described as “super spreaders”.
Watch:
Ramaphosa said as the country stays on adjusted alert level 3, the measures announced on December 28 will remain in place.
Indoor and outdoor gatherings will not be permitted including social gatherings, religious gatherings, political events, traditional council meetings and gatherings at sports grounds.
“Funerals are limited to 50 people and require social distancing, hand sanitising and mask wearing.”
The hours of curfew will now start at 9pm and end at 5am and it remains compulsory for every person to wear a mask in a public space.
The sale of alcohol from retail outlets and the on-site consumption of alcohol is still not be permitted.
President #Ramaphosa: Health services in several parts of the country reported that the prohibition of alcohol sales had significantly reduced the number of trauma cases seen in our hospitals over the New Year period. It is vital that we continue to protect our health services.
— Presidency | South Africa ???????? (@PresidencyZA) January 11, 2021
Beaches, dams, lakes, rivers, public parks and public swimming pools in hotspot areas will be closed to the public.
Cabinet also decided that the 20 land ports of entry that are currently open will be closed until February 15 for general entry and departure. These include Beitbridge, Lebombo, Maseru Bridge, Oshoek, Ficksburg and Kopfontein.
People will be allowed to enter or depart the country for the transportation of fuel, cargo and goods; emergency medical attention for a life-threatening condition; the return of South African nationals, permanent residents or persons with other valid visas; diplomats; the departure of foreign nationals; and daily commuters from neighbouring countries who attend school in South Africa.
President #Ramaphosa: To reduce congestion and the high risk of transmission, Cabinet has decided that the 20 land ports of entry that are currently open will be closed until the 15th of February for general entry and departure. pic.twitter.com/bC7nZMRnms
— Presidency | South Africa ???????? (@PresidencyZA) January 11, 2021
Vaccination:
“Our second task is to establish a path to recovery and achieve immunity across our population through a massive programme of vaccination. When enough people are vaccinated, we will reach what is known as ‘herd immunity’ or ‘population immunity’.
“While the actual level needed for herd immunity is not known, our scientists estimate that we will likely reach herd immunity once around 67 per cent of our population are immune. This amounts to around 40 million people in South Africa.
“We established a comprehensive vaccination strategy to reach all parts of the country. Our strategy has several parts. The first part of our strategy is to acquire enough vaccine doses to reach herd immunity.”
Ramaphosa said SA is in the process of procuring vaccines through the World Health Organisation’s Covax facility, the African Union’s vaccine initiative and via direct engagements with vaccine manufacturers.
“South Africa is part of the global Covax facility and we will receive vaccine doses for around 10 per cent of our population through this facility. As the chair of the African Union, we initiated the establishment of an African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team to source vaccine doses for the continent. These will be purchased in bulk and African countries will be able to order vaccine doses from this pool.
“SA has been engaging directly with several vaccine manufacturers for over six months and while there are promising negotiations with different manufacturers that still need to be concluded, we have to date secured 20 million doses to be delivered mainly in the first half of the year.”
Ramaphosa explained that the strategy will then identify priority groups that need to be vaccinated as vaccine doses are received throughout the year.
“Phase 1, with the first batch of vaccines, we will prioritise around 1.2 million front line health workers.”
Phase 2 will prioritise essential workers such as teachers, police, municipal workers and other frontline personnel. “We will also prioritise people in institutions like old age homes, shelters and prisons, people over 60 years of age and adults with co-morbidities.
“In Phase 3, with increased manufacturer supplies, we will vaccinate the remaining adult population of approximately 22.5 million people.”
“We will then have reached around 40 million South Africans, which is considered to approximate herd immunity.”
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