WATCH: Expect exponential rise in infections this week, Ramaphosa tells Sanef

In a conversation between the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) and President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the Covid-19 crisis, the president said he remained open to engaging with the media on the status of the country.

“Like so many others in society, journalists have played their own part in overcoming the virus.

“We have 30,967 confirmed cases with some several recoveries.”

In highlighting the positive impact of the national lockdown, he said there was an identified doubling of infections before government’s intervention for a lockdown.

Government had continued to ramp up efforts to galvanise the health sector in preparing for the spike in cases when the country moves to level 3 of the lockdown regulations on Monday, June 1.

Confirming the reported number of deaths at 643, he said efforts to reduce the spread in the Western Cape was a priority.

“We should expect an exponential rise in infections in the coming week.”

The country would receive around 1 million masks this week while different government sectors continued to work on the local production of protective gear.

“We are running short of test kits,” noted Ramaphosa, confirming that the country had made numerous investments in existing hospital services as a measure to adapt to the crises.

Watch dialogue below:

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