South Africa is tightening measures against corona to halt the advance of the highly contagious Delta variant. All gatherings, whether indoors or outdoors, will be banned. The sale of alcohol is also forbidden. Restaurants are only allowable to serve takeaway meals and deliver orders.
President Cyril Ramaphosa alleged in a televised address on Sunday. He called the spread of the Delta variant “very serious”. On Saturday, South Africa registered 18,000 new infections, almost as many as during the peak of the second wave of infections in January.
With regard to the number of infections and deaths, the country is the most brutal hit on the African continent.
Schools will close on Wednesday. Beaches and parks remain open. There will be a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. The strict measures will apply for two weeks, after which the government will consider whether they will be extended or whether there is room for relaxation.
Vaccination is not making much progress in South Africa yet. Only 2.7 million shots have been taken out of a total population of 60 million. The country recently received 1.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine through the international program Covax.
The government wants to more than dual the number of vaccinations per day.
