JOHANNESBURG—South Africa’s resurgence of Covid-19 is setting record numbers of new daily cases, centered in Johannesburg and driven by the Delta variant, health officials said Sunday.
More than 26,000 new cases were reported on Saturday, up from 24,000 the previous day, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, surpassing the highest number of new cases in previous waves and quickly bringing many hospitals to capacity. More than 13,800 Covid-19 patients are currently in South African hospitals where some facilities are canceling elective surgeries to free up beds and health care workers.
South Africa’s official death toll has risen above 63,000, although statistics on excess deaths suggest the country’s actual number of virus fatalities may be more than 170,000.
South Africa’s 2 million cases account for more than 30 percent of the cases reported by Africa’s 54 countries, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
President Cyril Ramaphosa last week increased restrictions to try to reduce the spread of the virus, including extending a nighttime curfew, banning the sale of alcohol, closing many schools and stopping travel into and out of Gauteng, the country’s most populous province that includes Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria. Gauteng accounts for more than 60 percent of the new cases and officials fear other provinces and cities will soon follow.
After a slow start, South Africa’s vaccination drive is picking up pace but is still far behind developed nations. To date, more than 3.3 million of South Africa’s 60 million people have received at least one jab of the Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The inoculation campaign started with health care workers, those aged 60 and over, and schoolteachers. On Monday police can get a jab and soon those 50 and over can too.
The nation’s Health Products Regulatory Authority on Saturday authorized the vaccine manufactured by China’s Sinovac, providing that it submits final results of ongoing clinical studies.
Neighboring southern African countries including Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe are also struggling to cope with a surge of infections.
Key developments:
S. Korea reports over 700 new cases
SEOUL, South Korea—South Korea has reported 711 new cases of the coronavirus as infections continued to grow in the greater capital area.
It was the third straight day of over 700 and the highest daily jump for a Monday since early January, when the country was enduring its worst wave of the virus.
Usually a smaller number of cases are reported at the start of the week, due to reduced testing on weekends, and the country’s caseload may grow faster over the next few days.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said around 550 of the new cases came from the populated Seoul metropolitan area, where officials delayed a planned easing of social distancing measures to cope with a rise in transmissions.
Cases were also reported in most of the major cities and towns across the country, including Busan, Daejeon and the North and South Gyeongsang provinces.
Health experts have relaxed concern over relaxed attitudes on social distancing and criticized the government for sending wrong signals by announcing plans to allow for larger gatherings and longer indoor dining hours.
Prime Minster Kim Bu-kyum during a virus meeting on Sunday urged public vigilance and tighter implementation of preventive measures. He criticized labor unionists for going ahead with an anti-government march attended by thousands in Seoul on Saturday despite official pleas to cancel the gathering.
The government had planned to relax social distancing restrictions nationwide at the start of July, raising the cap on private social gatherings from four to six people and allowing restaurants to extend indoor dining by two hours until midnight.
But officials in Seoul and nearby areas have held off the new rules as infections rose.
The country has so far reported 160,795 cases, including 2,028 deaths. About 30 percent of the population have received at least one dose of vaccines.
Moscow reports 25,000 new cases
MOSCOW—Russia on Sunday reported more than 25,000 new cases of coronavirus infection, the largest number since January, as the country faces a sharp surge over the past month.
The national coronavirus task force said 663 patients died, down from the previous day’s 697, which was a record high.
The tally of 25,142 new cases was more than 2.5 times as high as daily new infections in early June. Moscow, St. Petersburg and the region surrounding Moscow accounted for about half the nationwide total cases.
Although the Kremlin says authorities are not discussing a lockdown, Moscow has imposed restrictions including requiring restaurant and bar patrons to show a code certifying they have been vaccinated or received a negative PCR test.
Throughout the pandemic, Russia has recorded 5.61 million infections and 137,925 deaths.
Indonesia’s entry requirement
JAKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesia is requiring foreign visitors to be fully vaccinated as one of the entry requirements as the country tries to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Ganip Warsito, National Task Force for Covid-19 Mitigation Chief, said Sunday that starting on July 6, both foreigners and Indonesian nationals entering the country have to show digital or physical proof that they have been fully vaccinated.
The obligation to show vaccination cards can be excluded in some cases, including diplomatic visas and service visas, and during official visits at ministerial level.
The government is also extending the quarantine time for foreign travelers from five days to eight days.
Indonesia recorded 27,233 new Covid-19 cases and 555 deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours. It brings the total to 2,284,084 cases and 60,582 death tolls as of Sunday. AP
Image courtesy of AP/Themba Hadebe