These are trepid times in South Africa, Africa’s second-biggest economy, as COVID-19 shows signs of a resurgence after new outbreaks.
Local medical authorities have shown concerns about the rise in numbers of new outbreaks in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of the country.
South Africa currently has Africa’s highest cases of coronavirus with daily outbreaks recorded to be in the region of 3,000. The number rose by almost 50% with the daily average recorded in November being around 2,000.
Local medical authorities have said that the increase in outbreaks is as a result of the huge numbers coming out of the impoverished Eastern and Western Capes.
“The small cluster outbreaks which we are seeing… are transient,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said when he visited the Cape last week.
“Something has to be done,” he added.
South Africa’s Chief COVID-19 advisor Salim Abdool Karim said the country is not facing a second wave yet, but stands are gradually facing a resurgence of the dreaded pandemic.
“We are not in a second wave, but in these two provinces… we are in the midst of a resurgence,”
He said if drastic steps are not taken to check the growing numbers from the Western and Eastern Cape, the whole country may soon be dealing with a new outbreak.
Hospitals are under more pressure as coronavirus patients keep increasing. Medical officers have complained about the struggles of the facilities to cope with the high number of patients waiting to be treated.
More than 792,000 people have been infected with coronavirus in South Africa and the disease has killed more than 21,600 despite lockdown imposed by the government.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has said a lockdown is not imminent for the time being, as South Africa is yet to recover from the hard effects of the pandemic on its economy.