South Africa’s Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday morning. The minister’s positive result comes in the wake of the discovery of the Omicron variant, which has been declared as a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation.
Zulu is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19. She said on Monday that she went for a test after a persistent sore throat.
“It all started with a scratchy throat and I didn’t suspect anything, but when it persisted, I took the Covid-19 test yesterday [Sunday] and received the results this morning. I am feeling well and I can attribute this to the fact that the virus found me fully vaccinated.”
63-year-old Zulu got vaccinated back in June at the Randgate Clinic in Randfontein, west of Johannesburg. She took the jab along side South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) CEO, Totsie Memela-Khambula, and several other over-60s.
Zulu said she would continue to carry out her duties remotely. She appealed to unvaccinated South Africans to take part in the upcoming Vooma Vaccination Weekend, from December 3 to December 5 as the government intensifies its campaign to reach population immunity amid the emergence of the Omicron variant.
“As President Ramaphosa emphasised last night, vaccination is the most powerful tool we have and it is not too late to get vaccinated before the fourth wave hits us hard.”