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As Newcastillians prepare for the upcoming holiday season, there is some concern regarding the growing number of COVID-19 cases. With this comes the question of whether South Africans will face additional lockdown restrictions in the coming days.
The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) explained in a research note on 13 December 2021 that cases are increasing significantly across all provinces.
“A week ago, Gauteng was responsible for more than 70% of new daily infections. This has come down to 40-45%. The countrywide seven-day rolling average of new cases moved to well above 16 000 over the weekend, from around 10 000 a week ago.” In light of this, BER reports that the National Coronavirus Command Council is expected to meet this week.
According to BER, this suggests that President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation sometime this week regarding the road forward.
Incoming data showed that the more infectious Omicron variant, which is driving local infections, has so far led to fewer hospitalisations and fatalities in SA than during the early stages of the Delta-driven third wave. BER says, “Therefore, we still expect any tightening of lockdown restrictions to largely focus on curbing the size of especially indoor gatherings.”
As the country waits to see if additional restrictions will be imposed, Deputy President David Mabuza is expected to assume all of the president’s responsibilities while President Cyril Ramaphosa recuperates from COVID-19.
According to Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, President Ramaphosa tested positive for the virus after speaking at the State Memorial Service of Former Deputy President FW de Klerk in Cape Town on Sunday, 12 December 2021.
Moreover, on the same day, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported 18 035 new COVID-19 cases. The total number of fatalities associated with the virus has risen to 90 137.
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