NATIONAL NEWS - President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Sunday evening, 12 July 2020, as the peak in Covid-19 infections near in several provinces.
Presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko confirmed the address to two major news outlets, but the Presidency itself is yet to make an official announcement on the time of the address.
Ramaphosa’s address comes on the heels of the latest infection stats which recorded another 13 497 new Covid-19 cases being added to the tally on Saturday.
South Africa has now recorded a cumulative total of 264 184 confirmed cases to date.
There has been calls from different spheres of government, political parties and civil society organisations to move the country and certain hotspots back to higher lockdown levels, and to restrict certain movements and alcohol sales.
The last time the President addressed the country was during his public Imbizo on 1 July and before that during his official address on 17 June to announce “Advanced Level 3”.
On Friday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said that he had noted the immense pressure the lifting of the alcohol ban has had on the healthcare system and that he had reported his concerns to the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC).
As of Saturday Covid-19 related deaths stood at 3,971. Among those reported deaths is the case of Ramaphosa’s former high school teacher who went on to become a celebrated struggle stalwart, Thomas Madikwe Manthata, who died this past week aged 81.
According to the department of health, the number of recoveries is 127 715, which translates to a recovery rate of 48,4%.
Gauteng also overtook the Western Cape in terms of infection numbers this past week as the province now has over 80,000 reported cases of Covid-19.
The City of Johannesburg has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the province with 46.6% of the total number of 81 546 cases (38 045 cases).
To meet the growing demand caused by the rise in cases, the Solidarity Fund is set to purchase critical medical equipment worth R405 million – including hospital beds, ventilators and high-flow oxygen devices – for Gauteng, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape.
