Covid-19: Cases Across South Africa Are Increasing, Gauteng Still the Epicentre
- Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane says cases in provinces across the country are fast increasing
- In a briefing on Friday, Kubayi-Ngubane warned that the trend in infections in Gauteng could soon roll over to other provinces
- The Gauteng Department of Health says the province is still struggling with hospitalisations due to the coronavirus
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Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane says the Gauteng province is still the epicentre for coronavirus infections despite the infection rate in other provinces increasing.
Speaking at the Department of Health's briefing on Friday, Kubayi-Ngubane said that other provinces could start to see the trend that is happening in Gauteng, according to The South African. She added that nationally, the country has now surpassed the peak of the first wave and will most like surpass the second wave's peak as well.
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Kubayi-Ngubane stated that the Delta variant of the coronavirus is the driving force of the third wave in Gauteng and is also becoming the dominant variant, according to News24. She also warned that those who have already been infected with the Beta variant are not immune to the Delta variant.
“Gauteng continues to the epicentre of new infections with the number of new cases having risen to 12 806 which represents 60% of the total new infections. We remain very worried about the rise in the hospitalisations which is putting a lot of strain in the health facilities in Gauteng,” she said.
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The hospital crisis in Gauteng continues to be dire, private and public
Kubayi-Ngubane stated that the Department of Health was worried about the strain coronavirus hospitalisations were putting on the healthcare system.
The Gauteng province has reached 91% of its bed occupancy rate, both in the private and public sectors, according to SABC News.
More South Africans are expected to be vaccinated
On the first day of registration for people 50 and over about 266 000 people registered to be vaccinated, according to Kubayi-Ngubane.
Also speaking at the briefing, Professor Glenda Gray said that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has proven to be effective against the Delta and Beta variant of the coronavirus.
SCA overturns High Court ruling on Covid-19 regulations being unconstitutional
In other coronavirus-related news, Briefly News reported that on Thursday, 1 July, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned a High Court that the lockdown rules in SA were unconstitutional. The SCA stated that the case was brought by the Liberty Fighters Network (LFN) in May 2020.
The Court said that the case was 'wholly inadequate' and that the high court was willing to see a case that was not there and unjustifiably excused the manner in which it was presented.
In June 2020 the North Gauteng High Court declared that the regulations were 'unconstitutional and invalid'. The regulations were brought forward by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
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Source: Briefly News
