South Africa Clamps Down Against New COVID Wave
Voice of America
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa is fighting a strong “third wave” of coronavirus, leading President Cyril Ramaphosa to announce a raft of new restrictions to try to curb the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
The president said on national television late Sunday that the Delta variant has now been detected in five of the nation’s nine provinces. “The rapid spread of this variant is extremely serious,” he said. “It is for this reason that I said I address you on a weighty matter tonight. Even if it is not more severe, the rate at which people are infected could lead to many more people becoming ill and requiring treatment at the same time. We therefore need to take extra precautions.” Those measures include a ban on all gatherings, the closure of schools, a ban on all alcohol sales and in-restaurant dining, a stronger curfew and tougher enforcement for lawbreakers.
Workers clean pavilion seats on the eve of the International Cricket Council Champions Trophy match between Pakistan and New Zealand at National Stadium in Karachi on Feb. 18, 2025. Pakistan's Babar Azam attends a practice session at National Stadium in Karachi on Feb. 16, 2025, ahead of his team's Champions Trophy cricket match against New Zealand. A Pakistani police commando stands guard outside the National Stadium in Karachi on Feb. 17, 2025. The International Cricket Council Champions Trophy begins on Feb. 19. Workers install a screen at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium ahead of the International Cricket Council Champions Trophy matches in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Feb. 17, 2025.
Vietnam's President Luong Cuong, Vietnam's communist party general secretary To Lam, Vietnam's PM Pham Minh Chinh and others attend the National Assembly's extraordinary session opening in Hanoi, Feb. 12, 2025.
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French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk before an informal summit of European leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine and European security at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Feb. 17, 2025.
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President of Interim Regional Administration of Tigray Getachew Reda, center, and Chairman of Tigray People's Liberation Front Debretsion Gebremichael, left, shake hands with Former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa on Feb. 16, 2025.
Chinese believed to have been trafficked and trapped into working in online scam centers after they were rescued in Myawaddy district in eastern Myanmar, Feb. 17, 2025. In this photo released by Thailand's Provincial Electricity Authority, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul shuts down electricity supplies to five locations in Thailand-Myanmar border at the Provincial Electricity Authority headquarters in Bangkok, Feb. 5, 2025. In this photo released by Royal Thai Army, more than 250 people from 20 nations who were reportedly rescued from alleged scam centers in Myanmar, as they crossed into Thailand's Tak province, Feb. 12, 2025.