The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa is part of the
ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...
).
On 5 March 2020,
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
Zweli Mkhize
Zwelini Lawrence Mkhize (born 2 February 1956) is a South African medical doctor and politician who served as the Minister of Health (South Africa), Minister of Health from May 2019 until his resignation on 5 August 2021. He previously served as ...
had confirmed the spread of the virus to South Africa, with the first known patient being a male citizen who tested positive upon his return from
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
On 15 March 2020, the
President of South Africa
The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nationa ...
,
Cyril Ramaphosa
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...
, declared a national
state of disaster, and announced measures such as immediate
travel restrictions and the closure of schools from 18 March.
On 17 March, the ''National Coronavirus Command Council'' was established,
"to lead the nation's plan to contain the spread and mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus".
On 23 March, a national
lockdown
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
was announced, starting on 27 March 2020.
The first local death from the disease was reported on 27 March 2020.
On 21 April, a 500 billion
rand
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
stimulus
A stimulus is something that causes a physiological response. It may refer to:
*Stimulation
**Stimulus (physiology), something external that influences an activity
**Stimulus (psychology), a concept in behaviorism and perception
*Stimulus (economi ...
was announced in response to the pandemic. Ramaphosa announced that from 1 May 2020, a gradual and phased easing of the lockdown restrictions would begin, lowering the national alert level to 4.
From 1 June, the national restrictions were lowered to level 3.
The restrictions were lowered to alert level 2 on 17 August 2020.
From 21 September 2020, restrictions were lowered to alert level 1.
In December 2020, the country experienced a 2nd wave of COVID-19 infections,
mostly with infections from the
SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant
The Beta variant, (B.1.351), was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. One of several SARS-CoV-2 variants initially believed to be of particular importance, it was first detected in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan area ...
.
The lockdown was tightened from an adjusted level 1 to an adjusted level 3 starting on 29 December 2020. The lockdown was lowered from an adjusted level 3 to an adjusted level 1 starting on 1 March 2021.
On 17 February 2021, the national
COVID-19 vaccination program was officially rolled out.
On 8 May 2021, local cases of variants of concern
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
(first detected in India, which has a higher transmissibility than the dominant strain, Beta) and
Alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...
were reported.
On 31 May 2021 the country was moved from adjusted level 1 to an adjusted alert level 2, due to a 3rd wave of infections, mostly with infections from the Delta variant.
On 15 June 2021 the country was moved to alert level 3.
On 28 June 2021, the country was moved to adjusted level 4, with the Delta variant fast becoming the dominant strain in the country.
On 9 July 2021, sixteen months into the pandemic, doctors in Johannesburg described the system there as beyond its breaking point, with insufficient beds and barely enough oxygen. On 25 July 2021 the country was lowered to adjusted level 3.
On 13 September 2021, an adjusted alert level 2 took effect,
and on 1 October 2021 more restrictions were eased by moving to adjusted alert level 1.
On 26 November 2021, the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) classified the
Omicron variant
Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
, first identified in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
but first reported to the WHO by South Africa, as a
variant of concern
The term variant of concern (VOC) for SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is a category used for variants of the virus where mutations in their spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) substantially increase binding affinity (e.g., N501Y) in ...
.
Several countries announced travel bans from South Africa and its neighboring countries. The country was entering its 4th wave by 1 December 2021, mostly with infections from the standard BA.1 subvariant of the Omicron variant.
On 4 February 2022 it was announced that South African scientists had replicated the
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
The Moderna COVID19 vaccine (INN: elasomeran), sold under the brand name Spikevax, is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by American company Moderna, the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedi ...
. Further easing of restrictions came into effect on 23 March 2022, including dropping the requirement to wear masks outdoors though still required indoors in public vehicles and spaces, allowing proof of vaccination or a COVID-19 test not older than 72 hours as an alternative for entering certain venues, and reducing distancing to 1 metre except in schools.
On midnight 4 April 2022, the National State of Disaster was terminated, though some transitional provisions remained in place for a period of 30 days.
A limited 5th wave
from late-April 2022 was mostly from infections from the BA.4, BA.5, and BA.2 subvariants of the Omicron variant.
Deaths were more decoupled from cases, likely due to high levels of population immunity from infection and/or vaccination.
Eminent risk declined by mid-June 2022, and on 22 June 2022 all remaining health regulations regarding COVID-19 were ended.
During the first two years, 2020 and 2021,
excess deaths
In epidemiology, mortality displacement is the occurrence of deaths at an earlier time than they would have otherwise occurred, meaning the deaths are ''displaced'' from the future into the present. The displacement may be described as the resul ...
were estimated at 292.3 per population. there have been excess deaths of persons older than 1 years from natural causes since 3 May 2020,
with 85%–95% of these excess deaths attributable to COVID-19, and the remaining 5%–15% probably mainly due to overwhelmed health services.
Timeline
Since the first patient with COVID-19 was confirmed in South Africa on 3 March 2020
the country has experienced five waves of the pandemic.
Preparations and response
After the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) declared COVID-19 a
Public health emergency of international concern
A public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) is a formal declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) of "an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the internatio ...
on 30 January 2020, an
emergency operation centre was immediately activated.
Testing
The
National Institute for Communicable Diseases
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) is the national public health institute of South Africa, providing reference to microbiology, virology, epidemiology, surveillance and public health research to support the government's re ...
(NICD) started testing people in South Africa for
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...
on 28 January 2020,
and by 7 February had conducted 42 such tests.
By mid-March,
state hospitals were offering free
COVID-19 testing
COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the virus or antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral ...
.
On 30 March 2020, the government announced its intentions of initiating an enhanced screening and testing programme.
On 3 April 2020, the NICD made alterations to its testing guidelines to further allow for anyone who presented with relevant COVID-19 symptoms to be tested (previously there were additional requirements such as history of foreign travel or recent contact with a confirmed case).
By the start of April, 67 mobile testing units had been established and people had been tested, some in
drive-through
A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the United ...
facilities.
On 8 April, the
National Health Laboratory Service
The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is a South African national government institution established in 2001. It was created by merging the South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR), the National Centre for Occupational Health ...
(NHLS) detailed its testing capacity through the country. The NHLS would be able to perform approximately tests per day.
Many private clinical pathology laboratories were also conducting tests. The CEO of the NHLS, Dr Kamy Chetty, said that by 9 April 2020 the majority of tests had been done in the private sector as the initial cases had been linked to international travellers who were likely to be on private medical aids.
By 9 April 2020, South Africa had conducted tests at 1.2 tests per thousand, considerably lower than for example Turkey (3.3), the United Kingdom (3.6), and South Korea (9.7).
However, the ratio of positive tests to total tests conducted was significantly lower than most countries. By 10 April, the number of tests had increased to , making the average number of tests per day in the first 10 days of April roughly . The chair of the board of the NHLS, Eric Buch, stated that it had a capacity of tests per day and would welcome doing more tests.
On 14 April, Stavros Nicolaou, head of Business for South Africa's healthcare working group and
Aspen Pharmacare
Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited is a public multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Durban, South Africa. Founded in 1997, it listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 1998 and purchased South African Druggists in 199 ...
executive, said that South Africa had the capacity and kits to do tests a day.
By 23 April the total number of tests was .
The number of daily tests increased: for the first 14 days of April the daily average number of tests was 3394; for the next 9 days the daily average was 6283. The rate of positive tests versus total tests remained less than 3%. The Minister of Health released figures that showed that of all the tests done up to 23 April 62% had been done in the private sector and 38% in the public sector. However, that ratio was changing as the public sector increased capacity. The public sector performed 63% of the new tests reported on 23 April 2020.
By 27 April, tests had been performed on South African residents, with the public sector doing the majority of the tests. Provincial test coverage varied by over a factor of 8. The number of tests per residents (based on 2019 population estimates) was Northwest 66, Limpopo 69, Mpumalanga 101, Northern Cape 111, Eastern Cape 247, KwaZulu-Natal 270, Free State 284, Gauteng 439, and Western Cape 541 (national average 317). A surveillance programme was started to monitor community transmission (as opposed to tests done on people who displayed symptoms or who had been in contact with COVID-19 patients). In the three arms of the programme 812 tests had been done and two positive cases had been detected.
By 28 June, the total number of tests was . The private sector had now overtaken the public sector, in terms of tests completed. The private sector had done test with the public sector only doing .
By 11 July, had been done with the private sector still doing the most tests.
Genomic surveillance
South Africa had created a sizable
genomic surveillance consortium by May 2020. Due to this, scientists from Southern Africa, lead by
Tulio de Oliveira, discovered and confirmed the COVID-19 virus's
Beta variant
The Beta variant, (B.1.351), was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. One of several SARS-CoV-2 variants initially believed to be of particular importance, it was first detected in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan are ...
in 2020 and its
Omicron variant
Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
in November 2021.
Clinical trials, vaccines and treatment
On 17 March 2020, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority announced that it would expedite review of treatments, vaccines and clinical trials.
A team from 8 universities and 14 hospitals led by
Helen Rees and Jeremy Nel from the
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...
participated in the World Health Organization
Solidarity Clinical Trials that investigated medications.
State of disaster
By mid-March, isolation measures gathered pace, and on 15 March 2020, President
Cyril Ramaphosa
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...
declared a national
state of disaster, prohibiting gatherings of more than 100 people.
On 17 March, Ramaphosa, supported by Deputy President
David Mabuza
David Dabede "DD" Mabuza (born 25 August 1960) is a South African politician who has been Deputy President of South Africa since February 2018. He was the Deputy President of the African National Congress (ANC) from December 2017 to December 2022 ...
, convened the inaugural meeting of the National Command Council on COVID-19,
[ or as it was subsequently called, the National Coronavirus Command Council,] "to lead the nation's plan to contain the spread and mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus".[
On 18 March, ]Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is a Minister in the Cabinet of South Africa
The Cabinet of South Africa is the most senior level of the executive branch of the Government of South Africa. It is made up of the ...
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma (née Dlamini; born 27 January 1949), sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Cong ...
signed a government gazette limiting the number of patrons at pubs, clubs, and restaurants to 50.
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
suspended all activities as of 18 March. and the African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) postponed their elective conferences.
The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) cancelled all scheduled cases from 18 March 2020 and prohibited walk-in referrals of new cases – in lieu of electronic referrals.
Schools were closed on 18 March 2020, resuming in early June. Most universities suspended classes around this time as well.
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...
, University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
, Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
, Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...
, University of KwaZulu-Natal
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. ...
and Durban University of Technology
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban Instit ...
graduation ceremonies were cancelled or postponed until further notice.
After panic buying
Panic buying (alternatively hyphenated as panic-buying; also known as panic purchasing) occurs when consumers buy unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of, or after, a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large ...
, some retailers put limitations on the number of certain items customers could buy. On 19 March, Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce.
Notable examples are:
List
*Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
Ebrahim Patel
Ebrahim Patel (born 1962 in District Six in Cape Town) is a South African cabinet minister, who holds the position of Minister of Trade and Industry (South Africa), Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition. He previously served as Minister ...
signed a government gazette that enforces price controls
Price controls are restrictions set in place and enforced by governments, on the prices that can be charged for goods and services in a market. The intent behind implementing such controls can stem from the desire to maintain affordability of good ...
on essential items and that could see price gougers punished with measures including a R10 million fine, a fine equivalent to 10% of a firm's turnover, or 12 months in prison.
On 3 June, Minister Dlamini-Zuma extended the state of disaster, which was to lapse on 15 June, three months after its announcement, to 4 July citing "the need to continue augmenting the existing mitigation measures undertaken by organs of state to address the impact of the disaster." On midnight 4 April 2022, the National State of Disaster was terminated, though some transitional provisions remained in place for a period of 30 days.
Tobacco and alcohol
During the announcement on the lifting of level 5 lockdown measures on 23 April, Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the sale of tobacco would be permitted again, this statement was contradicted on 29 April by Minister Dlamini-Zuma. The resulting uncertainty over tobacco sales during level 4 lockdown caused British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the large ...
to file an urgent court appeal which was dropped on 6 May and reopened by 29 May. The ban raised concerns by the Human Sciences Research Council
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa is Africa's largest dedicated social science and humanities research agency and policy think tank. It primarily conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific projects for publi ...
and South African Revenue Service
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the revenue service of the South African government. It administers the country's tax system and customs service, and enforces compliance with related legislation. It is governed by the SARS Act 34 of ...
that it would encourage the growth of illicit tobacco sales thereby growing the power and influence of organised crime. The ANC Women's League
The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress, African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League ...
defended Dlamini-Zuma's statement amid accusations that she was receiving financial support from illicit tobacco traders. By 4 May, Ramaphosa confirmed the continuation of the ban during level 4. The Democratic Alliance accused Dlamini-Zuma of lying to the public over the strength of support for the tobacco ban and called for her removal from office. On 11 December The Western Cape High Court ruled that the tobacco sales ban was unconstitutional.
During the level 5 lockdown period, the sale of alcohol was banned; so as to reduce pressure from alcohol-related incidents putting additional pressure on hospitals. The ban was controversially reimposed on 12 July amid concerns that the ban was leading to the growth of illicit alcohol sales. Two years later the Supreme Court of Appeal found that there "was no scientific justification for the continued ban on the sale of tobacco products: there is no evidence that short-term quitting has clinical significance for Covid-19 severity and outcome."
Criticism
The uncertainties around the length of the lockdown, its intensity, and concerns over the erosion of civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
has drawn criticism from a number of notable individuals and political parties in South Africa. Former finance minister and senior ANC member Trevor Manuel
Trevor Andrew Manuel (born 31 January 1956) is a South African politician who served in the government of South Africa as Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2009, during the presidencies of Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, and ...
questioned the rationality of the way in which government implemented the lockdown whilst expressing concern that the lockdown endangered the South African Constitution. The DA challenged the use of the military to enforce night curfews, criticised the ban on e-commerce and restrictions on exercise hours, and filed a court challenge over the constitutionality of the lack of parliamentary oversight in the National Disaster Management Act. The Freedom Front Plus
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; af, Vryheidsfront Plus, ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include ab ...
filed an application to the Gauteng High Court challenging the constitutional validity of the National Disaster Management Act. The Economic Freedom Fighters
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African left-wing to far-left pan-Africanist and Marxist–Leninist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema, and hi ...
criticised the relaxation of some of the May 2020 lockdown regulations as an example of giving into industry pressure by allowing them to reopen.
The number of passengers ferried per trip in minibus taxis was criticised during the lockdown restrictions, in July 2020. The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) is the custodian of the quality of medical care in South Africa. It is unique in the world in that its 29 constituent Colleges represent all the disciplines of medicine and dentistry. The only present ...
stated that allowing minibus taxis to operate at 100 percent occupancy, for short journeys, was a possible danger to public health and contradicted some lockdown restrictions. Initially in the first stage of the lockdown period minibus taxis were required to operate at 70 percent occupancy, provided passengers wore masks and windows were opened. This 70% occupancy requirement was noted as being flouted by taxi operators.
Repatriation
On 14 March 2020, 112 South Africans were repatriated from Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
, China, and placed under observation and in quarantine at The Ranch Resort
The Ranch Resort is a family-owned leisure, sports, exhibition, conservation, accommodation, and conferencing centre within the large Ranch Conservancy located in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province. south of Polokwane – the ca ...
near .
Medical screening was performed prior to departure, four South Africans who were showing signs of coronavirus were left behind to mitigate risk. Only South Africans who tested negative were repatriated.
Test results cleared all the South Africans, including the flight crew, pilots, hotel staff, police and soldiers involved in the humanitarian mission who, as a precautionary measure, all remained under observation and in quarantine for a 14-day period[ at ]The Ranch Resort
The Ranch Resort is a family-owned leisure, sports, exhibition, conservation, accommodation, and conferencing centre within the large Ranch Conservancy located in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province. south of Polokwane – the ca ...
.
Cuban doctors
On 27 April 217 Cuban medical health specialists (mostly doctors) arrived in South Africa to assist with the pandemic response at the invitation of the South African government and were deployed across the country.
Their arrival and the reported R429 million cost paid to the Cuban government was controversial. The South African Medical Association
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) is a non-statutory, professional association for public- and private-sector medical practitioners in South Africa. Registered as a non-profit organisation it acts as a trade union for its public-secto ...
stated that their deployment was premature as many South African doctors and nurses had not yet been deployed as part of the pandemic response. The South African Internationally Trained Health Professionals Association criticised the government for not instead using unemployed South African medical graduates. The Democratic Alliance stated that government should first prioritise using local healthcare professionals. The Daily Maverick
''Daily Maverick'' is a South African daily online publication and weekly print newspaper, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Its readership is spread across South Africa and the world, with approximately 8 million readers per month. I ...
questioned the high cost paid for the doctors. The United States government criticised their deployment and payments made for their services as a form of human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
whilst the Cuban embassy rejected allegations of profiting from the deployment of its doctors and stated that criticism was part of a "smear campaign".
Donations
South Africa received donation of personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...
like medical masks
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...
from China and ventilator
A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...
s from the United States.
On 5 August 2020, the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) deployed a "surge team" made up of 43 experts including David Heymann, who headed the international response to the 2003 SARS epidemic, to help the national and provincial responses to minimize the spread and impact of COVID-19.
COVID AlertSA tracing app
On 8 August 2020, the department of health released a COVID-19 contact tracing app. The app aims to reduce infections in the second and third waves of Covid. the app is available on Google Play, the App Store and The Huawei App Galley.
Lockdown
On 23 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation and announced a 21-day national lockdown
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
effective from midnight 26 March through to 16 April, with the deployment
Deployment may refer to:
Engineering and software Concepts
* Blue-green deployment, a method of installing changes to a web, app, or database server by swapping alternating production and staging servers
* Continuous deployment, a software en ...
of the South African National Defence Force
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the Military, armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the Military branch, armed services. They are in turn a ...
(SANDF) to support the government. On 9 April the President announced a two-week lockdown extension, until the end of April. Exempt from the lockdown are people deemed necessary to the effective response to the pandemic such as:
* health workers, pharmacy and laboratory personnel, emergency personnel;
* security services (police officers, military personnel, and private security);
* people regarded as necessary to the basic functioning of the economy (supermarkets, transportation and logistical services, petrol stations, banks, essential financial and payment services); and
* those working in industries that can not be economically shut down (such as mines and steel mills).
During the lockdown, all gatherings except for funerals were prohibited. Restaurants, taverns, bottle stores and all other stores not selling essential goods were to close during the lockdown period. Schools, already closed a week before the lockdown period, will not reopen until after the lockdown. Non-exempt people are only allowed to leave their homes during this period to access health services, collect social grants, attend small funerals (no more than 50 people) and shop for essential goods. See the South African Government Gazette 25 March 2020 for a complete list of exemptions and non-exemptions during the lockdown period. South Africans were ordered not to take their dogs for a walk during the lockdown, though they may walk them around their house or apartment building.
People may not be evicted from their place of residence during the lockdown.
Movement between provinces, and between metropolitan and district areas are prohibited except for
* essential workers, to and from work;
* transportation of sanitised and disinfected cargo from ports of entry;
* the transportation of mortal remains; and
* the attendance of funerals (restricted).
All borders of the country are closed during the lockdown, except for designated ports of entry for the transportation of fuel, cargo, and goods.
International and domestic passenger flights are prohibited, except for flights authorised by the Ministry of Transport, for the evacuation of South African nationals in foreign countries, and for certain repatriations.
Fewer deaths
The lockdown resulted in fewer deaths from road accidents and homicides. During Easter, from 9 April 2020 to 13 April, there were 28 fatalities from road accidents during the lockdown, compared to 162 in 2019. During the lockdown, 432 murder cases were reported, compared to during the same period the previous year: 29 March 2019 to 22 April 2019. Overall deaths for the year up to 21 April 2020 were "generally within the bounds of expectation" according to the Medical Research Council. Nonetheless, for the 5 weeks before 21 April 2020, non-natural deaths including those from homicide and road traffic accidents were lower for both females and males.
Enforcement
Minister of Police Bheki Cele
Bhekokwakhe "Bheki" Hamilton Cele (born 22 April 1952) has been the South African Minister of Police since February 2018. He was National Commissioner of the South African Police Service for two years, until misconduct allegations led to his su ...
announced, on 5 April, a reduction in cash-in-transit
Cash-in-transit (CIT) or cash/valuables-in-transit (CVIT) is the physical transfer of banknotes, coins, credit cards and items of value from one location to another. The locations include cash centers and bank branches, ATM points, large retaile ...
thefts thanks to increased road blocks and more visible policing. He also announced a reduced murder rate. Trauma related hospital admission decreased by two-thirds. By the end of the first seven days of the lockdown a total of 2,289 people had been arrested for violating lockdown orders. Minister Cele announced, on 13 November, that from July to September, compared to 2019, many different crimes ranging from contact and property crimes to sexual offences all declined because of national lock-down.
Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies
The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies (formerly Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting and Minister of Communications and Telecommunications) is a Minister in the Government of South Africa, responsible for over ...
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams
Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams (born 30 June 1978) is a South African politician and the Minister of Small Business Development in the cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa. She previously served as Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies and ...
, on 8 April, was put on special leave for two months, one without pay, for violating lockdown regulations. A picture of her appeared on social media while having lunch at ANC NEC member Mduduzi Manana
Mduduzi Manana was the South African Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training and member of parliament from 2009 to 2017.
Manana earned a BA degree in Political Science and Sociology from University of Natal and was elected to the Regi ...
's home.
Enforcement was done across the country with varying degrees of success. In the Eastern Cape it was reported in early April that little to no enforcement of the lockdown was implemented in at least some of the province's rural areas.
The use of force by police and SANDF personnel was controversial with multiple reports of excessive force
Excessive Force is a musical side project started in 1991 by Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM and Buzz McCoy of My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult.
History
In 1991, Excessive Force released the single "Conquer Your House", followed by the album ''Conque ...
in enforcing the lockdown. This included incidents of beatings and preventing people from filming police abuses leading the public advocacy group Right2Know
The Right2Know Campaign is a South African non-profit advocacy organisation established in 2010 to reduce state secrecy in the drafting of laws, increase access to information, and protect freedom of expression especially on the internet. As part ...
to release a statement that the police had no right to prevent the public "from exercising their constitutional right
A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...
to film and record incidents".
By 3 April, the eighth day of the lockdown, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), formerly the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), is an agency of the South African government responsible for investigating complaints against the South African Police Service and mun ...
(IPID) reported that they were investigating eight deaths involving the police since the start of the lockdown. At the time, this exceeded the number of deaths in the country due to the pandemic. This was in-spite of President Ramaphosa's public call for police restraint. By 12 April a total of nine people had died due to police and army action following the beating to death of a man in Alexandra
Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...
by the army.
The South African National Editors' Forum The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a South African-based non-profit membership organisation for editors, senior journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, p ...
issued a statement expressing concern over police action denying the media access to sites when covering COVID-19 related stories. On 27 April the expressed concerns about the heavy handed and highly militarised enforcement of COVID-19 related lockdown measures in a number of countries including South Africa. By 30 April the government confirmed that a total of five people were alleged to have been killed by police within the first three weeks of the lock down along with 152 incidents of assault by police.
The Pretoria High Court
The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, w ...
ordered the South African government to take steps to prevent police abuse during the lockdown, following the death of Collins Khosa, who died of injuries after being beaten by the police.
Impact
Economic
At the beginning of the national shutdown on 27 March South African economists predicted that the pandemic could cause a 2.5% to 10% contraction of South Africa's total GDP in 2020. The national lockdown and resulting economic slowdown reduced demand for electricity by more than MW thereby temporarily reducing the impact of the long running South African energy crisis
The South African energy crisis is an ongoing period of widespread national blackouts of electricity supply. It began in the later months of 2007 and continues to the present. The South African government-owned national power utility and primary ...
. It is estimated that the government would experience a revenue shortfall for 2020 of between R70 and 100 billion. This resulted in the South African government announcing a R500 billion stimulus package thereby accelerating deficit spending from 6.8% to over 10% of GDP for the 2020 financial year. In late July it was announced that South Africa would be taking out a R70 billion IMF loan increasing the country's total debt to GDP ratio to 83%. Trade unions and the EFF were critical of using the IMF to take out the loan whilst the DA and other opposition political parties voiced concern over corruption when using the borrowed funds.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange
JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...
lost 15% of its value in the week ending 13 March 2020, its worst week in 21 years. On 19 March, the South African Reserve Bank
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial condit ...
governor, Lesetja Kganyago
Lesetja Kganyago (born 7 October 1965) is a South African economist and central banker. He is the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). He was appointed to that post on 6 October 2014, by Jacob Zuma, the former President of the Repu ...
announced a reduction of the country's repo rate
A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, RP, or sale and repurchase agreement, is a form of short-term borrowing, mainly in government securities. The dealer sells the underlying security to investors and, by agreement between the two pa ...
by 100 basis points or 1 percentage point to 5.25%. On 14 April, a further reduction to 4.25% per year was made. On 22 March, Standard Bank
Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg.
History ...
announced a 90-day Forbearance, payment holiday for small and medium-sized business and students to try and shield them from the economic impact of the outbreak, starting from 1 April. In May it was estimated that the state will lose R285-billion in tax revenue for the financial year 2020–21 due to the pandemic and resulting lockdown.
Within the first month of the lockdown three million South Africans had lost their jobs contributing to an increase in food insecurity and poverty. By mid-July wide spread food shortages were reported across the country and in rural Eastern Cape in particular. In December 2020 it was reported by Finfind and the Department of Small Business Development that 42.7% of small businesses in South Africa had closed due to the economic impact of the lockdown.
Financial services company Transaction Capital predicted that the protracted years-long lockdown that the ANC government implemented in response to the pandemic would cause 34% of households in South Africa to fall out of the middle class.
Corruption and profit gouging
Corruption has had a significant negative impact on efforts to fight the pandemic by inflating the costs of government procurement whilst eroding public confidence in government institutions. Years of corruption prior to the pandemic has reduced the capacity of the country's health service. Incidents of police corruption also increased during the lockdown period as security officials used their expanded positions of power to extort bribes from members of the public. Concerns were raised that funds from a COVID-19-related R70 billion IMF loan to South Africa would be lost through corruption. On 7 August President Ramaphosa announced that ministerial committee would be set up to investigate COVID-19 corruption in state tenders.
In late July President Ramaphosa announced that measures would be implemented to combat corruption in the delivery of food parcels and the procurement of exorbitantly priced goods. The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) stated that it was investigating a number of suspicious transactions and alleged acts of corruption from the R500 billion COVID-19 Relief Fund. A number of government officials implicated in allegations of COVID-19-related corruption include Ace Magashule, the wife of Bandile Masuku, and the husband of presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko. Magashule, Diko and Masuku have denied any involvement in COVID-19 related procurement corruption allegations.
An investigation into COVID related fraud at the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, City of Johannesburg found that over 1,500 employees of the City improperly received COVID-19 related social relief and grants.
Notable COVID-19 corruption or profit gouging scandals included:
*Digital Vibes scandal valued at R150 million
*Gauteng Education Department school sanitisation scandal valued at R431-million
*Red Roses Africa disinfectant supply scandal valued at R515-million
*Sicuro Safety and Hennox Supplies profit gouging scandals
*Kwazulu-Natal government PPE procurement scandal
*The improper procurement and illegal importation of Interferon alfa-2b, Heberon Alfa R 2b from Cuba by the South African National Defence Force
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the Military, armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the Military branch, armed services. They are in turn a ...
(SANDF).
Social impact
Events cancelled or postponed
Major sporting codes suspended their activities, including 2020 Super Rugby season, Super Rugby, 2019–20 Pro14 season, Varsity Rugby, Craven Week, 2019–20 South African Premier Division, Premier Soccer League, Athletics South Africa, Sunshine Tour golf, Wimpy (restaurant), Wimpy Lifesaving South Africa national championships and Parkrun. The Cape Epic cycle tour, the 2020 Two Oceans Marathon and the 2020 Comrades Marathon were cancelled. The South Africa Sevens, 2020 Cape Town Rugby Sevens, 4–6 December 2020, were cancelled.
Live events cancelled or postponed included the Mangaung African Cultural Festival (MACUFE), Bloem Show, AfrikaBurn, Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, Splashy Fen Festival, Rand Show, National Arts Festival (changing to virtual), SciFest Africa (postponed to 9–15 September), House show, WWE Live South Africa (postponed until September), List of comic book conventions, Comic Con Cape Town, and Matric Rage festivals in
Johannesburg, Jeffreys Bay and Plettenberg Bay. South African tours were postponed by the Lighthouse Family, Boyz II Men and BeBe Winans.
Trade and agricultural shows postponed or cancelled included HuntEx, DecorEx Cape Town & Durban, Tyrexpo (postponed to 4–6 August 2020), Power & Electricity World expo (postponed until 20–21 August), the Pietermaritzburg Royal Show, SA Cheese Festival, Qualité Awards Dinner, and Agri-Expo Western Cape Youth Show.
The Zion Christian Church cancelled its annual Easter pilgrimage. The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) suspended Friday prayers, then closed mosques altogether on Sunday 22 March, but the call to prayer will still be given.
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein suspended Synagogues.
Traditional circumcision schools in the Eastern Cape were suspended.
The City of Johannesburg closed all public facilities indefinitely including public swimming pools, recreational and civic centres, stadiums, libraries, sporting facilities, and the Johannesburg Zoo. The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, Ethekhwini Metropolitan Municipality closed all of Durban's public facilities including swimming pools, beaches, libraries, community halls, and museums while restrictions have been put in place for the Durban Art Gallery and cemeteries to only allow 50 people at a time. The City of Cape Town closed all public facilities indefinitely including public swimming pools, recreational and civic centres, stadiums, sporting facilities, and the nature reserves.
The 2022 Women's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup, 2021 Women's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup because of a new SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, COVID-19 variant, the tournament was put on hold on 26 November 2021 and a decision will be made by the FIH in the near future. Ballito Rage 2021 cancelled after 36 test positive for Covid-19, Plett Rage festival cancelled.
Protests
On 5 August, members of the entertainment, restaurant, fitness, and events industries staged a socially distanced national protest by lighting buildings red. The #LightSAred campaign was staged so as to highlight the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown measures on these industries.
Looting
In April 2020, a number of liquor stores and food stores were targeted by looters in the Cape Town suburbs of Elsie's River, Elsies River, Delft, Western Cape, Delft South, Samora Machel, Manenberg, Sherwood Park, Nyanga, Western Cape, Nyanga Junction, and Athlone, Cape Town, Gatesville. On 21 July 2020, a truck carrying COVID-19 specimens was hijacked at a clinic in Motherwell, South Africa, Motherwell, Eastern Cape and found abandoned 500 metres away.
Migration
In a trend dubbed "''semigration''" the South African media has reported that the pandemic catalyzed significant movement of wealthier South Africans from cities in Gauteng province (notably Johannesburg) to urban areas of the Western Cape province (notably Cape Town). A trend that, although accelerated by the pandemic, was reportedly driven by an increased desire for access to natural amenities, the ability to Remote work, work remotely, and better municipal management.
Birth sex ratio change
Between September 2012 and December 2020, the human sex ratio, sex ratio at birth declined and inverted (less than 50%) in June 2020 for the first time. This drop, attributed to population stress, took place three months after COVID-19 in South Africa started in March 2020.
Spread
Model-based simulations indicate that the 95% confidence interval for the Basic reproduction number#Effective reproduction number, time-varying reproduction number ''R t'' was higher than 1.0 until mid-July, exceeding 1.0 again from late October to December 2020.
Statistics
Cumulative cases
Nationwide
Daily cases
By province
=Gauteng
=
Notable deaths
Misinformation
The arrival of the COVID-19 virus in South Africa saw an increase in the dissemination of misinformation about the virus on social media and other platforms. These range from messages minimising the virus's harm in the country to the propagation of Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theories about government actions to control the virus.
Deliberately spreading fake news and other misinformation in South Africa about the virus was declared an offence punishable by a fine, six months' imprisonment, or both.
One individual was arrested for posting a video showing himself drinking in public with friends following the national lock-down whilst stating that there was "nothing called corona here". In another incident a man claimed that government officials would be going door-to-door using contaminated test kits to test people for the virus. A conspiracy theory that Bill Gates wished to test a COVID-19 "vaccine" in Africa or South Africa first caused significant controversy on social media following the publication of a now retracted story in News24 (website), News24.
Fake news that 5G cellular technology was the true cause of COVID-19 symptoms also spread in the country during this period as it also did in other countries around the world. In the course of it, three telecommunication towers belonging to Vodacom and MTN Group, MTN were burnt by protesters.
Vaccination
On 17 February 2021, South Africa started its national vaccination program against Covid-19. The program went through in phases, prioritizing Health professional, healthcare and Key worker, frontline workers, followed by citizens over the age of 60. South Africa has accepted delivery of 3 different vaccines, Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, Johnson and Johnson's Janssen, Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech's Comirnaty, and Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Oxford-AstraZeneca; administering both Janssen and Comirnaty, but the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was suspended due to its relative lack of protection against the SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant, Beta variant (501.V2).
On 29 March 2022, South African health officials said that about expired doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine were to be destroyed by the end of March due to a low uptake by citizens.
, there were vaccine doses administered in South Africa.
See also
* COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
*COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa
* COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory
* List of deaths due to COVID-19
* 2020 in South Africa
*2021 in South Africa
References
External links
Government COVID-19 website
Dashboard – Data Science for Social Impact Research Group, University of Pretoria
COVID-19 statistics for SA – UCT
COVID-19 regulations and guidelines
National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD)
Government officials' speeches
World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 pandemic information
{{Portal bar, COVID-19, South Africa, Medicine, Viruses
COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa,
COVID-19 pandemic by country, South Africa
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2022 in South Africa
Disease outbreaks in South Africa