Covid-19: Active cases decrease, first batch of vaccines arrives and restrictions ease this week
On 1 February, the country received its first consignment of Covid-19 vaccines. President Cyril Ramaphosa also announced an easing of a number of restrictions under adjusted Level 3.
This week has brought about a number of changes for the prospects of South Africa in the fight against Covid-19.
On 1 February, the first consignment of Covid-19 vaccines arrived at OR Tambo International Airport. These 1 million doses were developed by AstraZeneca and will be used for the first phase of the vaccine roll-out, prioritising front-line healthcare workers.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on the evening of 1 February, expressing his excitement at the arrival of these vaccines. He said that, in total, the government has secured 42.5 million vaccines to be delivered and rolled out in the coming months in order to achieve herd immunity.
Ramaphosa also announced an easing of certain restrictions as part of adjusted Level 3 including:
- Curfew is now from 11pm to 4am
- Faith-based gatherings to be permitted again, subject to health protocols. They may not exceed 50 people indoors and 100 people in outdoor venues
- Beaches, dams, rivers, parks and public swimming pools have reopened, subject to health protocols
- The sale of alcohol in licensed premises for off-site consumption is now permitted from Monday to Thursday between 10am and 6pm. Duty-free shops, registered wineries, wine farms, microbreweries and microdistilleries are permitted to sell alcohol for off-site consumption during normal operating hours
- The sale of alcohol by licensed premises for on-site consumption including restaurants and taverns is now permitted throughout the week from 10am to 10pm.
This week also saw an increase in the recorded Covid-19 recovery rate. The week began with a recorded 89 per cent recovery rate, according to the statistics released on 31 January, but by 4 February this had increased to 90.5 per cent.
Daily new case numbers this week have varied from 4 525 on 31 January to 2 548 on 1 February with an average of 3 506 new cases over the last five days.
Daily Covid-19-related deaths remain high with an average of 331 daily deaths over the past five days.
KwaZulu-Natal remains the province with the highest number of active cases at 42 016 on 4 February, though this has seen a decrease of 4 224 cases since 31 January. The Western Cape follows with 12 631 active cases on 4 February – with a decrease of 3 736 since 31 January. Other provinces with a high number of active cases on 4 February include Gauteng with 9 115, Free State with 8 771 and North West with 7 943 active cases.
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