Ramaphosa comments on Covid-19 cases reaching half a million mark

By Nwabisa Timeni

July 2020

President Cyril Ramaphosa released a statement on the increasing number of Coronavirus cases on 1 August 2020. “As of today, South Africa has recorded more than half a million confirmed cases of the coronavirus”, stated Ramaphosa.

He continued to say that this pandemic has been the most severe pandemic in over a century. “The global Coronavirus pandemic is the most serious public health crisis that the world has faced in over a century. On every continent, nations have struggled to contain the spread of the virus and to contend with its effects”. 

Statistics indicate that the 3 most infected provinces are showing signs of stability and that South Africa’s COVID-19 death rates have dropped expressively related to other death rates around the globe. He indicated that “after a rapid rise in infections over the last two months, the daily increase in infections appears to be stabilising, particularly in the Western Cape, Gauteng and Eastern Cape. Our recovery rate is currently around 68%. Our case fatality rate – which is the number of deaths as a proportion of confirmed cases – remains at 1.6% significantly lower than the global average”.

President Ramaphosa has brought on a team that locally manufactures ventilators that can significantly contribute to the decrease of infections. He said over the past few months, government has undertaken an unprecedented mobilisation of resources to prepare the country for the inevitable increase in cases. “During this month, the National Ventilator Project will deliver 2000 locally-produced, non-invasive ventilators to where they are most needed. A dedicated team drawn from several institutions, led by the Biovac Institute, is preparing to manufacture doses of a successful vaccine locally”, stated Ramaphosa.

The president encouraged individuals to stay alert of the virus and work together to lessen the spread of Covid-19. “While there are promising signs, now is not the time to let down our guard. We have to continue to work together to reduce the number of new infections”.