In his address on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said residents in these two Central South African provinces must brace themselves for a possible second spike in third-wave infections, following confirmations that the highly infectious Delta variant has been detected in provinces including the Free State and Northern Cape. This as the country reported nearly 18 000 cases in the last 24-hour cycle. 

Ramaphosa has announced that the country has been moved to alert level lockdown 4 for the next two weeks, with some adjusted restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of the Delta variant which was first detected in India and brought the country to its knees.

Aside from a curfew kicking off from 21:00 - 04:00; bans on off-site and on-site consumption of alcohol; and bans on public gatherings - schools are expected to close down, starting on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Free State Health and Education Departments say they’re on track regarding the vaccination of educators in the province. The departments’ joint statement lauds the successful vaccination programme despite what they deem to be “minor glitches that were caused by over-eagerness on the part of the educators who thought that the vaccine would end before they could access it”. 

The departments aim to reach their 32 800 target within 10 days from the start of the campaign for the vaccination of these professionals.

Basic Education Minister, Angie Motsekga, joins Free State Education MEC, Tate Makgoe, in inspecting vaccination sites in Botshabelo on Monday. Motshekga will thereafter head on to the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape.

OFM News