He says for several months now the number of Covid-19 infections in these two provinces has remained relatively high. Ramaphosa's statement comes after several schools in the two provinces were forced to shut their doors after pupils and staff tested positive in their numbers. 

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Meanwhile, the Free State has 16 954 active cases, 6 515 deaths whilst the Northern Cape has a total of 6 681 active cases and 2 063 deaths.

"The two provinces that stand out from the others are the Northern Cape and Free State, where the number of infections as a proportion of the population has remained relatively high for several months. 

"We are therefore focusing our efforts on these provinces to understand what is driving these infections and what measures we need to take to bring them down," Ramaphosa announced.

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Ramaphosa also announced on Sunday night that South Africa, from Monday 13 August 2021, will move to alert level 2 lockdown, and 7 million people are fully vaccinated.

He also announced that the third wave is not yet over and that it is through working together that the virus can be eradicated.

OFM News