The chairman of South Africa’s Covid-19 ministerial advisory committee, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, has said that the country is doing ‘incredibly well’ in its current handling of the pandemic.
Speaking to radio station Jacaranda FM, Karim said the pandemic was stable at the moment and there had been no major increases in infection rates. Although he acknowledged that there had been regional spikes in infection rates, notably in the Eastern Cape, these outbreaks were under control.
Karim also said that there was no need to change current restrictions on South Africans or move into a stricter lockdown. This comes after reports that the government is considering implementing harsher lockdown restrictions for reasons which remain unclear.
Karim was quoted as saying: ‘We are at this stage in a pretty good position overall in the epidemic, there is no need for us to change anything in my view.’
However, he urged South Africans to remain vigilant and continue to wear masks, sanitise their hands, and maintain physical distance. He also said that the festive season could see a resurgence in the virus when people travel and celebrate Christmas and New Year.