COVID-19: South Africa Extends Lockdown

South Africa, the worst hit country on the African continent, has extended its lockdown by another 14 days, as the government sees it beneficial in the curbing of the spread of coronavirus in the country, according to the country's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, the battle against the disease was "far from over."

The number of coronavirus cases in the country stands at 1,934.

In a public address, Ramaphosa announced the government's reason for extending the lockdown in the country, he said, “After careful consideration of the available evidence, the national coronavirus command council has decided to extend the nationwide lockdown by a further two weeks beyond the initial 21 days."

He added that although it was still too early to give a “definitive analysis” of the outbreak in the country, there was evidence to the effectiveness of the steps the government had employed.

Ramaphosa said, “In the two weeks before the lockdown, the average daily increase in new cases was around 42 percent.

“Since the start of the lockdown, the average daily increase has been around four percent.

Surviving the Disease

The president warned of a reemergence of the disease in the country if the lockdown initiated was ended too soon.

He said, “If we end the lockdown too soon or too abruptly, we risk a massive and uncontrollable resurgence of the disease."

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This comes after the country's opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) had suggested that they scaled back a bit on the lockdown to ensure that the economy of the country didn't collapse.

The party explained, “We must ensure that in our attempt to protect our country from the coronavirus outbreak, we also protect the livelihoods of our citizens who will be… unemployed as a result."

Last week, a house-to-house screening campaign was started, where thousands of health workers were dispatched to test the 57 million South African residents. 

Tracking of those who may have come in contact with an infected person will be done via mobile phones.

Ramaphosa said that the house-to-house screening will help give a clearer picture of the extent of the disease's spread in the country, and that only the actions or inactions of South Africans will ensure that the disease doesn't spread any further.

He said, “The struggle against coronavirus is far from over.

“But we know that this is a matter of survival, and we dare not fail.”