{"id":493479,"date":"2021-05-26T07:54:09","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T05:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=493479"},"modified":"2021-05-26T07:56:18","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T05:56:18","slug":"big-increase-in-covid-19-hospitalisations-as-new-lockdown-looms-for-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/493479\/big-increase-in-covid-19-hospitalisations-as-new-lockdown-looms-for-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Big increase in Covid-19 hospitalisations as new lockdown looms for South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>South Africa reported a steep increase in Covid-19 related hospitalisations on Tuesday (25 May), another sign that the country is at the beginning of a third wave of infections.<\/p>\n<p>Data published by the department of health shows that there has <span class=\"fontstyle0\">been a <\/span><span class=\"fontstyle2\">17% increase in hospitalisations compared to the seven days prior.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The country&#8217;s <span class=\"fontstyle2\">new test positivity rate also shows a steady positive increase compared to the seven-days prior, with all <\/span><span class=\"fontstyle0\">nine provinces showing increases in new test positivity rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The highest case incidence per 100,000 population over the past week was reported in the Northern Cape at 226,9. This is followed by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Free State &#8211; 101.2<\/li>\n<li>Gauteng &#8211; 58.4<\/li>\n<li>North West &#8211; 52.7<\/li>\n<li>Mpumalanga &#8211; 24.4<\/li>\n<li>Western Cape &#8211; 22.8<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A total of 3,084 new cases have been reported, taking the total reported to 1,640,932.<\/p>\n<p>Deaths have reached 55,976, while recoveries have climbed to 1,543,951, leaving the country with a balance of 41,005 active cases. The total number of vaccines administered is 700,904.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">As of today, the total number of confirmed <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> cases is 1 640 932 the total number of deaths is 55 976 the total number of recoveries is 1 543 951 and the total number of vaccines administered is 700 904. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/k5UTEc6QLz\">pic.twitter.com\/k5UTEc6QLz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrZweliMkhize\/status\/1397312459334201346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 25, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lockdown<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The steady rise in cases, deaths and hospitalisations has led to increased calls from health experts to introduce further restrictions to help curb the impact of the third wave.<\/p>\n<p>The National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) met on Tuesday afternoon to discuss these and other issues, with scientists on South Africa\u2019s Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) suggesting further restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>Reports\u00a0have indicated that the restriction will focus on gatherings and an extended evening curfew as part of a move to an adjusted level 2 lockdown.<\/p>\n<p>An increase in hospitalisations has also historically been a precursor to further restrictions around the sale of alcohol, although the government is not expected to introduce an outright ban on liquor.<\/p>\n<p>Health experts say that the key change is limiting the number of people at gatherings.<\/p>\n<p>Marc Mendelson, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Cape Town, said indoor and mass gatherings are linked to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/493213\/health-department-submits-recommendations-for-tighter-lockdown-in-south-africa\/\">super-spreader events<\/a><\/strong>, which South Africa should guard against.<\/p>\n<p>He further called on the government to immediately ban mass gatherings and limit indoor gatherings, including at churches, casinos, and other indoor areas.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/493173\/the-businesses-hit-hardest-by-liquidations-in-south-africa-right-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The businesses hit hardest by liquidations in South Africa right now<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Africa reported a steep increase in Covid-19 related hospitalisations on Tuesday (25 May), another sign that the country is at the beginning of a third wave of infections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":442284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-493479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493479"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":493503,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493479\/revisions\/493503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}