Covid-19: South Africa wants to introduce a "vaccine passport"

Cyril Ramaphosa assured that the immunization of the adult population was a necessary prerequisite to completely reopen the economy.

(illustrative image) GIANLUIGI GUERCIA POOL / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday September 12 his intention to introduce a “vaccine passport”, amid widespread mistrust of the Covid-19 vaccine, in the country of the continent most affected by the virus.

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In a televised address to the nation, Cyril Ramaphosa assured that the immunization of the adult population was a necessary prerequisite to completely reopen the economy and avoid a fourth wave of infections, while the number of cases fell sharply in the country.

In two weeks, we " 

will provide more information on a vaccine passport system that can be used as proof of vaccination for various purposes and at various events, 

" he said without providing further details.

He added that the " 

sustained drop in infections (...) over the past few weeks

 " would, however, allow restrictive measures to be relaxed from Monday.

The nighttime curfew will be extended by one hour to 11 p.m. and meeting limits will be raised.

Restrictions on the sale of alcohol will also be relaxed, although protective masks will remain mandatory in places open to the public.

The peak

of a stubborn third wave

due to the Delta variant has now been passed. Over the past seven days, the average number of new daily infections is down 29% from the previous week and 48% from the week before, the South African president said. " 

Our most urgent task is to vaccinate our population, 

" he said, noting that the vaccine supply " 

was no longer a constraint

 ."

After delays in the supply and distribution of doses, the vaccination campaign is now struggling to take off

due to skepticism about the vaccine

, especially among men.

To date, just over 7 million people have been fully immunized in South Africa, with more than a quarter of adults having received at least one dose of the vaccine.

South African scientists are

monitoring a new local variant

 with an unusually high mutation rate, dubbed C.1.2, although its presence is so far marginal among the new cases detected in the country.

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• Cyril Ramaphosa

• South Africa

• Coronavirus

• Vaccines