The National Institute for Contagious Diseases has identified 9,757 new cases of Covid-19 in the country, or 50% more compared to the 6,170 new cases recorded the day before Wednesday.

According to him, more than a quarter (25.9%) of people tested had a positive result, the highest rate recorded in months.

The Covid-19 has also killed seven people in the past two days.

South Africa, the country officially the most affected on the continent by Covid-19, has entered a new wave of the pandemic, the Center for Innovation and Response to Epidemics (CERI) warned at the end of April.

The country of nearly 60 million people, where less than 45% of the adult population is fully immunized, has officially recorded more than 3.8 million cases and some 100,350 deaths.

At the beginning of March, it had experienced a period of 48 hours without any death linked to Covid-19, a first since 2020. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in early April the lifting of all legal restrictions linked to the pandemic.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), two new sub-variants of Omicron, the virulence of which has yet to be determined, are behind the new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

“South African scientists who identified Omicron late last year have now flagged two other Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5, as causing a spike in cases in South Africa," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.

The South African government confirmed on Thursday the obligation to wear a mask for children at school, changing its mind shortly after announcing its lifting, while new cases of Covid-19 are increasing day by day.

The Ministry of Health issued a press release to dispel "the confusion generated by an unfortunate and regrettable human error" which had led it about fifteen hours early to announce the end of this obligation.

The entire population, including children, must therefore continue to comply with the rules laid down by the ministry to fight the pandemic, including the obligation to wear a mask in closed public places.

The government continues to urge residents to get vaccinated.

"The only way to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the pandemic and the current rise in the number of positive cases is to get vaccinated and adhere to preventive measures all the time," he stressed.

© 2022 AFP