South Africa battles rapid rise of COVID-19 in Johannesburg

A rapid resurgence of COVID-19 is slamming South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, and threatens to overwhelm its hospitals

JOHANNESBURG -- A rapid resurgence of COVID-19 is slamming South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg, and threatens to overwhelm its hospitals. Johannesburg, a city of 5 million, and the surrounding Gauteng province account for about 60% of the country’s new daily infections. South Africa’s 7-day rolling average of daily new cases has doubled over the past two weeks from 10 new cases per 100,000 people on June 10 to 22 per 100,000 people on June 24, according to Johns Hopkins University. South Africa's rising cases are part of a rampant resurgence across Africa whose peak is expected to exceed that of earlier waves as the continent's 54 countries struggle to vaccinate even a small percentage of their populations. The steep rise of cases in Gauteng has not yet reached its peak, bringing authorities to consider increased restrictions on public gatherings and liquor sales. South Africa's vaccination drive has had a slow start and to date about 2.5 million people of the country's population of 60 million have received at least one jab.