South Africa Returns To Stricter Lockdown, COVID-19 Cases 'Surging'

Positive cases in South Africa in the past seven days were 31% higher than the week before, and 66% higher than the week before that.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Sunday that his country will return to stricter lockdown measures in the face of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases that indicate the virus is “surging again” in Africa’s worst-affected nation. Positive cases in South Africa in the past seven days were 31% higher than the week before, and 66% higher than the week before that, Ramaphosa said in a live TV address. He said some parts of the country, including the commercial hub Johannesburg and the capital city Pretoria, were now in “a third wave.” “We do not yet know how severe this wave will be or for how long it will last,” Ramaphosa said.