SA may be over the Covid-19 surge, but reimposing strict restrictions is still on the table, warns health minister Zweli Mkhize.

Mkhize told eNCA he hoped SA did not have to reimpose extreme lockdown restrictions, as other countries have done.

He said the plateau had started and the country was seeing an impressive decrease in Covid-19 infections, but he feared a resurgence might be on the cards if people neglected precautionary measures.

“The real risk we are worried about is a resurgence in infections if people neglect the precautionary measures, said Mkhize.“Some countries have had to reimpose strict restrictions. We will have to do the same if people start behaving complacently. We hope we don’t have to go in that direction and it’s a decision that is not taken lightly. We do think it’s possible for people to exercise social behavioural changes,” he said.

To date, SA has 611,450 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 13,159 deaths. The country’s recovery rate stands at 516,494, translating to a recovery rate of more than 83%. This is above the global average of 64.5%.

Speaking during the Gauteng General Practitioner Collaboration panel discussion, Mkhize said the recovery percentage can be attributed to dedicated health-care workers.

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