— South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has returned to work following a week of isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, his office announced Monday. Ramaphosa had mild symptoms and was treated at his official residence in Cape Town by South Africa's military health service as the country battled a wave of the virus dominated by the highly transmissible omicron variant. South Africa's 7-day rolling average of daily new cases has risen over the past two weeks from 16.9 new cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 5 to 33.8 new cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 19. Although South Africa's new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have surged since mid-November, the numbers of those hospitalized and those who have died have not followed the same upward trajectory. South Africa's target of vaccinating 70% of its population by the end of the year appears unattainable.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 20, 2021 14:58 UTC