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Coronavirus: South African health minister says ‘we are over the surge’ as daily cases fall
- Infections drop from peak of 13,000 a day last month to less than 2,000 in Africa’s worst-hit country, and they have edged down across the continent
- But new antibody research in Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique suggests millions of cases may have gone undetected
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South African health authorities say a surge in coronavirus cases may be over after its infections rate fell in recent weeks, helping to bring down the numbers across the continent.
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The country, which accounts for more than half of the cases in Africa, has seen its number of daily infections fall from a peak of 13,000 last month to less than 2,000 this week.
As of Monday, South Africa had recorded a total of 611,450 infections and 13,159 deaths. Across the continent, just over 1.1 million cases have been reported, with 27,000 deaths.
South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Monday said the nation was seeing fewer cases and the number of people seeking tests or hospital treatment was considerably reduced.
“We can say we are over the surge. The plateau has started,” Mkhize said.
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The province of Western Cape, South Africa’s initial coronavirus epicentre, had seen fewer infections in recent weeks while the numbers in KwaZulu-Natal were also going down. “That’s indicative of a promising time,” Mkhize said.
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