December 13, (THEWILL) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19 and is receiving treatment for mild symptoms.
“Ramaphosa, who is fully vaccinated, began feeling unwell after leaving a state memorial service for former President F W de Klerk in Cape Town on Sunday,
“The 69-year-old leader is now self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service.
“He has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week”, a statement by the South Africa Presidency, said.
It however did not say whether Ramaphosa had been infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The presidency said Ramaphosa and his team had been tested for COVID-19 multiple times last week during visits to four West African countries.
Some in the president’s delegation tested positive in Nigeria and returned directly to South Africa. Throughout the rest of the trip, Ramaphosa and his delegation tested negative.
“The president and the delegation returned to South Africa from the Republic of Senegal on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, after obtaining negative test results.
“The president also tested negative on his return to Johannesburg on December 8″, the statement said.
It quoted Ramaphosa as saying that his own infection served as a warning to all citizens of the importance of getting vaccinated and remaining vigilant against exposure.
“Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalisation. People who have had contact with the president today are advised to watch for symptoms or to have themselves tested”, the statement added.
South Africa is currently battling a rapid resurgence driven by the Omicron variant, health officials say.
In early November, the country was recording about 200 new cases, but infections began rising dramatically soon after.
South Africa recorded more than 18,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday night.
More than 70 percent of the cases are estimated to be from Omicron, according to genetic sequencing surveys.
However, medical reports say, the majority of cases have been relatively mild, and the percentage of severe cases requiring oxygen have been low.
Omicron, a highly mutated variant of COVID-19, was first detected in South Africa last month.
However, despite global panic amidst cases of Omicron being found in countries worldwide, it has not yet become fully clear if it causes more severe illness or if, or to what extent, it can evade vaccines.
In a tentative judgement, the European Union (EU) Medicines Agency said on Thursday that Omicron may cause milder disease after the World Health Organisation (WHO) said earlier in the week that there was some evidence that Omicron causes less severe disease than Delta, the currently dominant variant.
