Johannesburg: With the Omicron variation now present in all of South Africa's provinces, President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that the country could soon enter the fourth wave if new cases continue to rise. "The detection of Omicron is timed to coincide with a spike in Covid-19 infections. If the number of cases continues to climb, a fourth wave of infection is likely to emerge in the coming weeks, if not sooner "In a broadcast speech on Sunday evening, Ramaphosa stated.

His statement to the nation came after a meeting of the Coronavirus Command Council, which was called after scientists found a new form of the virus. "In the last seven days, we've seen an average of 1,600 new cases per day, compared to 500 new cases per day the week before and 275 new cases each week before that. In little than a week, the percentage of positive Covid-19 tests has climbed from roughly 2 percent to 9 percent "Added the President.

"Infections have increased dramatically in such a short period of time." "We know that the variation is responsible for the majority of the infections discovered in Gauteng in the previous two weeks and that it is now spreading to the other provinces," he said. He continued, "The government has established a working committee that will consult widely on the introduction of mandatory vaccination in particular activities and venues."

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