jobs job Cyril Ramaphosa hails teachers

Photo: GCIS / Flickr

Just in: Ramaphosa CONFIRMS Sunday address, here’s where to watch

Strap in folks… President Ramaphosa WILL address the nation on Sunday evening, and you can watch his response to Level 4 lockdown here.

jobs job Cyril Ramaphosa hails teachers

Photo: GCIS / Flickr

With the deadline for South Africa’s 14-day return to Level 4 Lockdown approaching at midnight, President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that he will address the nation again on Sunday 11 July. We fear he won’t be closing off a turbulent week in the country with good news when the country tunes in to watch at 20:00…

Ramaphosa to address the nation on Sunday 11 July

In a statement released on Sunday afternoon, the Presidency confirmed that Ramaphosa will convene one of his “family meetings” this evening at 20:00, with the President set to discuss the outcomes of meetings with Cabinet and the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC)held in the past few days.

“The President’s address will follow meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President’s Coordinating Council and Cabinet which are taking place during the course of the day,” the Presidency said.

“As South Africa rolls out its COVID–19 vaccination programme, government and social partners are continuously monitoring infection, treatment and patient recovery rates as well as compliance with health regulations and other prevention measures.”

With COVID-19 cases continuing to surge despite an observable swing in the trend data indicating that South Africa is on the path to recovery from a devastating third wave of infections, it is likely that Ramaphosa will deem the current situation too precarious to warrant a lifting of lockdown restrictions.

Watch ‘family meeting’ live

COVID-19 cases continue to surge

COVID-19 cases continue to increase in worrying daily numbers, with the latest report from acting Health Minister Mmamaloko Kubayi-Ngubane indicating that there were 21 610 new infections on Saturday 10 July, with a further 265 people having lost their lives to the deadly virus.

The vaccine rollout has undoubedly picked up pace, but remains a long way off the initial targets set by Ramaphosa when the first batch of doses arrived in February. A total of 4 225 021 vaccines have been administered to date.