Jozi mayor has Covid-19; self-isolates

Joburg mayor Geoff Makhubo has received a positive test result for Covid-19.

The mayor’s spokesperson, Mlimandlela Ndamase, said Makhubo went into self-quarantine yesterday.

Makhubo would continue to monitor and provide guidance on work being carried out to contain and manage the spread of Covid-19 in the city.

“Gauteng and, indeed, Johannesburg are officially in a third wave [of the Covid-19 pandemic] and residents are urged to take the necessary non-medical precautions seriously and to ensure they wear masks, maintain social distance and limit movement in compliance with the level 3 regulations currently in place,” Ndamase said in a statement.

Gauteng is currently South Africa’s Covid-19 hotspot as the country battles the third wave of the pandemic.

On Saturday, 13 575 new cases were identified in the country, over 8 000 in Gauteng. This represented a 23.2% positivity rate.

“The seven-day moving average daily number of cases has increased,” the National Institute for Communicable Diseases warned in a statement.

A total of 149 more Covid-19-related deaths were reported, bringing the total to 58 590.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Gauteng, by Saturday, stood at 545 262, with 477 493 recoveries and 12 079 deaths.

A total of 5 178 people were hospitalised in public and private facilities on Saturday.

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