The South African government has reinstated strict Covid-19 restrictions on public gathering and Liquor sales as the country record a surge of Covid-19 cases.

According to the health ministry,  COVID-19 related admissions have increased by 59% over the past two weeks.

According to Johns Hopkins University, South Africa’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases has nearly doubled over the past two weeks from 6.69 new cases per 100,000 people on May 3, 2021, to 12.71 on June 14, 2021.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that the new infections poses a huge threat to the country’s the health systems hence the need to return the strict restrictions.

“Our priority now is to make sure there are enough hospital beds, enough health workers, enough ventilators and enough oxygen to give the best possible care to every person who needs it,” said Ramaphosa.

“The massive surge in new infections means that we must once again tighten restrictions on the movement of persons and gatherings,” he said.

Indoor events have been limited to 50 people, while outdoor events must not exceed 100 people.

Alcohol retail stores would only be permitted to open between 10am and 6pm local time from Monday through Thursday.

The nightly curfew has been extended by an hour from 10 pm to 4 am while religious gatherings indoors are limited to 50 people.

South Africa has been the country hardest hit by the pandemic in Africa, with a cumulative total of more than 1.7 million infections, including 58,000 deaths, accounting for nearly 40 percent of Africa’s total confirmed cases.