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South Africa Coronavirus Cases Decline, But New Variant Spreading Quickly

Anita Powell

   JOHANNESBURG - South Africa is reporting both good and bad news in the
   battle against the coronavirus, seeing a decline in confirmed cases
   along with the spread of a new, more infectious strain of the virus.

   First, the good news from South Africa's health minister, Dr. Zweli
   Mkhize. The nation is still experiencing its second wave of the virus,
   but in the past week, Mkhize said, South Africa saw a 23% decline in
   confirmed cases.

   "It has been encouraging to know that, despite the mutations, we are
   still able to protect ourselves with the armor that we have
   established," he said in a statement released Tuesday. "This week has
   seen some promising signs of decline in transmission -- yesterday we
   noted a 23% decrease in new cases nationally compared to 7 days prior.
   This could be attributable to many factors, including enhanced physical
   distancing facilitated by lockdown regulations. We must thank South
   Africans for adhering to the regulations, difficult and frustrating as
   it may be."

   And now for the more concerning news. The head of the nation's
   coronavirus task force, epidemiologist Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, says the
   recently detected, more infectious variant of the virus, known as
   501.V2, is spreading quickly in South Africa.

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