Covid-19 will remain like this for at least a year, says Mkhize
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has urged South Africans to err on the side of caution, as waves of Covid-19 infections are expected to be a reality for at least another year.
Mkhize was speaking on the SABC's Morning Live on Monday morning.
"The message for us is to continue to preach that we are not out of the woods yet and it is going to be like this for more than a year that's coming.
"We have to plead with people that we must focus on the use of masks."
The warning by the minister comes in the wake of rising Covid-19 numbers in the country and confirmation of two new variants, namely the B.1.617.2 first discovered in India and the B.1.1.7, which mainly exists in the UK.
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The new variant, especially the B.1.617.2 has raised fears amongst South Africans that the new Covid-19 surge could be more deadly than the second wave that hit the country in December and January.
Mkhize says the department will put down proposals towards the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) on the feasibility of sealing the country's borders.
"We have actually done an analysis and that will come before the NCCC to look at what other countries are showing much higher risks of spread that could actually affect South Africa.
"There is no problem in putting a restriction on India, but you need to understand that it can't be India alone; there are many more other countries."
