South Africa imposes new restrictions as cases rise

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced new restrictions as South Africa faces a third wave of Covid-19.

A nationwide curfew has been moved up to 22:00 local time, while alcohol sales have been limited to Mondays to Thursdays.

Public gatherings have also been limited to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.

Mr Ramaphosa allayed fears over the slow progress of the country’s vaccination programme, saying two million Johnson & Johnson vaccines were expected by the end of this month.

He added that South Africa had the capacity to vaccinate at least 150,000 people daily and urged those aged over 60 years to register to get a jab.

South Africa has more than 80,000 active Covid-19 cases and has so far fully vaccinated at least 480,000 people.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: Getty Images

Blessing Mwangi