By Kaveesha Fernando
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CWBN)_ South Africa has officially become the first country in the African continent to pass the 1 million mark with regards to COVID-19 cases following the discovery of a new strain of the virus in the country. Scientists say that the new strain is responsible for the sharp spike in cases which the African country has been experiencing. Morocco, the second hardest-hit country in Africa, is yet to pass the 500 000 mark with regards to its COVID-19 cases.
South African authorities have been working hard to curb the pandemic, patrolling streets urging people to follow health and safety guidelines, promoting an app designed to help fight the spread of the pandemic and even funding South African scientists who are conducting research into the virus.
Last week, South Africa announced that the government had placed a down payment to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine for 10% of the nation’s population. In the absence of a freely available vaccine, the country has been appealing to the youth of the nation to follow health and safety guidelines in order to prevent the spread of the virus. South African authorities feel that the negligence of the nation’s youth has led to a surge in cases.
Following South Africa’s announcement last week of their discovery of a new strain of COVID-19, the UK praised South African scientists for alerting them to the new strain of COVID-19 in South Africa (which was different from the new strain discovered in the UK). The discovery led to the UK temporarily closing its borders to travellers from South Africa, leaving them stranded in the African nation on some occasions.
