Ramaphosa: Covid-19 second wave deadlier than first one

This, as the number of confirmed infections, edges closer to the 900 000 mark. The president, told us last night, that they've looked at ways to saves lives and protect livelihoods." 

"The daily average new cases nationally over the last seven days is 74% higher than the previous seven days."

He says KZN, the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape and Gauteng are the provinces driving infections. Ramaphosa says for the first time, they've seen a spike in new infections among young people between the ages of 15 and 19:

"Key contributors are now becoming clear to us. Gatherings especially social gatherings and parties are the largest sources of outbreaks."

He says the recent matric Rage festival in Ballito, was a harsh reminder of how dangerous large events can be. Nearly a-thousand learners from Gauteng who attended the festival have tested positive for COVID-19:

"We don’t yet know is how many more people each of them has infected. It is said that up to 300 families could, in turn, have been infected."

READ: Ramaphosa announces stricter regulations ahead of festive season

The President says increased travel is another key contributor:

"Many people do not observe prevention measures as they move within cities, towns and rural areas, and between different areas."

Ramaphosa says to help reduce the burden on health care services due to alcohol consumption and irresponsible behaviour, our new 11pm to 4am curfew will remain in place until the new year:

"We should all remember that the hours of curfew also apply to Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, this means that we will all need to make changes to the way in which we celebrate these occasions."

Face masks in public are non-negotiable. The President says the size of gatherings must be reduced, to prevent super-spreader events. In KZN, beaches and parks will be closed on the busiest days of the festive season:

"These days are the 16th, 25th, 26th and 31st of December 2020 as well as the 1st, second and 3rd of January 2021."

175 more people have died after they'd contracted the virus here in the country, bringing our death toll to 23 451.  Over 5 100 new infections have been confirmed in the last 24 hours.