South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has postponed getting a booster shot of a Covid-19 vaccine because he has tested positive for the disease and is recuperating from mild symptoms, his office has announced.
Mr Ramaphosa is receiving medical treatment for his symptoms and is self-isolating in Cape Town, according to his office.
South Africa’s regulatory authority last week approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be used as a booster shot, opening the way for third doses to be administered to adults to battle the surge in infections driven by the Omicron variant.
“The president’s infection is causing him to delay a vaccine booster shot which he was scheduled to receive this week,” his office said in a statement issued on Monday.
Mr Ramaphosa “reiterates his call to everyone in the country to be vaccinated, as vaccination dramatically reduces the chances of serious illness, hospitalisation or death”, the statement said.
South Africa’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases has risen over the past two weeks from 7.6 new cases per 100,000 people on November 28 to 32.7 new cases per 100,000 people on December 12, according to Johns Hopkins University.
More than 70% of the new cases since mid-November are Omicron, according to nationwide tests, experts say.
In general, the new Omicron cases have resulted in milder disease, with fewer hospitalisations and less severe cases requiring oxygen or intensive care, according to doctors and official figures.
Despite the rising numbers of cases, South Africa’s death rate has not gone up, although experts warn it could increase in the next few weeks.
News that Mr Ramaphosa has contracted Covid-19 has sparked different reactions from citizens, with some saying they hope it will encourage more people to get vaccinated.
Moreen Mokhethi, 60, a resident of Tembisa, east of Johannesburg, said she hoped that the president testing positive for Covid-19 would convince people to be more careful about contracting the virus.
“My worry is that a lot of people, like in Tembisa where I live, seem not to be scared of the virus anymore. There are many weddings and events now because it is the festive season, so it (the virus) might spread some more,” Ms Mokhethi said.
South African health experts agree that vaccinations are important in battling the new wave driven by Omicron.
“Everything we know points to what the president experienced – when you get it (Covid-19) when vaccinated, it tends to be much less serious,” Francois Venter, infectious diseases professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said.
Mr Ramaphosa, 69, ended his four-nation tour of West Africa last week, returning from Senegal on December 8 when he tested negative.
He had tested negative throughout the African tour but some members of his delegation had to return home after testing positive for the virus in Nigeria.
Mr Ramaphosa was not feeling well on Sunday and tested positive the same day, his office announced.
