- Health minister Zweli Mkhize urged South Africans to do things differently and save lives this festive season.
- He warned South Africans they would face sickness and death should they ignore Covid-19 protocols.
- South Africa officially entered its second wave of the global pandemic this month.
Health minister Zweli Mkhize has urged South Africans to adhere to Covid-19 protocols during the December holidays or face sickness and death.
Mkhize was speaking on Saturday during a World Universal Health Day virtual event.
The health minister said the global pandemic could only be defeated by "each and every South African's sense of duty and compassion".
"Only you have the power to stop Covid-19," he added during his virtual speech.
"The time has come for South Africans to make a choice - life, or sickness and death. If we choose life, then we must realise we need to make sacrifices during this festive season.
"It will not be possible to celebrate holidays in a way we were accustomed to … we must now realise that frivolities associated with the festive season must make way for something that really matters - family and friends, caring for one another's physical and mental rejuvenation and preserving the spirit of ubuntu."
South Africa has officially entered a second wave of the deadly Covid-19 global pandemic.
In the past two days, more than 8 000 new infections were recorded.
The virus has claimed 22 952 lives so far in the country since March.