Covid-19: Rise of cases in Tshwane signals start of third wave - mayor

• Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams said the sharp increase of new infections of the coronavirus signalled the start of the third wave. 
• According to Williams, 1 260 active cases were reported since last week, 10 May.
• The City has now recorded over 2 000 active Covid-19 infections since the beginning of the month. 

Close to 1 000 new cases of Covid-19 infections have been reported in the City of Tshwane in the last week, which Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams says signals the start of the third wave.

At the beginning of May, new daily recorded cases in the capital city were still relatively low, but had nearly doubled between 3 and 10 May.

On 3 May, Tshwane recorded 43 new infections of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, while on 10 May, 86 new infections were recorded across districts.

Tshwane Mayor Randall previously said the City had witnessed a sustained increase of new infections in line with the rest of the country.

"We have seen the number of active cases in the City almost doubling from a week ago," Williams said.

"We remain cautious and mindful of the possibility of a full-blown third wave of infections."

By Monday, 17 May, Tshwane recorded over 2 000 active Covid-19 infections.

"The City of Tshwane has recorded another week-on-week increase in active Covid-19 cases. The numbers of active cases have increased significantly compared to the figures from last week," Williams said.

"Our latest Covid-19 report indicates that active Covid-19 cases in the City are now standing at 2 156.

"This is yet another sharp week-on-week increase from the 1 260 active cases that were reported last week on 10 May."

Williams said the trend was quite clear that this is the start of the third wave of Covid-19 infections.

According to the mayor, new confirmed cases per day have also been consistently above the 200 mark:

"The current figures represent an increase of 896 new active Covid-19 cases in one week alone. I want to implore all residents to remain safe and adhere to all Covid-19 protocols. If at any point you start developing symptoms with [sic] Covid-19, please self-isolate and get yourself tested," Williams added.

As of 16 May, Tshwane has recorded a total of 114 434 confirmed infections and 3 097 Covid-19 related deaths. Meanwhile, Gauteng has recorded 434 597 confirmed infections with 416 051 recoveries and 10 875 Covid-19 related deaths.

The number of identified infections in South Africa as of Sunday stood at 1 613 728 with 55 210 Covid-19 related deaths recorded.