The current measures were set to expire on January 15 and include closing beaches and public parks and banning alcohol sales.
“The pandemic in our country is now most devastating. The number of new infections, the number of hospitalizations and the deaths that are still taking place are much higher than at any time since the first case was registered in our country in March 2020,” Ramaphosa said. in a live national address.
In addition to expanding existing measures, Ramaphosa announced that 20 land borders will be closed until February 15. The closures will have several exceptions, such as those involving travel for medical emergencies, he said.
Ramaphosa said the speed and intensity of the second wave in South Africa is due to the 501.v2 variant discovered by genomic scientists late last year.
“We do know that this new variant of the virus is spreading much faster than the earlier variant. This explains that many more people have become infected in a much shorter time,” he said, adding that there was no evidence that the new strain made people sicker.
Ramaphosa said the restrictions will be reassessed when the current peak of infections subsides.
South Africa has reported at least 1,246,643 cases of Covid-19, including 33,579 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.