South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Monday night give a national address about the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The address comes two weeks after he announced tough measures, including business closures and banning the sale of alcohol, to deal with a rise in cases attributed to a new more easily transmissible variant.
A statement from the presidency on Monday said the address will focus on “the unfolding pandemic in the country and on the continent, including efforts to secure vaccines for all”.
Last week South Africa’s health ministry announced that the country will acquire one million Covid-19 vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India (SII) in January and an additional 500,000 doses in February.
Officials said the more than one million healthcare workers both in public and private hospitals would be prioritised for vaccination.
The ministry said it was working with the regulator, South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), to ensure the roll out of the Astra Zeneca vaccine is not delayed.
South Africa is the worst-hit country in Africa and has reported 1.2 million cases of Covid-19 and at least 33,000 deaths.