Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has urged residents of the province who are over the age of 60 and those with co-morbidities to register for the COVID-19 vaccination.
South Africa is preparing for the second phase of the vaccine roll-out from Monday next week.
The Eastern Cape currently has the second-highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 related complications in the country.
INFOGRAPHIC: COVID-19 statistics in SA:
Mabuyane says it is important for people to register for vaccination.
“We are really encouraging our people to go all out, all the structures that are in place, led by the Department of Health, must actually assist to get our people registered. People above 60 years must make sure that they are vaccinated, or else they are actually in a risk of being exposed in this third wave that is coming. We are making a plea, we are appealing to our people to make sure that we control the spread of this virus.”
COVID-19 third wave
The Health Department says it is prepared for a possible third wave of COVID-19 in South Africa. South Africa has recorded close to 1.6 million positive cases and nearly 55 000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
People are urged to continue to wear masks, practicing social distancing and regular hand washing.
Clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist, Prof Salim Abdool Karim says SA likely to experience the third wave of COVID-19 infections during winter:
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