It has been one year since South Africa reported its first coronavirus (COVID-19) case.
The then 38-year-old patient had returned from an expedition in Italy with his wife when he was diagnosed with the virus.
Since then the virus has mutated and life has also never been the same for millions of South Africans.
Families have lost loved ones, companies folded, poverty, hunger, debt, violence and inequality have escalated.
However, there is a ray of hope as the country has begun vaccinating its healthcare workers, with 67.25% of the population expected to have received the COVID-19 shots by the end of the country’s three-phased programme.
The infection numbers are also declining, although a third wave is expected some time between May and July.
The country has had various levels of lockdown regulations implemented based on the number of COVID-19 infections and is currently on level one.
Below is a look at the COVID numbers under Level 1 Lockdown:
![[File Image]: A woman shops at a grocery store in East London, in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, July 7, 2022.](https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SA-Consumers-120x86.jpg)
![[File Image] President Cyril Ramaphosa participates in High-Level Dialogue on Global Development.](https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SABC-News-Ramaphosa-GCIS-120x86.jpg)
