Ramaphosa back at work after Covid-19 – presidency

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has returned to work after finishing a week of self-isolation due to testing positive for Covid-19, his office said on Monday.

Ramaphosa, who was given Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine in February, tested positive for Covid-19 on December 12 and received treatment for mild symptoms.

“The President has returned to duty and will chair the final cabinet meeting for 2021 on Wednesday,” the presidency said in a statement.

In the past few days, a nationwide outbreak believed to be linked to the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been infecting more than 20 000 people a day, even though the number of new recorded infections dropped below that over the weekend.