Anticipating The Omicron Variant, South Africa Considers Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination But Not Lockdown

President Afrika Selatan Cyril Ramaphosa. (Wikimedia Commons/Palácio do Planalto)

JAKARTA - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday authorities were considering making COVID-19 injections mandatory for certain places and activities, as an increase in infections linked to the new variant threatens to become the fourth wave.

Only a quarter of South Africans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 despite an ample supply of doses. Partly because of the logistical problems that brought them out to rural areas, but also because of vaccine hesitancy and apathy among the population.

The Kenyan government last week issued a directive that residents must present proof of vaccination by December 21 to access services, making it one of the first countries in Africa to issue a vaccine mandate.

"We have engaged with social partners and other stakeholders to introduce measures that make vaccination a condition for access to workplaces, public events, public transport, and public places", Ramaphosa said in a speech citing Reuters on November 29.

"If the country does not consider the option of a vaccine mandate, it will continue to be vulnerable to new variants and will continue to suffer new waves of infection", he said, adding that susceptible people might also be offered booster shots.

However, he said authorities would not consider lockdown restrictions in Africa's most developed country for now.

South Africa has seen nearly triple the daily reported cases in the past week, mainly from the new Omicron variant first identified by South African virologists.

"If cases continue to rise, we can expect to enter the fourth wave of infections in the next few weeks, if not sooner", Ramaphosa warned.

South African officials are furious about Britain's ban on flights from the southern African countries, which several other countries have followed. Many South Africans feel they are being punished for their transparency and hard work in controlling the way the virus mutates.

In Sunday's address, the president lashed out at wealthy Western countries for the spontaneous imposition of travel bans and urged them to reverse the measure.

"This is a clear and totally unjustified departure from the commitments many of these countries made at the meeting of the G20 nations in Rome last month", Ramaphosa said.

"The travel ban is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant", he criticized.

Separately, Zambia's Health Minister Sylvia Maseko said the southern African country would require civil servants to be vaccinated to come to work, and anyone seeking access to government buildings would need to prove they had been injected.

To note, scientists have so far detected relatively few cases of the Omicron variant, mainly in South Africa but also in Botswana, Hong Kong, and Israel. But they are concerned about the high number of mutations, which have raised concerns it could be more vaccine-resistant and infectious.

A doctor who was among the first in the country to flag a possible new variant of the Coronavirus said on Sunday his symptoms so far appear mild and can be treated at home.