South Africa Covid-19 update and the Jacob Zuma arrest
South Africa is in the grips of its third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and it is proving to be quite severe, far more so than the first two waves as per the rate of infections. The seven-day rolling average cases were 12,584 during the peak of the first wave (July 2020) and were 19,042 during the peak of the second wave (January 2021). As of July 4, the seven-day moving national average was 19,143, with 24,270, 26,485 and 16,585 daily cases recorded on July 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The National Department of Health has also previously communicated that it expects the third wave to be worse than the second wave (and the first wave) in some provinces. This would especially apply to the Gauteng province, which has had substantially more cases during the third wave than other provinces as per data from the South African National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
Meanwhile, the country is waiting to see if former President Jacob Zuma will actually go to jail after the Constitutional Court ordered his arrest on June 29. This was for failing to appear before the Zondo State Capture Inquiry after he had been ordered to do so, and hence, he was found guilty of contempt. The Court had ordered his arrest by July 7 if he failed to hand himself over by Sunday (July 4) in order to start serving his 15-month sentence. Yet today, the former president is applying to have the execution of that order stayed, pending his application for the repeal of the Constitutional Court's ruling. It is worth noting that it appears the ANC top leadership is staying out of the way and letting the rule of law have its way, and this is a further positive for democracy and overall good governance. We should know by Friday if Zuma will finally account for his years of defiance and constitutional delinquency.
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