JOHANNESBURG: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is receiving treatment for mild symptoms, the presidency said in a statement.
Ramaphosa would remain in self-isolation in Cape Town for the time being and has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week. "Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalisation," the statement said. In a tentative judgement, the EU Medicines Agency said on Thursday that Omicron may cause milder disease after the WHO said earlier in the week that there was some evidence that Omicron causes less severe disease than Delta, the currently dominant variant.Cases of coronavirus in Africa nearly doubled over a week as Omicron spread, but hospitalisations in South Africa remain low, the UN added on Thursday.