South Africa's Ramaphosa still showing mild Covid symptoms

JOHANNESBURG: South African President

Cyril Ramaphosa

, who tested positive for

Covid-19

on Sunday, is still showing mild symptoms and has had to delay a booster vaccine he was due to receive this week, his office said on Monday.

A statement from the presidency added that he reiterated a call for everyone to be vaccinated so as to reduce the chances of serious illness, hospitalization and death.

Ramaphosa, who was given Johnson & Johnson's vaccine in February, tested positive the same day that he addressed a state memorial to the last leader of South Africa's white minority government,

FW de Klerk

, in Cape Town.

His office said on Sunday that Ramaphosa had tested negative on Wednesday last week when he returned to South Africa from a trip to four West African countries.

In the past few days South Africa has reported around 20,000 new Covid-19 infections a day, in a fourth wave believed to be linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant. South African scientists so far see no sign that the variant causes more severe illness.