Omicron drives new COVID wave spreading across South Africa

By ANDREW MELDRUM
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Amid fast-rising numbers of new COVID-19 infections, South African officials are urging people to get vaccinated before traveling for the holidays and attending festive gatherings. South Africa’s daily new confirmed cases climbed to more than 26,900 on Wednesday and 24,700 on Thursday, the highest yet in the new wave driven by the omicron variant — and reaching the peak of an earlier surge in June and July caused by delta. South Africa’s 7-day rolling average of daily new cases has risen steeply over the past two weeks from 6.4 new cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 1 to 38.5 new cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 15, according to Johns Hopkins University.