‘Eish, we are in trouble’ — Mzansi reacts to second wave of Covid-19 infections

South Africans have reacted with shock, concern and a dash of humour to the announcement of a second wave of Covid-19 infections in South Africa.

Health minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed on Wednesday that the country is officially in a second wave, with 6,079 new cases reported in the latest 24-hour cycle.

He said that the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were “key drivers of the new wave” and that more caution should be taken to combat the virus.

“Six provinces are affected. The majority of the new cases are from the Western Cape at  30%, the Eastern Cape at 24%, KZN on 23% and Gauteng on 17%. These together indicate that we are into the second wave,” he said.

He also pointed to a spike in infections among those aged between 15 and 19 years, after several superspreader parties in recent week.

“This is believed to be due to large number of parties involving young people drinking alcohol with no adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions, that is wearing masks, social distancing and hand and surface sanitising.

“This inevitably leads to superspreader events, which spill over into the rest of the country as this age group is highly mobile and the majority of the carriers are asymptomatic. If this trajectory continues, our health-care system will be overwhelmed by the numbers,” he said.

The announcement nearly shut down social media, as users flooded timelines in reaction to the news.

EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi urged South Africans to stay at home and only leave when you have to.

Some said they were not surprised about the new infections as people let down their guard for December, while others feared that the second wave might “cancel Christmas” and predicted that President Cyril Ramaphosa may impose further restrictions on areas most affected.

Here are some of the reactions: