South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has tested positive for COVID-19 and is receiving treatment for mild symptoms. Ramaphosa, 69, got tested for COVID-19 after he started feeling sick earlier in the day, his office said in a statement.
Ramaphosa is fully vaccinated and got diagnosed with the virus at a time when cases are surging in the country. Experts have tied the increase to the omicron variant, which appears to spread more easily and seems to skirt at least some of the protection offered by vaccines. “President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure,” reads the statement from the president’s office. Before he was diagnosed with COVID-19, Ramaphosa spoke at a memorial service for former apartheid-era President F.W. de Klerk, who died last month.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member