President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged South Africans to go out in their numbers and get their booster COVID-19 shots as the country has not yet defeated the pandemic.

He said the COVID-19 virus is still very much with us and therefore everyone should get vaccinated as well have their booster shots.

“If you have already been vaccinated go and get your booster shot. I am getting my booster shot here in Mahikeng. I want to encourage all of us to vaccinate and ensure that we are all vaccinated.

“Other nations are imposing further lockdowns because there has suddenly been a flare up. We are not yet out of the woods, COVID-19 is still here, therefore it is important that we should be protected through vaccination,” President Ramaphosa said.

Leading by example, the jovial President Ramaphosa received his Pfizer booster shot administered to him by healthcare workers in Mahikeng where he was conducting a Presidential Imbizo.

Meanwhile, he said the National Coronavirus Command Council was considering extending the National State of Disaster beyond 15 March 2022.

The National State of Disaster was declared by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 imposing regulations controlling and managing the movement of people, gatherings, curfews and mask wearing among others.

Speaking to media after concluding his Imbizo, the President said while he wanted the National State of Disaster to come to an end, they were still looking at what health measures can be put in place to enable government to continue managing the pandemic.

“We are finding the best way possible of bringing a logical conclusion to the state of disaster,” the President said.

Source: South African Government News Agency