Giving Compass' Take:

• Cyril Ramaphosa is urgently addressing the coronavirus outbreak in South Africa, by enacting these five steps. 

• How can other countries learn from each other's missteps and successes in addressing COVID-19? 

• Read more on the need for international cooperation and coordination during this pandemic.

The global outbreak of coronavirus — a.k.a. COVID-19 — is starting to spread in South Africa too, with 116 confirmed cases as of Wednesday morning.

This has been a rapid increase from the first reported cases 12 days ago — with the first case reported in KwaZulu-Natal, which now has 12 confirmed cases.

There haven't yet been any deaths; something that Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet hope will be further prevented as a result of putting in place measures aimed at containing the current outbreak.

Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday, when there were 61 infections in total — a number that he warned “is expected to rise in the coming days and weeks.”

"Initially, it was people who had travelled out of the country, especially from Italy, who had positively tested for the virus...we are now dealing with internal transmission of the virus,” he continued.

In keeping with recommendations made by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as well globally-adopted measures — such as social-distancing, and cancelling schools and big social gatherings — South Africa is taking the following five steps in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus.

  1. Travel ban on people from high-risk countries
  2. Ban on public gatherings, including for religious occasions
  3. Impact on education
  4. Improving testing processes
  5. A task team is keeping its eye on the situation

Read the full article about South Africa's response to the coronavirus by Lerato Mogoatlhe at Global Citizen.