JOHANNESBURG – South Africa is struggling to cope with a spike in COVID-19 cases that has already overwhelmed some hospitals, as people returning from widespread holiday travel along the coast spread the country's more infectious coronavirus variant.Of particular concern is Gauteng province, the country's most populous, which includes the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Authorities say it is already seeing a spike in new infections after people traveled to coastal areas, where the variant is dominant.“We expect that Gauteng is going to be hit very soon and very hard,” said Professor Willem Hanekom, director of the Africa Health Research Institute.