71.5 Overall Score (up 17.3 since Aug 1st.)

South Africa

《 Prev
Data as of Mar 15

60.3 Public Health
Directives
39.6 Financial
Response
100 Fact-Based
Communication

60.3 Public Health
Directives
39.6 Financial
Response
100 Fact-Based
Communication

Overall, South Africa's score is relatively strong with vigorous policy implementation—particularly with respect to lockdowns—offset by its relatively meager financial response.

Pre-COVID Conditions

South Africa scored near the bottom in every single subcategory, except for the relative size of its debt.

Debt/GDP ratio 56.7%
GDP/capita $13,965
Gini coefficient (out of 100) 63
Infant mortality rate (out of 1,000 live births) 28
Healthcare access score (out of 100) 52
Hospital beds/1,000 People 19.7

Government Response

Select a data point for more information
(Data points represent policy level as of Mar 15.)

60.3

Public Health Directives

South Africa’s public health policy is relatively strong, with strong lockdowns and testing policies counteracted by limited emergency healthcare spending.

Stay at home order 2
Public gathering restrictions 3
School closings 1
Public event cancellations 1
Testing policy 3
Emergency healthcare investments/capita $0.53
Travel restrictions 1
Tests/1,000 people 159.6
Contact tracing 2

39.6

Financial Response

South Africa has a relatively weak financial score, with strong debt forbearance policy undercut by a small stimulus and minimal income support.

Financial stimulus as share of GDP 6.4%
Income support 1
Debt forebearance 2

100

Fact-Based Communication

South Africa’s government is very strong in this category, as it has not engaged in misinformation or limited press freedom in response to COVID-19.

Reliance on science/fact based information 0
Press freedom 0

COVID-19 Status as of Mar 15

South Africa’s rates of cases and deaths have come down significantly, and it has improved dramatically in its positivity rate since January, giving it a relatively strong score in this category.

Total deaths 1,190
Death rate per 100K 20.1
Total cases 1,530,033
Cases per 100K 88
Percent of positive tests 4.2
Change in positivity rates -28

Daily cases Level 1 Lockdown Level 2 Lockdown

	Date	Status	New Cases/1M
1	May 01	A few businesses are allowed to reopen	5.13
2	Jun 01	Most economic activities reopen, except for high-risk ones (e.g., restaurants, bars, events, conferences, and domestic air travel)	28.23
3	Jun 08	Schools start to reopen	43.74
4	Jun 17	Restrictions on restaurants, events, conferences, and sports ease	68.76
5	Jul 12	Alcohol ban and curfew are reintroduced, facemasks are mandated	203.31
6	Jun 27	Public schools shut down for a month	121.57
7	Aug 17	Lockdown restrictions ease	42.84
8	Aug 28	Cinemas reopen	31.13
9	Sep 16	Shorten nighttime curfew, alcohol sales resume, public gathering sizes expand to 250 (indoor) and 500 (outdoor)	32.42
10	Oct 01	Almost all restrictions relaxed, including international travel to certain countries	29.42
11			0.00
12	Mar 01	Relaxed most restrictions on economic activity	9.54

Differentiating Factors

South African variant challenges vaccines: Scientists found that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are not as effective at combating the South African COVID-19 variant (B.1.351), compared to other variants. The B.1.351 variant has been reported across 32 countries with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stating that 81 cases of the variant have been found across 20 states. Read More
South Africa halts vaccine rollout because of new variant: The government halted its use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after evidence emerged that the vaccine did not protect clinical trial volunteers from mild or moderate illness caused by the more contagious variant. Read More
Corruption scandals complicate COVID-19 response: The government's Special Investigating Unit launched investigations against 700 companies for possible corruption scandals in the country's temporary housing construction projects. Read More
Strict lockdown cripples economy: South Africa was praised early on for its highly restrictive lockdown, but that has led to 3 million workers being laid off, and the onset of a recession in which the economy is forecast to contract by 7.2 percent. Read More
HIV/AIDS experience shaped response: Health officials have credited their experience tackling HIV/AIDS (and their memories of the country's disastrous early response to it) for South Africa's quick reaction to COVID-19. Read More
Military helped support severe lockdown: South Africa's lockdown has been notably severe, including a ban on all outdoor activities. The military has played a major role in enforcing the lockdown, with 70,000 troops mobilized. Read More
Police brutality in lockdown tied to Apartheid legacies: Racial tensions have flared, due to police brutality against Black South Africans who violated lockdown, and the legacy of apartheid-era housing segregation, which means that white South Africans still tend to live in larger houses with outdoor space, and Black South Africans confined to overcrowded shanty-towns. Read More

Compared with Other African Countries

97.2
Senegal 36,996
Cases 8
Per 1M 148
Deaths

Senegal’s COVID-19 policy response has been very strong across the board, buoyed by strong public health directives and a reliance on science and facts.
83.2
Ghana 87,985
Cases 6
Per 1M 217
Deaths

Ghana scores strongly on the Index, due primarily to its proactive public health policy, strong examples set by leadership, and reliance on facts; while consistently strong, it does have very weak testing, limited emergency healthcare spending, and a weak stimulus.
72.2
Kenya 113,967
Cases 6
Per 1M 686
Deaths

Kenya has a strong overall policy score, although down significantly from January. However, it is consistently scoring well in all areas, particularly its reliance with respect to facts and science on COVID-19.
62.4
Ethiopia 176,618
Cases 16
Per 1M 1,355
Deaths

Despite having relatively weak pre-pandemic capacity, swift action and prevention-based messaging from the government helped mitigate spread early on in the crisis.

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Statistics and government response factors available on each country profile include:

Pre-COVID Conditions:

Debt to GDP ratio
Infant mortality rates
Hospital beds per 1,000 people
Gini coefficients measuring inequality
Health access and quality

COVID-19 Public Health Directives:

Stay-at home orders
School-closing policy
Public-gathering restrictions
Cancellation of public events
Testing policy and rates per 1,000 people
Emergency healthcare spending per capita
Travel restrictions
Contact tracing

COVID-19 Financial Response:

Stimulus package as a share of GDP
Income support
Debt-forbearance

Public Communications:

Instances of misinformation by leadership
Limitations on press freedom, censorship

Current/Historic In-Country COVID-19 Status:

Death rates per 1 million
Case rates per 1 million