54.2 Overall Score

South Africa

  • 42 Public Health
    Directives
  • 12.1 Financial
    Response
  • 100 Fact-Based
    Communication
  • 42 Public Health
    Directives
  • 12.1 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 Aug 1.)
42

Public Health Directives

South Africa’s public health policy is at the median; limited emergency healthcare spending is its main shortcoming.

  • Stay at home order 2
  • Public gathering restrictions 3
  • School closings 0
  • Public event cancellations 2
  • Testing policy 3
  • Emergency healthcare investments/capita $0.52
  • Travel restrictions 4
  • Tests/1,000 people 0.7
  • Contact tracing 2
12.1

Financial Response

South Africa’s financial response score is weak, largely due to its small fiscal stimulus packages.

  • Financial stimulus as share of GDP 8%
  • 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 Aug 1

Despite implementing a strict lockdown, South Africa’s rate of cases has been high, possibly due to its poor pre-pandemic capacity, ranking it near the median in this category; its has managed, however, to keep its death rate low.

  • Total deaths 8,005
  • Death rate per 100K 135
  • Total cases 493,183
  • Cases per 100K 8,316
  • Percent of positive tests 26.3
Case Trend Line
Daily cases Level 1 Lockdown Level 2 Lockdown
Date Status New Cases/1M
1 May 01 A few businesses are allowed to reopen 4.08
2 Jun 01 Most economic activities reopen, except for high-risk ones (e.g., restaurants, bars, events, conferences, and domestic air travel) 24.33
3 Jun 08 Schools start to reopen 37.58
4 Jun 17 Restrictions on restaurants, events, conferences, and sports ease 56.23
5 Jul 12 Alcohol ban and curfew are reintroduced, facemasks are mandated 183.56
6 Jun 27 Public schools shut down for a month 88.82

Differentiating Factors

  • 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 the coronavirus. Read More
  • Military helped support severe lockdown: South Africa's lockdown has been notably severe, including a ban on all outdoor activities, and a ban on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes. 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
  • 74.5
    Senegal 10,232
    Cases     611
    Per 1M     205
    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.

  • 74.8
    Ghana 35,501
    Cases     1,143
    Per 1M     182
    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.

  • 88
    Kenya 20,636
    Cases     384
    Per 1M     341
    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.

  • 81
    Ethiopia 17,530
    Cases     153
    Per 1M     274
    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.

Further Reading From Foreign Policy

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New Zealand

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