Thread by @PresidencyZA

President #Ramaphosa: As we have said before we need to utilise various tools in our coronavirus toolbox to fight this virus.
 
We can also use technology to fight the virus.

President #Ramaphosa: I call on each of you to join the 700,000 South Africans who have downloaded the Covid Alert SA mobile app.

President #Ramaphosa: The Covid Alert app can notify you if you have been exposed to the virus – whether it is in a taxi, a shopping mall or a social gathering – and it does so without sharing your location or any personal information.

President #Ramaphosa: The app is zero-rated by mobile networks, so it won’t cost you anything to protect yourself and others.
 
By downloading the app, you help to make the virus visible and break the chain of transmission.

President #Ramaphosa: We would like to appeal to all organisations to encourage their staff and visitors to download the app when they enter their offices, shops, schools, universities and other enclosed spaces.

President #Ramaphosa: In addition to these actions we should all take to prevent a resurgence, we are strengthening our public health interventions.
 
Testing is essential if we are to successfully prevent a resurgence.

President #Ramaphosa:  Without the severe capacity constraints we had a few months ago, we are now working to significantly increase the number of tests done each day.
 
All hospitals, both public and private, should test hospitalised patients in line with the revised guidance.

President #Ramaphosa: We will also be expanding community screening and testing in hotspots areas.
 
An effective and safe vaccine is our greatest defence against COVID-19, and there are now several candidate vaccines in development across the world.

President #Ramaphosa:  Equitable access to an effective vaccine is vital to the successful containment of this pandemic.
 
Earlier this week, the world witnessed a game-changer in the world of science regarding the development of a vaccine.

President #Ramaphosa: This is the first evidence that an effective vaccine against a coronavirus is possible. And that the preliminary data from the research suggests that it may be more than 90% effective.
 
This changes our perspective of the future of the coronavirus pandemic.

President #Ramaphosa:  
This development brings new hope in our fight against this virus.

President #Ramaphosa: South Africa is collaborating with several multinational pharmaceutical companies to obtain a safe and effective vaccine for our people and is contributing towards the availability of the vaccine in the rest of the continent.

President #Ramaphosa: We are working through the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to acquire and fund a vaccine for the African continent.
 
It is estimated that Africa will need around $12 billion and 750 million doses of an effective vaccine.

President #Ramaphosa: Earlier this week, in my capacity as a Chairperson of the African Union, I established the COVID-19 African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team to lead this effort.

President #Ramaphosa:  Our Minister of Health will serve on this task team together with other outstanding citizens of our continent.

President #Ramaphosa: South Africa has also been appointed as a co-chair of the global ACT-A initiative that is facilitating access to innovative interventions – including vaccines – for all countries.

President #Ramaphosa:  Countries are going to have to allocate funding so that there can be access to vaccines to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.

President #Ramaphosa:  In recognition of our country’s manufacturing capability one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world, Johnson & Johnson, has entered into an agreement with a local company, Aspen Pharmacare, to manufacture and package its candidate vaccine.

President #Ramaphosa: Aspen has capacity to manufacture 300 million doses of the candidate vaccine at its Nelson Mandela Bay plant. This is life-saving medical product that will be needed across the world, which will be manufactured by South African workers.

President #Ramaphosa:  This is in addition to the progress made by Biovac, a local biopharmaceutical company that is in partnership with the South African government.

President #Ramaphosa: Biovac is in advanced discussion with an international vaccine manufacturer that would also enable it to locally manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine to ensure sufficient supply for our country and the continent.