<p>South Africa, the country worst-hit by the coronavirus on the continent, has registered more than 10,000 daily cases as infections surge at an exponential rate, the health minister said.</p>.<p>The Covid-19 positivity rate -- the proportion of tests that come back positive -- has topped 21 percent, far exceeding the "ideal" rate of 10 percent, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a Tweet late Wednesday.</p>.<p>South Africa reined in its first wave of the virus which occurred in July, when the new cases topped 12,000 daily.</p>.<p>Numbers then gradually came down, to below 1,000 in September.</p>.<p>On Monday, the figure had risen to around 8,000, prompting President Cyril Ramaphosa to announce new restrictions, in particular a curfew from 11 pm and the closure of some beaches in the southeast at the start of the southern hemisphere summer.</p>.<p>"Today we have breached the ten thousand mark for new cases," Mkhize said. "Our daily cases are growing exponentially."</p>.<p>The worst-hit region is the Western Cape in the south, including the tourist destinations of Cape Town and the country's wine country, which had almost one-third of the 10,008 new cases.</p>.<p>Kwazulu-Natal in the southeast and the economic capital Johannesburg are the second and third worst hit.</p>.<p>"Our beaches are known for overcrowding during this time and people tend to be carefree," the minister said.</p>.<p>He urged holidaymakers who may be heading to those beaches that are open "to ensure that it does not become a day of regret where people get infected and lives are lost."</p>.<p>As of late Wednesday, the country of around 58 million people had recorded 23,827 deaths from 883,687 cases.</p>.<p>South Africa accounts for more than a third of the coronavirus cases reported across the African continent.</p>
<p>South Africa, the country worst-hit by the coronavirus on the continent, has registered more than 10,000 daily cases as infections surge at an exponential rate, the health minister said.</p>.<p>The Covid-19 positivity rate -- the proportion of tests that come back positive -- has topped 21 percent, far exceeding the "ideal" rate of 10 percent, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a Tweet late Wednesday.</p>.<p>South Africa reined in its first wave of the virus which occurred in July, when the new cases topped 12,000 daily.</p>.<p>Numbers then gradually came down, to below 1,000 in September.</p>.<p>On Monday, the figure had risen to around 8,000, prompting President Cyril Ramaphosa to announce new restrictions, in particular a curfew from 11 pm and the closure of some beaches in the southeast at the start of the southern hemisphere summer.</p>.<p>"Today we have breached the ten thousand mark for new cases," Mkhize said. "Our daily cases are growing exponentially."</p>.<p>The worst-hit region is the Western Cape in the south, including the tourist destinations of Cape Town and the country's wine country, which had almost one-third of the 10,008 new cases.</p>.<p>Kwazulu-Natal in the southeast and the economic capital Johannesburg are the second and third worst hit.</p>.<p>"Our beaches are known for overcrowding during this time and people tend to be carefree," the minister said.</p>.<p>He urged holidaymakers who may be heading to those beaches that are open "to ensure that it does not become a day of regret where people get infected and lives are lost."</p>.<p>As of late Wednesday, the country of around 58 million people had recorded 23,827 deaths from 883,687 cases.</p>.<p>South Africa accounts for more than a third of the coronavirus cases reported across the African continent.</p>