South Africa president in quarantine as virus cases rise

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has announced he has gone into quarantine after coming into contact with a dinner guest who has tested positive for COVID-19. Ramaphosa came into contact with a guest at a dinner of 35 people in Johannesburg last weekend, the president's spokesman said Wednesday.

The dinner was to raise funds to support South Africa's schools. Ramaphosa is not showing any symptoms and is working at home, the spokesman said. The guest who tested positive is getting medical care, he said. Ramaphosa learned of his possible exposure Tuesday night, after he had unveiled a statue at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International airport and later answered questions from parliament in an online briefing.

Ramaphosa's quarantine comes as South Africa is experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases. The 7-day rolling average of daily new cases in South Africa has risen over the past two weeks. South Africa reported 1,092 new infections and 48 further deaths in the last 24 hours. But the death rate has declined over the past fortnight.