South Africa extends tight COVID-19 restrictions for another 14 days

FILE PHOTO: A person crosses the street during sunset, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Soweto, South Africa, April 1, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa extended tight COVID-19 rules on Sunday for another 14 days, maintaining restrictions that include a ban on gatherings, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and a prohibition on the sale of alcohol.

The country, the worst-hit on the African continent in terms of recorded cases and deaths, is in the grip of a third wave of infections driven by the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant.