After Early Success, South Africa Buckles Under Coronavirus Surge

By Gabriele Steinhauser and Aaisha Dadi Patel

JOHANNESBURG—Lauded in the early stages of the pandemic for taking decisive steps to limit Covid-19 infections, South Africa is now battling one of the world’s fastest-growing coronavirus outbreaks that is overpowering hospitals and has caused a dramatic increase in deaths.

Public schools, which partially reopened in early June, will close for four weeks starting Monday, as the country enters a peak-infection period that models suggest could stretch into September.

Africa’s most developed economy now has confirmed 434,200 cases of Covid-19, the fifth-highest toll in the world behind the more-populous U.S., Brazil, India and Russia.

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