South Africa is equipping its hospitals for more admissions, as the Omicron coronavirus variant seems to have triggered a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the government would soon convene the National Coronavirus Command Council to review the state of the pandemic and decide whether further measures are needed to keep people safe. The country’s ​​total new cases have spiked to 16,055  on Monday  representing a 24.3 percent test-positivity rate. A further 25 COVID19 related deaths have also been reported in the country on Monday.