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Johannesburg Mayor Geoff Makhubo died of Covid at the age of 53. It is “a stark reminder of the threat posed by this deadly pandemic, against which we are all extremely vulnerable,” said the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, expressing “the deepest condolences to family, friends, colleagues and comrades”.
Makhubo fell ill and tested positive for coronavirus last month, before vaccinations for people under 60 opened in the country. South Africa is in the midst of its third wave, which began in early June: last week there was an average of 300 deaths per day, about four times the rate recorded a month earlier.