On 25 July 2021 the country was lowered to adjusted level 3. On 9 July 2021, sixteen months into the pandemic, doctors in Johannesburg described the system there as beyond its breaking point, with insufficient beds and barely enough oxygen. On 28 June 2021, the country was moved to adjusted level 4, with the Delta variant fast becoming the dominant strain in the country. On 15 June 2021 the country was moved to alert level 3. On the country was moved from adjusted level 1 to an adjusted alert level 2, due to a third wave of infections. On, local cases of variants of concern Delta (first detected in India, which has a higher transmissibility than the dominant strain, Beta) and Alpha were reported. On 17 February 2021, the national COVID-19 vaccination program was officially rolled out. The lockdown was lowered from an adjusted level 3 to an adjusted level 1 starting on 1 March 2021. The lockdown was tightened from an adjusted level 1 to an adjusted level 3 starting on 29 December 2020. In December 2020, the country experienced a second wave of COVID-19 infections. From 21 September 2020, restrictions were lowered to alert level 1. The restrictions were lowered to alert level 2 on 17 August 2020.

From 1 June, the national restrictions were lowered to level 3. Ramaphosa announced that from, a gradual and phased easing of the lockdown restrictions would begin, lowering the national alert level to 4. On 21 April, a 500 billion rand stimulus was announced in response to the pandemic.

The first local death from the disease was reported on 27 March 2020. On 23 March, a national lockdown was announced, starting on 27 March 2020. On 17 March, the National Coronavirus Command Council was established, 'to lead the nation's plan to contain the spread and mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus'.

On 15 March 2020, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster, and announced measures such as immediate travel restrictions and the closure of schools from 18 March. On 5 March 2020, Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize had confirmed the spread of the virus to South Africa, with the first known patient being a male citizen who tested positive upon his return from Italy. The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

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