"The pandemic in our country is now at its most devastating," president Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday.

"As the country returns to work after the festive break, it is essential that all places of work ensure that they continue to have safety protocols in place and that these are rigorously adhered to."

South Africa had gone into a nationwide lockdown in March last year to stem the spread of COVID-19, with the country's mining industry taking months to recover.

The sector had put COVID-19 mitigation measures in place and binding regulations were implemented in May, after legal action to protect workers by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union.

Since New Year's Day, South Africa has recorded nearly 190,000 new coronavirus infections and more than 4,600 COVID-19 deaths, Ramaphosa said.

More than 15,000 new cases and 416 deaths were reported yesterday, taking the cumulative totals to 1,246,643 and 33,579 respectively.

In the mining sector, the cumulative number of positive cases has reached 21,627, according to figures released by the Minerals Council South Africa yesterday.

The number of active cases jumped to 981, up from the 678 in the council's Friday update.

The industry's death toll from the pandemic had reached 200 just before Christmas and rose from 211 on Friday to 215 yesterday.

South Africa has the 16th highest number of cases, with the global tally at more than 90.7 million according to Johns Hopkins University today.