President Cyril Ramaphosa has said South Africa is preparing its hospitals for more admissions as the Omicron variant pushes the country into a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections, Reuters reports.

Ramaphosa said in a weekly newsletter that Omicron appeared to be dominating new infections in most provinces and urged more people to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

"We will soon be convening a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council to review the state of the pandemic. This will enable us to take whatever further measures are needed to keep people safe and healthy," he added.