South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday confirmed his intention to launch "vaccination passports" against coronavirus, despite widespread skepticism about vaccines in the country.

After delays in the procurement of vaccines and repeated postponements of vaccinations, the country most affected by the virus in Africa is currently experiencing a low rate of vaccination uptake, especially among men.

Ramaphosa stressed in a televised speech that vaccinating the adult population is the way to fully reopen the economy and avoid a fourth wave of the Corona virus.

In two weeks, he said, "we will provide more information about the 'passport-to-vaccine' approach that can be used as proof of vaccination."

He added that "the continuous decrease in injuries (...) during the past few weeks" will allow the easing of the closure procedures from Monday, so that the period of the night curfew will be shortened to start at 23:00 instead of ten.

The country will also ease restrictions on the sale of alcoholic beverages, but masks will remain mandatory in public places.

Ramaphosa said South Africa has passed the peak of a third wave of infections caused by the Delta mutant.

He added that the average number of new daily infections decreased by 29 percent during the past seven days compared to the previous week, and 48 percent less than the previous week.

"Our most urgent task is to vaccinate our population," he stressed, noting that the supply of vaccines "no longer constitutes an obstacle."

So far, more than seven million people in South Africa have been fully vaccinated. More than a quarter of adults have been vaccinated with at least one dose.

The country aims to vaccinate 40 million South Africans, about two-thirds of the population, by next March.

In total, South Africa has recorded more than 2.8 million cases of coronavirus, including 84,877 deaths.