JOHANNESBURG: South Africa banned alcohol sales and made masks mandatory in public from Tuesday, tightening restrictions after a surge in coronavirus cases as more countries joined in mass vaccination campaigns to beat the pandemic.

Nations around the world are struggling with winter spikes in infections that have pushed the global caseload close to 81 million and killed more than 1.77 million, even as the rollout of vaccines gathers pace in North America and Europe.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a ban on selling alcohol and said face masks will be compulsory from Tuesday after his nation became the first in Africa to record one million cases. "We have let down our guard, and unfortunately we are now paying the price," said Ramaphosa, blaming "super-spreader" social events and an "extreme lack of vigilance over the holiday period" for the spike.

Highlighting the renewed virus spread, England's health officials warned the country was "back in the eye" of the coronavirus storm with as many patients in hospital as during the initial peak in April, and the new strain appearing to be causing the recent upsurge.

National Health Service England figures showed there were 20,426 Covid patients in the country's hospitals on Monday, compared to the 18,974 peak recorded during the first wave.

Across the globe governments are rushing to get vaccines out to try to avoid the kind of economically damaging lockdown restrictions put in place soon after the pandemic first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan a year ago.

Argentina and Belarus on Tuesday launch their vaccination campaigns, both using the Sputnik V shots developed by Russia. Other nations are rolling out campaigns with jabs made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, most inoculating vulnerable older residents, care workers and others most at risk.

South Korea, one of the nations hailed for its success during the first months of the pandemic, on Tuesday logged its highest daily death toll.