South Africa, officially the country most affected on the continent by Covid-19 and which has been experiencing a lull in recent months, has entered a new wave of the pandemic, warned the Center for Innovation and Response to Epidemics ( CERI). “The 5th wave has arrived. Take care of yourself”, warned on Twitter the genomic research center led by virologist Tulio de Oliveira, who became famous for spotting the Beta and Omicron variants. The number of new infections in the past 24 hours is still up from the past few days, with 5,062 cases, 15 deaths and 83 hospitalizations, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
With a ratio of 6.3 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants and a positivity rate above 10% (16.9%), “based on previous waves, these are thresholds indicating a continued increase”Ridhwaan Suliman, a researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a government research institute, added on Twitter. The figures recorded in recent days are the highest in almost three months and up sharply from two weeks ago.
The 5th wave has arrived. Please look after yourselves! #COVID19 #CovidIsNotOver #StaySafeStayHealthy https://t.co/YM68jwxOHk
— Center for Epidemic Response & Innovation (CERI) (@ceri_news) April 26, 2022
In early March, the country experienced a 48-hour period without any deaths linked to Covid-19, a first since 2020. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in early April the lifting of all legal restrictions linked to the pandemic. The latest wave of the disease had resulted in more transmission of the virus but fewer severe cases. Biologist Tom Wenseleers is sounding the alarm. “The increase in new confirmed Covid cases in South Africa, driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, gives a good idea of what the endemic balance will look like: a significant surge every six months with significant mortality and morbidity”, he wrote on Twitter.
The BA.4 & BA.5 Omicron subvariant-driven increase of new confirmed Covid cases in South Africa gives a good idea of what the endemic equilibrium will look like: a significant wave every 6 months with significant mortality & morbidity. pic.twitter.com/I9jd5gMIPG
— Tom Wenseleers (@TWenseleers) April 25, 2022
South Africa, where less than 45% of the adult population is fully immunized out of a population of nearly 60 million people, has recorded more than 3.7 million cases and some 100,350 deaths.