A new variant of the Covid-19 virus is leading a major resurgence of the disease in South Africa, with experts warning that the country appears to be facing a larger second wave.
Over the summer, the pandemic hit South Africa harder than any African country. Hospitals were horrific and at its peak, authorities were registering more than 13,000 new cases every day.
Now a new version of the virus – known as 501.V2 – is driving a powerful second wave, making up about 80 to 90 percent of new cases in Africa ‘s most industrialized country.
The strain is different from Britain but appears to be in the sense that it spreads much faster than the original virus.
“It is still very early days, but at this stage the initial data suggests that the virus that is now gaining the upper hand in the second wave is spreading faster than the first wave, “Professor Salim Abdool Karim, chairman of the government ‘s Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid – 19, said.
South Africa could see “many more cases” in the new wave than it experienced in the first outbreak of the disease, warns Dr Karim, adding that nasal swabs were taken from patients with the new variant, significantly more viral loads were available in the samples.
“I will just estimate the following: the higher… viral load in these swabs could translate into higher transmission efficiency,” he said.
The new South African variant was discovered to Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape, the first major urban area to hit the second wave in the country. South Africa has recorded about 950,000 cases of the virus since the outbreak began and about 25,000 deaths. Now the nation of the rainbow, tired and beaten from locked locks, sees around 10,000 new cases every day.
It “strongly suggests” that the current wave of issues is being driven by the new variant, South African health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize warned his citizens on Friday .
Dr Mkhize criticized young participants and called on parents, carers and young people “to realize that this is no longer just a matter of thinking about others, but that you are now at risk. died from Covid-19. ”
Dr Mkhize said clinicians had provided “documentary evidence” that “a greater proportion of younger patients who did not have co-infections present with acute illness”.
However, other experts say it is too early to tell whether the new strain was more lethal. Dr Karim said it was not yet clear whether the new variant was causing more deaths.
“We do not yet have sufficient data on this to determine whether the new strain could be more infectious for children and young adults,” Dr John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa told him the Telegraph.
Germany, Switzerland, Israel, Sudan, Mauritius, Turkey and El Salvador have banned inbound flights from South Africa.
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