Day: December 17, 2021

President Cyril Ramaphosa is continuing his recovery from mild symptoms of COVID-19 after testing positive for the virus on Sunday.

In a statement on Friday, The Presidency said President Ramaphosa is “comfortable and in good spirits” and called on South Africans to vaccinate and continue taking non-pharmaceutical measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

“The President again calls on all people in the country to make this festive period a safe period by being vaccinated, wearing masks, washing or sanitising hands frequently, maintaining a social distance and avoiding gatherings. This will help save lives, reduce the need for hospital admissions, allow businesses to remain open and enable people to work and earn an income.

“Risky or careless behaviour will endanger public health and economic activity, neither of which the country can afford during this important period for the retail and tourism sectors,” The Presidency said.

The President tested positive for the virus after addressing the State Memorial Service of Former Deputy President FW de Klerk in Cape Town.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, says COVID-19 infections during the fourth wave have exceeded the previous peaks reached in the previous resurgences.

According to the Minister, the fourth wave, driven by the Omicron variant, has continued to spread rapidly across South Africa and has already been detected in at least 76 countries globally.

“In our country, all nine provinces are essentially in the fourth wave, although the Northern Cape is technically just about to enter fully.”

While Gauteng remains the hardest-hit province, Phaahla said infections have risen rapidly in the coastal provinces and the rest of the country.

This, according to the Minister, has resulted in Gauteng accounting for 25% of new infections on Thursday, compared to between 70% and 80% of cases about 10 days ago.

Infections rise

Phaahla said the number of cases in the fourth wave has exceeded the peaks of the three waves, with a weekly average of new infections of more than 37 per 100 000 of the population.

This is compared to the peak of the third wave, which was about 33 per 100 000; the second wave 32 per 100 000 and the first wave 21 per 100 000.

“The positivity rate has also risen steeply across the country, with yesterday’s average of 31% positive,” the Minister said.

Meanwhile, Phaahla said eight provinces recorded a positivity rate of 30% and above, with only Gauteng below 30%, at 25%.

The latest data shows that in the last seven days, new cases have risen by 36.6%.

The Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and the Northern Cape have shown more than 100% increase in daily new cases compared to seven days earlier, which confirms a rapid increase nationwide.

As of Thursday, the country had 210 635 active cases, translating to a 10% increase in 24 hours.

“The good news is the recovery rate is at 91%,” the Minister said.

Hospital admissions

On the other hand, the country is now seeing a significant rise in hospital admissions.

“Over the last seven days, there has been a 70% rise in admissions, even though total admissions as of yesterday were still low at 7 614,” said Phaahla.

In comparison to the fourth wave, weekly average hospital admissions were significantly lower than the average weekly admissions in the third wave during the first two weeks of each wave.

“Although there is a rapid rise in hospitalisation, the majority are mild [cases],” said Phaahla.

Gauteng

Meanwhile, the Minister said Gauteng is on a downward trend in terms of infections and percentage of testing positive.

“Early indications suggest that the peak has been reached, but there is a rapid increase in the other provinces.”

He cautioned that the mildness of disease may not mean that the virus is less “virulent”, but due to the significant vaccine coverage of over 60s at 66% and over 50s at 61%, and the national adult coverage of 44%.

Severity of illness

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), there has been a decrease in patients who needed oxygen in the past few weeks.

“It’s been lower than it was in comparison with any of the previous waves,” said the NICD’s Dr Waasila Jassat.

In addition, she said fewer patients are relying on ventilation.

“In the last few weeks, a lower proportion of patients in both the public and private sectors have been admitted in critical care wards during their hospital stay.”

For the first time, Jassat also noted that there are more non-severe patients in hospital compared to the first three resurgences.

“The case fatality ratio increases in the peaks of each wave in both the public and the private sectors. In the last few weeks, it declined and has been lower than before.”

However, Jassat raised concerns about a very sharp rise in cases, which may lead to a rise in hospitalisations that may overwhelm the health system.

While children accounted for 35% of admissions in the early fourth wave, the doctor said that number has already started to decrease.

In addition, she said most admissions are among unvaccinated people.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Portfolio Committee on Transport Chairperson, Mosebenzi Zwane, has called on long-distance drivers and travellers to make use of vaccination sites that will be placed next to roadblocks.

This follows the announcement by the Department of Health on Thursday, that it intends to enhance vaccinations by using pop-up vaccination sites where there are roadblocks, among others.

Zwane said the committee supports this initiative as it could potentially play a dual role, as the drivers and their passengers will, while resting near the road also get vaccinated.

He said the committee noted all the road safety initiatives and said the increased visibility of law enforcement on the roads remains a priority.

He called on all road travellers to ensure that they observe all COVID-19 protocols as the speed with which the Omicron variant moves is very fast.

“Travellers ought to observe all protocols at all times and should regard themselves as potential carriers of this virus.”

He further wished all the road users a happy and safe festive season.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has urged people to take the COVID-19 jab in their numbers during the festive season after announcing that vaccination sites will remain open over the holiday period.

“We also call upon South Africans to celebrate this festive season with a lot of caution, especially with regard to alcohol consumption,” Phaahla said on Friday.

“Our health facilities are already under a lot of pressure with the COVID-19 as we indicated a 70% rise in admissions and we’re least ready to handle large numbers of casualties, from motor vehicle accidents and also interpersonal violence.”

He told the media that healthcare workers are physically and emotionally exhausted after nearly two years into the pandemic.

“So we plead to think of them as we celebrate this festive season,” he said.

“On behalf of the people of our country express our gratitude to all our health workers who continue to sacrifice their own lives and those of their families and their lives while caring for all of us.”

He said citizens should honour frontline workers by ensuring they celebrate the festive season responsibly and by getting the jab.

The Minister expressed dismay about the “drastic” decline in the uptake of vaccination, especially in the last seven to 10 days. “There was an uptick immediately after the announcement of the new variant, but the numbers have gone down quite drastically.”

On average, the department has been administering between 100 000 and 130 000 during midweek. According to Phaahla, this was a far cry from the target to reach at least over 250 000 people per day.

“We are well short of vaccine coverage for us to reach population immunity and protect the nation.”

He also warned that COVID-19 remains very active, as the number of new infections and hospitalisations continues to rise.

On Thursday, the country recorded over 24 000 new COVID-19 cases..

Once again, Phaahla said a reliable weapon against COVID-19 is the lifesaving jab.

“Many of us will be moving from places of work in the cities to our rural places and holiday destinations. We’ll be celebrating Christmas and New Year with relatives and friends who will be travelling for many hours in private cars, taxis, buses, trains and airplanes.”

He has called on holidaymakers to adhere to health and safety measures as they travel.

“Above all precautions, we should get our jab before we go on jolling and jab before you jive and ensure that we’re fully vaccinated.”

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, there is an increasing number of new daily infections and positivity rate in all provinces, except Gauteng.

NICD’s Head of Public Health Surveillance and Response, Dr Michelle Groome said Omicron was the dominant strain in November.

“There’s also an increase in hospitalisations in all provinces,” she said, adding that there has been a peak in deaths in all provinces but in the Northern Cape and Western Cape.

Regardless of the variant, Groome said vaccination, mask-wearing, social distancing and limiting large gatherings would curb the spread of the virus.

Source: South African Government News Agency