South Africa’s Omicron cases set to hit 10k a day

SOUTH Africa’s Covid cases are expected to top 10,000 per day by the end of this week due to the super strain Omicron, a leading epidemiologist has said.

It would be a sign that the nation has seen an increase in cases of 9.900% in three weeks. This instills fear in the rest of world.

Covid cases over the past two weeks in South Africa. One of the countries epidemiologists, Dr Salim Abdool Karim, says he expects cases to reach 10,000 by the end of this week

2

Covid cases have increased in South Africa in the last two weeks. Salim Abdool Karaim, one of South Africa’s epidemiologists, said that he anticipates that the number of cases will reach 10,000 by the week’s end.
Dr Salim Abdool Karim

2

Dr Salim Abdool KaraimCredit: twas.org

Officials are trying to stop Omicron seeding in other countries, using border closures and quarantine rules.

It has been found in more than a dozen countries. Nine cases have been reported in the UK.

This variant spreads faster than Delta, which is the dominant strain worldwide.

It could also be able to evade immunity, making it more susceptible to infection.

The Omicron epicentre in South Africa has seen cases rise severalfold since the alarm about a new, deeply concerning variant was raised.

On Saturday, there were 3,220 cases and Sunday saw 2,858 cases.

Worldometer reports that only 137 cases of cancer were reported in the nation on November 15, just two weeks ago.

They could reach 100 times more by Sunday, according to Dr Salim Abdul Karim, an infectious diseases and public health specialist from South Africa, at an online press conference of the Ministry of Health.

“We can expect that higher transmissibility is likely and so we are going to get more cases quickly,”He stated.

“I am expecting we will top over 10,000 cases by the end of the week per day (and) pressure on hospitals within the next two, three weeks.”

The Omicron variant already makes up the majority of cases in some South Africa provinces – such as 90 per cent in Gauteng, the nation’s most populous province and the epicentre of the new outbreak.

Health chiefs believe that the strain could have been fueling thousands of cases each day.

According to official statistics, hospital admissions have increased more than twice in Gauteng over the past month.

Experts say that the variant is not causing more severe diseases at this stage.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla said there was “absolutely no need to panic”.

“We have been here before,”He spoke of the Beta variant that was discovered in South Africa last Dec.

Although the country’s outbreak is projected to worsen severely in the coming days, it’s not clear how Omicron will behave in other nations.

Each country has its own unique characteristics “epidemiological picture”Based on its vaccination rates, natural immunity levels, age demographics, and many other factors.

In South Africa, only a quarter of people are double vaccinated compared with the UK’s 80 per cent, where millions of people have also had a booster dose.

While vaccines will offer a huge barrier against Omicron, the concern is that its mutations will allow it to weaken the jab’s efficacy.

Experts believe it is. “almost certain”It may be able to evade immunity in certain circumstances. This could have an impact on hospitalisation rates.

In the next few days, we will be seeing an increase in cases infected by the Omicron variant. [in the UK]

Prof Lawrence YoungUniversity of Warwick

It comes as the UK’s cases of Omicron have risen to nine, with six cases reported by Scotland this morning.

Dr Shaun Fitzgerald is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Prof, University of Cambridge. “it means that transmission here in the UK is happening”.

Prof Lawrence Young, Virologist and Professor of Molecular Oncology, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, said: “We will see increasing numbers of cases infected with the Omicron variant over the coming days.

“Once a variant is identified, particularly one that is likely to be more infectious, it will have spread far beyond the few original cases and countries.

“That’s the nature of infectious disease in a world where international travel is so common.”

The UK currently has around 42,000 people per day. Nearly all of these are caused by Delta.

The week before, the total number of cases (305,656) was up 6.4%.

However, due to the repeated ups and downs over the past several weeks, the rate is generally stable, England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty said on Saturday.

He stated that it was at the Downing Street press conference. “inevitable”The Omicron variant will be spread around the world in the coming days.

While it is clear Omicron is highly transmissible, it is not yet clear how effective the vaccine will be as protection against it – but Prof Whitty said those who are vaccinated or receive the booster jab will be less likely to become seriously ill.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the country’s chief scientific advisor, stated that it needs to “face up”The variant could be an option “major issue”If the virus is highly transmissible and escapes immunity

Some experts have compared it to South Africa’s Beta variant, which in late 2020 saw its vaccine efficacy decrease by 30 to 40%.

Dr Angelique Coetzee describes how symptoms are different between ​covid ​variants

We pay for stories!

Do you have a story to submit for the Central Recorder news desk

Latest News

Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here