South Africa in a new wave of COVID from omicron releases

“We are only at the beginning of this growth period, so I don’t want to call it a wave,” Nunez said. He said. “We are seeing a small, small increase in hospitalizations and very small deaths.”

New cases in South Africa have increased from an average of 300 per day in early April to nearly 8,000 per day this week. The actual number of new cases is likely much higher, Nunes said, as symptoms are mild and most of those who get sick are not tested.

The new wave in South Africa stems from two omicron variations BA.4 and BA.5, which were first detected in South Africa and Botswana last year and very similar to the original type of omicron first discovered time last year. spread all over the world.

“Most of the new cases come from these two strains. “They are still Omir … but they are genomically slightly different,” Nunes said. He said. It appears that newer versions may infect people with immunity to infections and early COVID vaccines, but they generally cause mild illness, he said. 45% of adults in South Africa are fully vaccinated, but about 85% of the population have some immunity due to past exposure to the virus.

“Vaccines still appear to protect against serious disease,” Nunes said.

Nunes said the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains have spread to other countries in South Africa and some European countries, but it’s still too early to tell whether they will spread around the world like Omicron did.

As South Africa enters the cold hemisphere during the cold winter months, an increase in COVID cases is coming and the country is seeing an increase in cases of the flu.

Many people come to the Covid Test Center in Soveto’s Chovelo neighborhood to get tested for Covid, but find they have the flu.

“We are now in flu season … so this is COVID-19 against flu,” said Magdalen Matsoso, site manager of the Chiavelo Vaccination Center. She says people come for tests because they have COVID symptoms.

“When we do the tests, we see that most of them are negative when it comes to COVID, but they have flu symptoms,” Matsoso said. He said. “So they get treated for the flu and then go home because most of it is about the flu, not the cold.”

Vuyo Lumkvani was one of those who came for the test.

“When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t feeling well. “I woke up with body aches, headaches, choking (nose), dizziness, so I decided to come here,” she said.

“I was scared because of my symptoms because I thought it might be COVID-19, but I told myself I’d be fine because I was vaccinated,” Lumkvan said. He said. He said he was diagnosed with the flu and advised to go home with some medicine and rest.

AP journalist Sebaccio Mosamo contributed to Johannesburg.