[ad_1]
By IOL Reporter 
5h ago
Cape Town – The cumulative number of detected cases related to Covid-19 stands at 717,851, with 1,092 new cases identified since the last report, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday.
A total of 891 new cases of Covid-19 were identified yesterday, with 40 more deaths.
Mkhize said there were 45 more Covid-19-related deaths: 10 in the Eastern Cape, 4 in Gauteng, 12 in the Free State, 5 in KwaZulu-Natal, 3 in Mpumalanga and 11 in the Western Cape.
This brings the total number of deaths to 19,053. The number of recoveries is now 647,833, which translates into a 90% recovery rate.
The cumulative number of tests performed to date is 4,726,875, with 17,472 new tests performed since the last report.
If South Africa is heading for a second wave of coronavirus infections, it could hit rural areas harder, the group of scientists has suggested.
“A resurgence in settings where there was a high force of infection during the first wave is likely to be of a lesser magnitude than that experienced with the first wave,” said the group, which includes some of the most eminent experts in infectious diseases and health in SA.
“By contrast, communities with low rates of infection in the first wave may be disproportionately affected during a Covid-19 resurgence.”
Meanwhile, some people are at increased risk for severe Covid-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. According to a recent study, the production of autoreactive antibodies may explain why this happens.
The study, which was published on the medRxiv preprint server, explains that instead of targeting disease-causing microbes, these immune proteins, called autoantibodies, target the tissues of patients suffering from severe Covid-19.
Harvard Health explains that autoantibodies attack several different parts of the body, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage in the joints, skin, kidney, nervous system (brain and spinal cord), blood and heart, among others.
Furthermore, they can also stick to chemicals in the body and form abnormal molecules (known as “immune complexes”) that trigger additional inflammation when deposited in the body’s organs and tissues.
Antibodies to the new coronavirus declined rapidly in the British population over the summer, a study found Tuesday, suggesting that protection after infection may not be long-lasting and increases the possibility of waning immunity in the community.
Scientists at Imperial College London have tracked antibody levels in the British population following the first wave of Covid-19 infections in March and April.
Their study found that the prevalence of antibodies dropped by a quarter, from 6% of the population in late June to just 4.4% in September.
European governments prepared on Tuesday to introduce new restrictions to try to curb a growing increase in coronavirus infections and provide an inexpensive balm to help companies survive the pandemic.
More than 43.4 million people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide and 1,158,056 have died, according to a Reuters tally, with the United States leading the number of infections and deaths.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Italy to express their anger at the latest round of restrictions, including the early closure of bars and restaurants, and demonstrations in some cities turned violent.
In Milan, the financial capital, young people threw gasoline bombs at the police, who responded by firing tear gas. In nearby Turin, the windows of luxury shops were smashed and some were looted, leading to the arrest of 10 rioters.
The Australian state of Victoria, the epicenter of Covid-19 infections, said on Tuesday it had gone 48 hours without detecting any new cases for the first time in more than seven months.
Victoria, the second most populous state, will allow Melbourne’s restaurants and cafes to reopen from Wednesday after more than three months under a strict lockdown.
MESS
[ad_2]
