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By Staff Reporter 
1 hour ago
POST REPORTERS
Durban: THE new strain of the Covid-19 virus, called variant 501.V2, is spreading rapidly with younger people testing positive too.
General practitioners in Durban that the POST spoke with said they were inundated with patients who had symptoms of the virus.
Some of those who tested positive in recent days also tested positive earlier this year.
Dr. Lazarus Jakes of Chatsworth said: “The second wave is undoubtedly worse. I have patients who tested positive in March and recovered who are testing positive again. They are the same symptoms, but the virus transfers faster. Before, children were safe, but now more children test positive. My youngest patient was six months old, whose parents had also tested positive.
“I am getting positive results every day in my practice. My friends and colleagues in hospitals and private facilities have told me that they are overwhelmed. If there are five beds and 20 patients, how do you choose who has a bed and who does not?”
Jakes said that while some patients had respiratory symptoms, others had body aches or were asymptomatic.
“It’s hard to say exactly what the symptoms are because everyone has different symptoms. It is better to follow the advice of Dr. Zweli Mkhize, the Minister of Health, and stay home. I think another strict lock is needed to stop the spread. “
Dr. MR Noorbhai, who has a practice in Chatsworth, said that 70% of his daily appointments were related to Covid.
“Of that 70%, around 30% of them test positive. Of the remaining 40%, some of the test results are initially false negatives, but a few days later, the same patients experience symptoms of Covid. “
He said some patients were not tested for the virus because they couldn’t afford the R800 it costs to test. They choose to medicate at home and isolate themselves. Noorbhai said this could mean that the number of covid patients is actually higher.
He said he was now seeing a greater number of teenagers, especially those between 15 and 19, testing positive.
Dr Aadil Khan, in Overport, said he had 65 new positive cases in the last two weeks.
“About 90% of patients have flu-like symptoms and request a referral for Covid-19 testing. On average, I see about 25 patients a day, 20 of whom have flu-like symptoms. Of the 20, about 15 patients test positive. “
Khan said he had encountered patients who had tested positive during lockdown level 5 and now they have tested positive again. He said that the elderly and people with comorbidities took longer to recover.
Dr. Sunil Rupnarain of Phoenix said: “The infection rate is out of control. Our local hospitals are overloaded and because of this severely ill patients cannot get beds. In my practice, I see about 20 patients daily experiencing flu-like symptoms. “
He said that about 60% of these patients tested positive for the virus.
“Younger people are at higher risk. They are more cheeky when going out and not cautious. They think that because of their age, they will recover. However, the second strain is making people of all ages sick. Even after 14 One-day recovery period, people still have shortness of breath. “
Dr. Rakesh Goordeen, who also practices in Phoenix, said: “Respiratory symptoms come on earlier and are more severe. Demand for tests has increased significantly and both test wait times and results have increased.
“Patients queue from 6 am to testing centers. Home care is the new norm as hospitals, both in the public and private sectors, classify patients who require treatment.”
“Phoenix has been identified as a hotspot, and the community needs to be aware of this. Doctors cannot fight the virus alone.”
Dr Kirona Hansraj, a GP at the Parlock Health Care Center, which is a testing center for Covid-19, said between 70 and 80 patients were testing positive every day.
“There is definitely an increase compared to the beginning of the confinement. People who take the test at the right time and receive the corresponding treatment are responding well. However, the symptoms are relatively worse this time. More people are developing pneumonia.”
Dr. Mark Banzat, who practices in Port Shepstone, said he noted that patients were in denial and chose not to test for the virus.
“Several people have tested positive, but some patients are anxious and fearful to get tested. I’m not sure if it’s because of the stigma or fear of having Covid, but they choose not to test. We advise people that it is better to test, but sometimes they stay home and isolate themselves. “
Dr Indiran Govender from KwaDukuza said: “During the first wave, patients only showed severe symptoms after three days of contracting the virus, but now, symptoms show in one day. I had patients who went to bed feeling normal but woke up the next morning unable to breathe properly or with loss of smell. Previously, when a single person in the household contracted the virus, they only infected one or two people, but now, in the second wave, we are seeing the whole family tested positive. “
Govender said he saw three to six infected patients a day. “It’s a great risk. Even my health worries me.”
An Umzinto doctor, who declined to be named, said there were between 60 and 70 positive cases of Covid-19 a day.
“It’s a big change from the onset of the lockdown when I was seeing an average of 30 to 40 Covid-19 patients at a time. I have also noticed that if patients arrive early when they experience the first signs of the virus, they often improve faster. It is those who begin to develop difficulty breathing, when their oxygen concentration is below 80%, before going to the doctor, who often lose their lives. “
He said it was for people to take the test as soon as they experienced symptoms like fever, loss of taste or smell.
A Pietermaritzburg doctor, who also declined to be named and who consults in public and private hospitals, said: “As soon as the blockade was eased and people were allowed to move, there was an increase in positive cases. As a result, we are currently flooded because hospital beds and ICUs are full. On an average day, we have between 20 and 30 patients who come with concerns related to Covid, and of them, we get between 5 and 10% of positive cases. “
He said that while the new Covid-19 variant affected young people, they have also experienced an influx of elderly people who tested positive.
“Basically everyone is affected. However, because older people are more likely to have comorbidities, we prioritize them. We give younger people medication and tell them to come back if they don’t feel better after 24 hours. But we advise them to quarantine themselves immediately. “
He said the sooner a patient saw a healthcare professional, the sooner symptoms could be treated.
The Discovery Health medical program has identified Port Shepstone, Mapumulo, Lower Tugela, Chatsworth, Inanda, Durban, Pinetown, Umzinto, Lions River, Umlazi and New Hanover as hotspots in KwaZulu-Natal.
Last week, Dr Zweli Mkhize, the health minister, said that South Africa was experiencing a new variant of the coronavirus – the 501.V2 variant that was driving the second wave of infections.
It was identified by genomic scientists in the country. Mkhize said the genomics team, led by the Kwazulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), had sequenced hundreds of samples from across the country since the start of the pandemic in March.
He said they noticed that one particular variant had increasingly dominated the findings from samples collected in the past two months.
“In addition, clinicians have provided anecdotal evidence of a change in the epidemiological clinical picture, in particular noting that they are seeing a higher proportion of younger patients without comorbidities who present with critical illness.
“The evidence that has been collected, therefore, strongly suggests that the current second wave that we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant.”
Mkhize said some of the troubling issues were that they didn’t expect the second wave to emerge as soon as it did.
“The second wave has arrived during the holiday season. The complacency has begun and people have grown weary of adhering to non-pharmaceutical interventions. However, it is important to reiterate that while this mutation is cause for concern, there is no reason to panic. “
He added that many countries experienced a second wave that was more severe than the first, even when no mutations were reported.
Sihle Zikalala, the Prime Minister of KwaZulu-Natal, said: “This is a stark reminder that Covid-19 is not on vacation. In fact, it is back in force. Traditionally, by now, we’d be in a full celebratory mood, ready to bond with our families. But this year’s festive season feels different than what we were used to.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives, and the important new habits we have formed should shape our behavior during the holiday season. Celebrating life and protecting the lives of those around us will be a great gift we can give each other this holiday season. “
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