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JOHANNESBURG – Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says his department is awaiting validation of some promising antibody tests for COVID-19.
Mkhize says there are several concerns and problems when it comes to antibody testing.
READ: Makhura: COVID-19 now in municipalities
“Antibody tests have their own problems and therefore must be handled with care. First of all, if someone is testing positive for the antibodies, you cannot tell if they are actively infectious at the time, all that can be done. to say is I haven’t been exposed
So whether that person needs to be isolated or released into the community, they need to do more testing on it, so therefore they need to balance the two, “Mkhize said.
Mkhize says some tests have been evaluated and will go through a validation process before making a decision.
READ: Increase in local COVID-19 cases, death toll
“We have evaluated about 50 tests, which come from different companies around the world and of them, many of them did not meet the standard.
We have some that have been evaluated and once the paperwork is done, we need to make sure that the validation process allows us to use them. “
Cape Town, Johannesburg, eThekwini and Nelson Mandela Bay are some of the critical points of the Ministry of Health.
READ: Decrease in the number of active COVID-19 cases in Gauteng: Makhura
Mkhize says the department is looking at the Cape Town area more closely as it presents the biggest concerns.
He says strict restrictions still need to be implemented in the hotspot areas.
The number of confirmed infections in South Africa has increased to 12,739.
