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It is too early to say whether Gauteng will soon overtake the Eastern Cape and Western Cape in Covid-19 infections as thousands of people return to the province, but a higher infection rate is expected, experts say.
Gauteng could soon become another super spreader province due to the December annual relocation with thousands of people returning from vacation.
With the holiday period coming to an end, at least 1,600 cars traveled per hour from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng over the weekend. Thousands more were returning from Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West, said the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).
The large influx of people from other areas, including hotspot provinces like the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, does not bode well for the province, said epidemiologist Professor Jo Barnes.
“That means they will introduce more infections. The annual relocation that will occur from rural areas [and other] the areas where people went to visit and return to their workplace will mean a greater number of cases for Gauteng.
“All the provinces that we call receiving provinces of the network, where there are more people entering than leaving, means that we will have an influx of infections. I hope there is a peak, ”he said.
Public health expert Professor Alex van den Heever said that due to restrictions on social gatherings, a ban on alcoholic beverages and a curfew, new infections in the province could remain stable as the main The culprits were the super spreader events, which were now banned.
“I don `t believe [infections] it will be affected by the movement of people from one province to another. It does not mean that infected people will not enter, but the risk they represent at the national level depends on how local conditions are organized.
“For example, if they go to a crowded place and infect other people at the same time.
“The most that would happen is to infect family members and if people go back to work, some work from home in many cases.
“Meetings are prohibited, and indeed the restrictions were directed at meetings, as those are the risk areas.”
Those traveling to the province could be tested for antigens at police roadblocks. Thabo Masebe of the Gauteng coronavirus command council said antigen tests would be performed at no cost to motorists.
“We are aware that the number of people who will contract Covid-19 in the province will increase, but as that happens we must be prepared and that is why we are increasing the tests so that we can help diagnose infections from the beginning so that those who are infected can take steps to isolate themselves, ”he said.
But Barnes said what might seem like a response to the pandemic could be a futile exercise that would not curb infections and instead cause major road congestion.
“Antigen testing is also delayed. It takes about three weeks or more after you have had the infection to turn into antibodies. [to be tested]… If the test is positive, [they] will send that person anyway. “
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