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The country’s new Covid-19 variant has met with mixed reactions from many, with some calling it “a special variant.”
On Friday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and a panel of scientists announced that the new variant was causing a second wave of infections.
Mkhize said the SARS-COV-2 virus variant, or 501. Variant V2, was identified by SA genomics scientists.
He said the new variant was first found in Nelson Mandela Bay and was “seriously making young and previously healthy people seriously ill.”
“We don’t know where it came from and we don’t know why it was formed. We found the first one in Nelson Mandela Bay, but we don’t know if it originated there. It’s too early to tell if it’s more serious, ”Mkhize said.
“Doctors have been providing anecdotal evidence of a change in the clinical-epidemiological 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 strongly suggests that the second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant.”
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