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Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize says South Africa has reported fewer coronavirus cases than expected as it moved to a level 1 lockdown, but warns that the country could still face a second spike in cases.
Mkhize said South Africa is “likely” to follow other countries in experiencing a second wave. He said other countries, which had contained their respective infection rates, faced a second spike after opening up for travel.
He cited the United States, which after a plateau in cases, saw a second wave that surpassed the first reported wave.
This led South Africa to realize that there is no reason why we should free ourselves from a second wave, Mkhize said.
“The development of the pandemic is not the same in all countries. One of the problems we’ve been struggling with is ‘what made (South Africa) get the wave that it actually had?’ “, He said.
He said previous government predictions and models showed a much higher rate of expected cases and deaths for the country than experienced.
“We cannot explain why we did not reach those numbers. But what we’ve been able to see is that some of the very limited studies have indicated that what we have as reported positive cases is less than the numbers we have on the ground. “
He cited data from the Western Cape and Gauteng showing a much higher than expected antibody response, up to 40% in some communities, indicating that more South Africans may have been exposed to the coronavirus than was initially reported.
“While this is not an indication of the prevalence of infection within these communities, it does show that there are still things we do not understand,” Mkhize said.
He added that 60% of people who did not have antibodies are still at risk. “So the issue of a second wave is something that we cannot rule out,” he said.
Mkhize’s comments come after he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday.
“I was feeling abnormally exhausted and as the day progressed, I began to lose my appetite. My wife had a cough, she was dizzy and extremely exhausted. Given his symptoms, the doctors advised him to enter for observation and rehydration, ”said the Minister of Health.
“Our close contacts in the last week have been some of our relatives and some of my team from the Ministry of Health. We inform them and advise them to isolate themselves immediately in their homes and take the test ”.
The Health Minister said he and his wife remain optimistic that they will make a full recovery from the virus.
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