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By Se-Anne Rall 
4h ago
Durban – The number of Covid-19 cases is expected to rise further on December 16, when factories and major industries close for the holiday season and more people travel back home.
This is according to Professor Salim Abdool Karim, who was the guest speaker at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Graduate Research and Innovation Symposium on Thursday.
Karim gave an overview of the country’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic thus far and elaborated further on what to expect in a post-coronavirus world.
In his speech, Karim said that when the country’s first Covid-19 case was confirmed in March, the government jumped into action, declared a state of disaster, and then imposed a restrictive blockade that effectively saw less movement of people and, at its turn, time, it slowed down. The transmission of the virus decreased, which initially went from doubling every two days to doubling every 15 days.
Karim said that delayed the country’s peak to July instead of previous predictions and cases seen on other continents like Europe.
He said that when the government eased restrictions, it was effectively to release “control.” However, while it was also an opportunity for communities to take control of their health, it had not been.
“This meant you have to control your own risk and be more careful and wear your mask. At level one, you have to take a lot more responsibility because you are not being controlled. Instead, the opposite happened. As the government eased the restrictions, people relaxed their own restrictions and this was a miscalculation that we found not only in South Africa but also in other parts of the world, “he said.
Karim said the Eastern Cape was experiencing a second wave, worse than the first.
She said recent data has shown that more women were contracting Covid-19 in the second wave. However, more men were dying from Covid-19-related diseases, which in itself was a phenomenon.
He said that for South Africa to consider herd immunity, at least 40 million people would have to be vaccinated, and that was a challenge.
Karim said that the “new normal” comprised compliance with protection measures, especially distancing, masks and hand hygiene, mitigating the risk of resurgence, especially preventing the spread through mass gatherings and controlling entry. of new viruses in travel.
His presentation follows an announcement by the Minister of Health, Dr. Zweli Mkhize, that the country was experiencing a second wave.
Most new cases come from the Western Cape (30%), followed by the Eastern Cape (24%), KwaZulu-Natal (23%) and Gauteng (17%). The Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and the Northwest each accounted for 1% of new cases, while the Northern Cape accounted for less than 1%.
MESS
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