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South African health officials say the country’s new wave of COVID-19 is driven by a new variant of the coronavirus. But they say that if there is a general message about the new variant, it is this: do not panic.
In recent days, South Africa has experienced a strong second wave, with the government documenting around 9,000 new cases per day. That leaves the nation, the epicenter of the virus in Africa, with nearly 350,000 confirmed cases since March and nearly 25,000 deaths.
Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize said epidemiologists expect to see a further increase as many South Africans return to work in January after a month-long summer vacation. However, he said a change in strategy is not necessary.
“There is no need to panic, think that there is a new treatment that we are going to need, or at this point ask the question of whether any of the treatments that have been used are going to be effective or not.” he said in a virtual briefing on Friday. “At the moment, it has been effective even before we knew there was a variant. So we want to keep that as a matter of reassurance for the public, ”he said.
The president of the South African Medical Association, Dr. Angelique Coetzee, said doctors have noticed an “important” difference from the variant.
“Where in the past younger people were not really that sick, now we are seeing that people, especially overweight people, around the age of 20-30, are also in the ICU with severe inflammation from this virus, ”he said.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said on Monday that the new variant is no stronger than the original.
“In recent days, there have been reports of new variants in South Africa and the UK,” he said. “Viruses mutate over time; that is natural and expected. The UK has reported that this new variant is more easily transmitted, but so far there is no evidence that it is more likely to cause serious illness or mortality, ”he said.
The chairman of South Africa’s advisory committee on the coronavirus, Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, said on Friday that the country’s main sequencing laboratory found this new strain in about 90 percent of new cases. This, he emphasized, is typical of viruses: they generally evolve to become more transmissible, but also less severe.
He said the second wave so far shows signs that it is spreading faster than the first wave. But is it stronger and more deadly? So far, he said, there are no signs of that.
He also noted that experts are studying whether the new vaccines will work in the new variant. So far, he said, the data is inconclusive. On Tuesday, the health department announced that the government had made an initial payment of $ 19 million to the international vaccine alliance. Those funds will go toward providing 6 million doses, covering about 10 percent of the population.
Karim stressed that the best strategy is to give the virus no quarter and starve it until it submits.
“The current diagnoses are still effective,” he said. “Our current strategies of social distancing, hand hygiene, symptom control, use of masks, all remain the basic strategies of prevention of this virus.”
Professor Richard Lessells, from the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform in Durban, is one of the scientists who identified the new variant.
“It is very unlikely that you have different clinical symptoms. There is no reason to believe that and that would not fit our understanding. But one of our concerns is whether there could be a difference in disease progression and a more aggressive disease course, “he said.
The National Institute of Communicable Diseases of South Africa has posted a list of frequently asked questions about the new variant on its website, www.NICD.ac.za.
In the meantime, here’s what it’s all about: wash your hands. Keep your distance from others. Stay home, if you can. Essentially, treat this new strain in the same way as the old one, stay calm and carry on.
Credit: Voice of America (VOA)
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