Gauteng’s Covid-19 infection rate said to be doubling

Pretoria – By yesterday afternoon the province had recorded more than 4 000 active Covid-19 cases, and infection numbers were said to be doubling.

Professor Adrian Puren from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said this could be a sign of a possible third wave.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health confirmed that the variant dominant in India has been detected in South Africa, after some people living in South Africa tested positive for the variant.

A further 11 people tested positive for the deadly variant first detected in the UK.

Of the four people who tested positive for the Indian variant, two are in Gauteng and the other two in KwaZulu-Natal, and they all have a history of recent arrival from India.

According to the Health Department, all the cases were isolated and were managed according to the national Covid-19 case management guidelines. Contact tracing was also being conducted.

Of the 11 people who tested positive for the variant first detected in the UK, eight were detected in Western Cape. Of those from the Western Cape, two have a history of travelling from Bahrain. From the 11, one person was from KZN and two were in Gauteng. However, according to Tshwane health MMC Sakkie du Plooy, there was no need to panic just yet. He said although Tshwane was expected to be a hot spot, this should not strike any panic in Tshwane, yet people need to remain alert and follow the restriction rules.

Du Plooy said he believed many of the cases were the result of illegal gatherings, which must be condemned. He lamented the level of complacency some people displayed towards the coronavirus.

“This applies more specially to the youth, who I’ve seen have been extremely complacent,” he said.

“Once the infection rate reaches 20% then there should be a cause to worry. But worry is not good, it’s like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but takes you nowhere,” he said.

Pretoria News