Kubayi-Ngubane, health experts warn Delta variant dominating infections in SA spreads faster

Cape Town – Acting Health Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane on Saturday, warned that the new Delta variant of Covid-19 was more transmissible and was spreading faster.

Kubayi-Ngubane, who was briefing the media on Saturday, also called on the people of Gauteng to respect Covid-19 restrictions.

Infections in the country continued to rise, with Gauteng recording over 60 percent of the daily cases in the last few days.

Health experts, Professors Tulio de Oliveira and Richard Lessells, said the delta variant – first detected in India in October 2020 – was spreading faster.

“The delta variant it is a variant that caused damage in India. It is dominating infections in South Africa,” De Oliveira said.

He said the variant was now dominating infections in South Africa.

“It is highly transmissible more than any other variant. When the transmissions are very fast, it will overwhelm our hospitals,” said De Oliveira.

Lessells also concurred that the delta variant was spreading faster than any other known variants.

“In terms of transmissibility – how this variant spreads from person-to-person – this variant is more transmissible than any other variant. It is a highly transmissible variant,” said Lessels.

However, Lessells and De Oliveira said a study conducted in the United Kingdom found that both AstraZeneca and Pfizer were effective against the variant if a person took double doses.

But if a person takes one dose of these vaccines, it was not effective against the variant.

The Delta variant was first detected in India and was now circulating widely in many countries.