Author: Staff Writer

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) will be meeting to take stock of the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

This as new COVID-19 cases surged by nearly five-fold over the past weeks alone – rising from a positivity rate of about 2% to about 25%.

“We will soon be convening a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council to review the state of the pandemic. This will enable us to take whatever further measures are needed to keep people safe and healthy,” the President said in his weekly newsletter on Monday.

The President said although the steep rise in infections is a concern, the surge and the emergence of new variants like Omicron were to be expected.

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As we enter the fourth wave, and as the country gears up for the festive season, the urgent priority is for more people to get vaccinated. Scientific evidence shows that vaccination is the most effective means of preventing the spread of new infections. https://t.co/xTifscW7es pic.twitter.com/fLxMmID1zI

— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) December 6, 2021

Photo: GCIS

As the country heads into a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, we are experiencing a rate of infections that we have not seen since the pandemic started, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated in his latest newsletter.

The Omicron variant that was brought to global attention by South African scientists nearly two weeks ago appears to be dominating new infections in most provinces.

Over the last week, the number of daily infections has increased five-fold. Nearly a quarter of all COVID-19 tests now come back positive. Compare this to two weeks ago, when the proportion of positive tests was sitting at around 2%.

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Photo: Flickr / GCIS

South Africa’s COVID-19 cases continue to soar, with over 11 000 new cases reported in the past 24 hours. The country has reported 11 125 new COVID-19 cases.

This means there are now 3 031 694 confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak.

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Photo: Unsplash

Those who have had COVID-19 may be reinfected more easily with the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, currently spreading across the world.

According to preliminary analysis by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), scientists are noting a high rate of reinfections during the current resurgence compared to the previous waves.

“Now we’re seeing an increase for Omicron and that speaks to the fact that in our population with a high seroprevalence, where many people have had the previous infection. We believe that previous infection does not provide them protection from infection due to Omicron,” said Professor Anne von Gottberg.

Von Gottberg, who is a Clinical Microbiologist at the NICD’s Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, was a panellist at a press conference on Omicron and the vaccine rollout in Africa.

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Photo: Flickr / GCIS

A ttotal of 51,977 Covid-19 tests were done in the last 24 hours, with 8,561 new cases, representing a positivity rate of 16.5%.

72% of these cases came from Gauteng.

South Africa reported 4 373 coronavirus cases yesterday, which means that the number of daily cases has increased by 96% in the past 24 hours.

#COVID19 UPDATE: A total of 51,977 tests were conducted in the last 24hrs, with 8,561 new cases, which represents a 16.5% positivity rate. A further 28 #COVID19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89,871 to date. See more here: https://t.co/X0vY4ETj4i pic.twitter.com/NgjtzIOcW5

— NICD (@nicd_sa) December 1, 2021

The Omikron variant has already been reported in five provinces across the country.

Experts estimate that by the end of the week, South Africa will record more than 10,000 new cases a day, with President Cyril Ramaphosa possibly speaking to citizens on Sunday night.

AfriNuus reported on 14 September that Salim Abdool Karim, epidemiologist, predicts that the fourth wave could last from 2 December this year to 15 February 2022 (75 days).

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Photo: NICD