Chairperson of the South African Medical Association, Dr. Angelique Coetzee, says South Africans should take extra precautionary measures as COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly amid the second wave – which is driven by the new coronavirus variant.
The variant appears to be spreading quickly during the second wave of the coronavirus, with higher viral loads than the original virus.
Dr. Coetzee says those who fail to be safe might be a victim of the new variant, which she compares to a black sheep of the family.
“You have to be careful now, you need to make sure that you keep the doors locked, it still needs a warm body but the mask, the social distancing, good ventilation, and sanitising is still the way to catch this black sheep. Please keep on doing these four things because if you don’t this black sheep is going to cause havoc in this family and might be a victim of this.”
In the video below, Dr. Coetzee gives more details:
Health experts have encouraged people to embrace the COVID-19 vaccine expected to be rolled out in the country in the second quarter of next year.
Speaking during a panel discussion briefing hosted by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, the Ministerial Advisory Committee’s Professor Salim Abdool Karim says at this stage it’s not yet clear if the already developed vaccines for the coronavirus will be effective on the new variant of COVID-19.
“We have several vaccine trials that are currently under way in South Africa including for example the J&J vaccines. So, we will have a direct clinical trial evidence as well as laboratory evidence about the impact of this virus on whether our current vaccines are effective or not which I would expect them to be.”
Karim says the second wave in the Western Cape is much more than the first wave.
Notes from the briefing:
Full briefing below:
