Mkhize unsure about possibility of COVID-19 third wave

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says it is not clear if there could be a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Mkhize has urged people to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations to avoid the surge of the pandemic.

He says for now, there is no indication whether there could be a third wave of the resurgence.

Mkhize was speaking in Modimolle, Limpopo, where he conducted an oversight visit to various healthcare facilities.

He says, “You know what we have learned from the first surge is that firstly, you can have a flare-up of COVID-19 that you may not necessarily predict and you cannot necessarily predict the size of the surge unless we take precautions. It’s possible that it can come back anytime. We don’t have a prediction that says there’s a third wave coming, we have nothing to say it cannot come. I think what’s important is to send the message that unless we take precautions, we can defer the resurgence again.”

Below is Mkhize’s address in Limpopo:

Patients

Last week, the Limpopo Provincial Command Council said the admission of patients with coronavirus had increased in the past few weeks at both public and private sector hospitals.

The province has over 10 000 active cases. The council says just above 6 000 patients are admitted in public hospitals, while the private hospitals are full.

In the video below, Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba says Limpopo has seen a significant increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases:

COVID19-related complications

About 566 more people have succumbed to COVID19-related complications in South Africa with an additional 12 710 new infections recorded in the last reporting period.

This brings the cumulative totals since the pandemic began to 1 369 426 infections and 38 854 fatalities.

Of the latest deaths, KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest figure with 218. The Western and Eastern Cape recorded 104 more fatalities respectively.

The recovery rate is at 84.7%.  62 000 tests were conducted in the last testing cycle translating to a positivity rate of 20.5%.

INFOGRAPHIC: COVID-19 statistics in South Africa