A Senior Researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr Ridhwaan Suliman, says the scale of the coronavirus outbreak in South Africa has created a demand for more testing.
He says data suggests that there are a lot of undetected cases.
Suliman has also raised concern over a slight decline in the number of tests being conducted.
“The high test positivity rate, that’s another indication that we have a lot of undetected cases and we still need to ramp up. The testing is very useful and can be used as an important tool to get ahead of the curve to understand where the virus is spreading. Together, with quick turnaround times as well as efficient contact tracing and tracking, this can be a very useful tool to combat the virus. At this stage, we are using testing more as a diagnostic measure rather than as a tool to actually beat the virus.”
Dr Suliman says the country is far from having the pandemic under control:
SA records over 8 000 new infections
As at 02 August 2020, South Africa recorded 8195 new infections and currently stands at 511 485 confirmed cases.
213 more people succumbed to the virus, with the death toll now sitting at 8366.
Over 3 million tests have been conducted, with over 34 000 new tests conducted overnight.
Over 340 00 people have also recovered from the virus, as the graphic below indicates:
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