Epidemiologist Professor Salim Abdool Karim has warned that the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic could be worse than the first.
The Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng have been identified as the four provinces that are driving the second wave of the pandemic.
Coronavirus infections are rising rapidly in South Africa.
The country has recorded 8 166 cases in the past 24-hour cycle, bringing the cumulative number to 836 764.
173 people have succumbed to COVID-19 related complications – taking the national death toll to 22 747.
Speaking at a postgraduate research symposium at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Professor Karim said the virus was expected to continue to spread as people got into a festive mood.
“We are now in a situation where we have rapidly growing cases in all four of the big provinces. We are now in the midst of the second wave and with the travel that we are expecting on the 16th of December when the factories close. All of these provinces that are on the lower end, they will all start showing increases. The worrying part is that our second wave looks like in the Eastern Cape … it’s going to be worse than the first wave,” adds Abdool Karim.
In the video below, Africa CDC also warns of the likelihood of the COVID-19 second wave peak being worse:
The video below is reporting that SA has entered into a second wave of COVID-19:
![[File Image]: A nurse at one of South Africa's hospital during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.](https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/HOSPITAL.jpg)
![[File photo] Athletes waiting to start the Comrades Marathon in Pietermaritzburg.](https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Comrades-Twitter-@ComradesRace-120x86.png)
