Record Covid case surge strikes in South Africa
NEW coronavirus infections in South Africa have risen to record levels in recent days, part of a rapid rise across the continent.
To fight the new wave, South Africa has reimposed several restrictions, including shutting restaurants and bars and limiting alcohol sales – and its vaccination drive is finding its feet after several stumbles.
But even as the campaign gathers pace, experts say it is too late to reduce the deadly impact of the current spike.
Instead, South Africa is now rushing to vaccinate enough of its 60 million people to blunt the impact of the next inevitable surge.
“Our vaccination campaign is gathering momentum, but obviously it’s too late to do much in terms of reducing the impact of this current resurgence we’re experiencing, which by all accounts is going to completely dwarf what we experienced either in the first or second waves in South Africa,” said Shabir Madhi, dean of health sciences and professor of vaccinology at the University of Witwatersrand.
South Africa accounts for more than 35% of the 5.8 million cases recorded by Africa’s 54 countries, although it is home to just over 4% of the continent’s population.
The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths in the country more than doubled over the past two weeks to more than 360 fatalities per day on July 9.
Its troubles reflect a broader trend. Neighbouring Zimbabwe went back into lockdown on July 6, and Congo, Rwanda, Senegal and Zambia are among the 16 African countries battling the new surge of infections sweeping across the continent.
“Africa has just marked the continent’s most dire pandemic week ever. But the worst is yet to come as the fast-moving third wave continues to gain speed and new ground,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) regional director for Africa.
“The end to this precipitous rise is still weeks away. Cases are doubling now every 18 days, compared with every 21 days only a week ago,” she added on Thursday.
The current upsurge comes while the continent’s vaccination rates are painfully low: just 16 million, or less than 2%, of Africa’s 1.3 billion people are now fully vaccinated, according to the WHO.
More than four million South Africans, or about 6.5%, have received at least one dose, with 1.3 million fully vaccinated, according to government figures on Saturday.
Although South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was quick to respond to Covid-19 and put the country into one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in March last year, his officials were slow to place firm orders for vaccines, say critics.