EXPERTS WARN ON SUPER-SPREADER EVENTS
AS the number of daily Covid-19 infections continue to rise in South Africa, medical experts have warned that the second wave case count could get worse as people return from holiday to work this week.
The last week of December recorded a record increase in the death count and positive Covid-19 cases, with SA reaching 18,000 positive cases a day for the first time since the outbreak in March.
The spike in infections happened despite the government introducing adjusted level 3 regulations, which resulted in the closure of beaches and the banning of the sale of alcohol and mass gatherings.
Medical experts told Sowetan that the regulations introduced ahead of the new year were not yet yielding the desired results because they are not being properly enforced. They warned that the second wave case count will rise as people return from the hotspots in coastal cities and rural parts of the country to work in Gauteng.
Prof Shabir Madhi, a vaccinologist at the University of the Witwatersrand, projected the peak of the second wave to take place next month. He said the second wave was a result of the government allowing mass gatherings, which are known to be super-spreaders during level 1. He said places of worship, taverns and bars should not have been allowed to reopen.
“We seem to be naive to believe that when people go to the places of worship they are not going to interact socially. In the US, data has shown that more than 80 percent of infections that take place are linked to super-spreader events,” he said.
“The lockdown can control the resurgence but it doesn’t get rid of the virus. All it does is delay what is happening now to a few weeks later.”
Madhi said that new regulations must be introduced at funerals. “All activities related to the funeral need to take place outdoors ... Once you allow people indoor, with the poor ventilation, the virus can hang around for a long time in the air and people breathe again and get infected,” he said.
Madhi said he does not see the government ending the adjusted level 3 in mid-January.
SA Medical Association chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee said the government is likely to keep the adjusted level 3 lockdown due to a spike in infections.
“I think that is what they are going to do ... You can go to whatever lockdown you want, but as long as people are interacting with others, the virus will spread. The virus needs a warm body and it does not care,” she said.
She said the new strain of the virus was transmitted quicker and “does not care about the age of the person and whether they have existing medical conditions”.
The Gauteng provincial government said yesterday that it was gearing up for the peak in infections. Premier David Makhura’s spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga said roadblocks will be set up in the major entries of the province such as the N1, N3 and N4 where rapid Covid19 testing will be done for free. He said capacity at hospitals is being increased ahead of the peak.
Health minister Zweli Mkhize’s spokesperson Popo Maja said the public has to change from expecting the government to be the only one that will help prevent the spread of Covid19. He said the level 3 measures were an indicator of a state on high alert.
“We need to keep the economy open while fighting the pandemic. Should the situation deteriorate, then we will be forced to implement stricter measures,” Maja said. -