Covid-19 5th wave surge is cause for concern

THE new Covid-19 infection surge of 137% in South Africa is cause for extreme concern.

Under these circumstances it is imperative that President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation without delay. It is a proven fact globally that ending the Covid-19 pandemic requires two things; mitigation and vaccination.

The extreme urgency of undertaking these twin tasks, and attaining them as completely and quickly as possible, dramatically increased over the past few days as infections soared dramatically. Many parts of the country are in the grip of the fifth wave as infections continue to climb, and a pivotal factor in this steep climb is that a huge portion of the population has discarded mask wearing in public.

Covid-19 fatigue is visible everywhere, and the masses have thrown caution to the wind.

The new strain will spread across the country as admissions to hospitals increase as winter envelops the nation.

We need to go into a higher lockdown as a nation.

The worrisome increase is being driven by BA.4/5, the new, more transmissible offshoot of Omicron that is now dominant in the country.

The normal seasonal winter flu is raging across the country, masking the accurate compilation and trajectory of the new Covid-19 strain. In a new and worrisome development, a South African laboratory study reveals that strains BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages, have the ability to evade antibodies from earlier infections and vaccinations.

We will pay an astronomical price in human lives for not adhering to social distancing rules.

The carnage in human and economic terms that will follow will reshape the course of our nation. FAROUK ARAIE |