Communicable Disease experts have warned that South Africa could experience its third wave of COVID-19 due to the vaccine roll-out being slower than expected.
“The lessons ahead of the third wave is that it is likely to come, it is likely to be bigger than the first two waves, if the evidence from other countries is anything to go by,” said Dr Waasila Jassat, a public health specialist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
The South African National Health Department assures its citizens that the county is not in the third wave yet, but the third wave is fast approaching.
Minister Zwelini Mkhize has warned provinces: “For all intents and purposes, we are in the third wave even if it is not fitting a technical definition. The numbers will no longer go down other than if we start intensive containment measures… We want to assure South Africans that we have not yet hit the third wave; however, we are at risk, and we hence need to be on heightened vigilance as a country.”
With the uncertainty of if South Africa is in a third wave or not, the Ministerial has tried to break the situation down to make it easier to understand.
Regions that ARE in the third wave:
- Free State
Regions that will be NEXT to experience the third wave:
- Northern Cape
Regions with a SUSTAINED RISK of entering the third wave:
- Gauteng
- KwaZulu-Natal
- Mpumalanga
- North West
- Western Cape
Regions NOT YET on course for a third wave:
- Limpopo
- Eastern Cape
Behavioural changes are needed to slow the rate of transmission to avoid the hospitals becoming so overwhelmed.
The common behaviour and preventions need to continue and in fact increase in certain areas:
- Keep wearing your masks over your nose and face
- Keep sanitising
- Keep social distancing
- Do not become relaxed on the situation
So, keep sanitising, wearing your masks over nose & mouth and keep those distances in a fight to help flatten the impending curve.
Sources:
Viki Mohamad/Unsplash
News24 – Sheldon Morais, assistant editor: breaking news
The South African
Copyright © 2021 medworx, All rights reserved
