Coming week’s activities could ignite third wave’s fuse

Covid-19’s third wave could be kicked off by the mass migration, along with the social and religious events which are expected over the Easter Period, and the vaccinations which have been administered thus far are nowhere near enough to stop it.

Epidemiologist Jo Barnes has warned that the vaccination of around 200 000 healthcare workers so far was not enough to prevent the third wave from hitting the country in earnest over the next few weeks. She has urged government to accelerate the vaccination programme to prevent this.

“The roughly 200 000 people that are protected are not even going to make a dent. The thing with the virus is that it is now well-established that the vast majority of transmission is not actually touch,” she explained.

“Except if you touch a surface that has the virus and stick your finger up you nose, for instance, most of it is aerial transmission. You breath it in.”

She also explained that the cooling down of the weather would encourage more dangerous behaviour.

“Very soon, when everybody has settled back from the Easter holidays, it will start to get colder. People will start to huddle together in closed environments. That is where contact with people is suddenly very enhanced. I’m expecting a third wave as soon as the cold sets in and people start to group together inside.”

Also Read: Government needs to get ahead of Easter super-spreader events

Others, however, argued that funerals are still the biggest threat and that church events, which pale in comparison should not be completely banned.

Echoing the concerns that funerals may well continue to cause outbreaks in next few months was Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson, Sizwe Khupelo, who reiterated that funerals remained the biggest threat to the gains made in containing the pandemic in the province.

His comments followed that of South African Council of Churches Secretary General Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, who questioned the claim that church events had acted as significant spreaders of the virus.

“I would not say that the churches are superspreaders. I would probably say that the funerals were superspreaders,” he told The SABC this week, arguing that in the church events that were allowed over the past year, churches practiced discipline in terms of the Covid-19 health protocols.

Last year, the Zion Christ Church in South Africa called off its largest annual event, which sees thousands of worshipers making an Easter pilgrimage to Moria in Limpopo. It is still unclear whether the event would be cancelled again this year and attempts to reach the church for comment were unsuccessful.

Also Read: WATCH: How the matric Rage parties turned into super spreader events

But this is not the only church known for large Easter events as many traditional South African churches plan special mass events during this time of the year.

President of the African Democratic Christian Party, Kenneth Meshoe called for people to stop living in fear this Easter. Meshoe suggested that rather than living in fear, people should still follow the health protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Meshoe said though Pentecostal churches had vastly smaller and shorter events for days such as Good Friday and Easter Sunday, he was confident that as long as discipline was maintained, these need not become superspreader events.

He also opined that funerals had been more significant in the spread of the virus throughout the year.

“I would not want to limit the concerns about superspreader events to just Easter. Funerals are taking place throughout the year and people have to learn to observe the protocols throughout the year and I don’t see them changing that behaviour because it is Easter.

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