Covid-19: Gauteng ‘not out of the woods’ – Prof de Oliveira

Gauteng continues to be the epicentre of the third wave driven by the Covid-19 Delta variant, with KwaZulu-Natal University’s Professor Tulio de Oliveira saying the province should not be letting its guard down yet.

Next vaccine rollout

Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane and a panel of experts on Friday confirmed the country’s rollout programme is set for a much-needed boost, as vaccine registration for citizens between the ages of 35 and 40 will open on 15 July.

While the National Health Insurance’s (NHI) Dr Nicholas Crisp confirmed the country’s vaccine standing is the strongest it’s ever been with 3.6 million doses available and more expected soon, Prof Tulio de Oliveira warned Gauteng is “not yet out of the woods”.

“Despite the numbers not being extremely high there, we are seeing a very fast rate, it’s really caused by the delta variant”, he said.

ALSO READ: Here’s when citizens over the age of 35 will get their Covid-19 vaccines

Delta-driven third wave in Gauteng

While hospital admissions in the province continue to rise, De Oliveira expressed concern for the number of Covid-19-related deaths recorded in Gauteng.

He said the third wave is still being driven by the Delta variant as it becomes the dominant Covid-19 strain in the country, while other variants such as Delta Plus were very rare. In addition, the Lambda variant had not yet been detected in South Africa or the continent.

De Oliveira said approximately 80% of the SA population exhibits vaccine acceptance, with the vast majority indicating they’d be open to receiving the vaccines as and when doses are available.

Lamda variant still not detected

De Oliveira said the departments and research teams involved have been keeping a close eye on other variants as well, such as the Delta Plus, which is a stronger mutation than Delta.

“However, it was not a concern in SA. There was a lot of concern about the Lambda variant because WHO had raised this variant as a variant of interest which has been detected in 31 countries. However, it has not been detected in SA and in Africa. At the moment there is no evidence that it may become a variant of concern,” he said.

Delta follows a different set of rules than previous variants, including a new set of symptoms. The loss of smell, for example, is not as prevalent with the Delta variant as it was with the variants driving the first two waves.

READ MORE HERE: Delta variant symptoms: Here’s what to look out for