The Omicron variant of Covid has reached the peak of its fourth wave infections in Gauteng. The number of coronavirus infections in Gauteng has been steadily decreasing for more than a week.
‘Gauteng is going down and certainly some of the other provinces too, but I think it’s longer to wait to see what happens nationally,’ said Professor Cheryl Cohen of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Wednesday.
The province was one of the first to experience a surge in infections in November.
In addition to Gauteng, decreases have been seen in Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga. The lower number of cases could be due to the low number of people testing and also people heading out of Gauteng as the holiday season gathers pace.
A new study by the NICD found Omicron in SA to be less severe compared to the Delta variant which drove the infections of the third wave in the country earlier this year.
“The lower risk or lower proportions of severe disease we’re seeing in the fourth wave could be due to a number of factors including the level of prior immunity from people who’ve already been vaccinated or had natural infection, or it could also be due to the intrinsic virulence of Omicron,” said the NICD’s Dr Waasila Jassat.
The latest NICD study has found that the Omicron variant has accounted for more than 90% of the recent infections, overtaking the Delta variant. Last Thursday, national infections reached a high of 27,000 but dropped to about 15,000 by Tuesday.
Scientists found hospital admissions were 80% lower for those infected with Omicron and the risk of severe disease among the hospitalised was 30% lower.