COVID-19 Madness: South Africa Recorded Nearly 20K Cases Yesterday, Record Since Omicron Variant

JAKARTA - South Africa reported nearly 20,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a record since the Omicron variant was detected, and 36 new COVID-related deaths.

It was not immediately clear how many infections were caused by the Omicron variant, given that only a small fraction of the samples were sequenced, but experts believe it is driving a fourth wave of infections in South Africa.

Statistics from the National Institute for Infectious Diseases (NICD) bring the number of confirmed cases in the country to 3.071 million, with more than 90,000 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile, preliminary evidence suggests Omicron is more infectious than the previous variant, but the symptoms may be less severe, with lower hospitalization rates, especially in vaccinated patients.

But the economic fallout for South Africa, which has been hit by an international travel ban since its scientists correctly identified the variant late last month, is being felt.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet with senior officials in charge of the COVID-19 response this week, and will decide whether to tighten restrictions on the low-level lockdown.

This is considered a small chance to happen, because the capacity of the hospital is far from being overwhelmed, as in the previous wave.

To note, South Africa's health regulator SAHPRA on Wednesday approved the administration of a third or booster dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for adults and children over the age of 12.