Preparing Hospitals To Anticipate Omicron Variant, South African President: We Monitor Infections And Hospitalizations

President Afrika Selatan Cyril Ramaphosa. (Wikimedia Commons/Palácio do Planalto)

JAKARTA - South African authorities are preparing their hospitals to accept more patients, as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus pushes the country into the fourth wave of COVID-19, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.

The Omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa last month, sparking global concern as governments fear another spike in infections.

South Africa's daily infections jumped last week to more than 16.000 cases on Friday, from around 2.300 on Monday last week.

President Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter, the Omicron variant appears to dominate new cases in most of the country's nine provinces, urging more people to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

"South Africa now has a sufficient supply of vaccines. Vaccination is very important for our economic recovery because the more people are vaccinated, the more fields of economic activity will be opened up," President Ramaphosa said, quoted by Reuters December 6.

Illustration of COVID-19 in South Africa. (Wikimedia Commons/Discott)

The government will soon convene a National Coronavirus Command Council to review the state of the pandemic, to decide whether further action is needed to keep people safe, Ramaphosa said.

Meanwhile, scientists in South Africa and other countries are racing to determine whether Omicron is more contagious, causes more severe disease, and is more resistant to existing vaccines.

However, some anecdotal records from doctors and experts in South Africa are reassuring, suggesting that many of the infections they cause are mild.

"We continue to monitor infection rates and hospitalizations," said President Ramaphosa.