(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) Health Experts: New Variant Virus May Become the "Protagonist" of South Africa's New Wave of Epidemic Peaks
China News Service, Johannesburg, May 2 (Reporter Wang Xi) South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) medical expert Dr. Farid Abdullah said at a press conference on the 2nd that in the next period of time, the latest discovery The two new variants A.4 and A.5 of the Omicron mutant strain are very likely to become the "protagonists" of the new wave of epidemic peaks.
Just one month after the end of a state of national disaster that lasted more than two years, the number of confirmed cases of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in South Africa has increased significantly again.
In this regard, Abdullah said that although it has not yet been announced that the country has officially ushered in a new wave of epidemic peaks, it is an indisputable fact that the overall situation of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in South Africa has rebounded.
Abdullah pointed out that after the new variants A.4 and A.5 of the Omicron mutant strain were discovered successively, the number of confirmed and hospitalized cases in South Africa immediately increased significantly.
This is especially evident in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the two hardest-hit provinces: the vast majority of confirmed patients are infected with the new variant of the virus.
Earlier, data released by the African Institute of Health showed that two new variants, A.4 and A.5, have the ability to evade vaccines and antibodies produced after infection with the virus, and have stronger transmission capabilities.
In this regard, Abdullah pointed out that due to their stronger contagiousness, the new variants of A.4 and A.5 may cause South Africa to face a new wave, that is, the impact of the fifth wave of the epidemic.
Abdullah also pointed out that whether South Africa will usher in the fifth wave of the epidemic in the short term will depend on the development of the epidemic in the next week.
As of press time, the total number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in South Africa has reached 3,795,763, with 100,363 deaths.
(Finish)