South Africa’s coronavirus cases could triple in a week as Omicron variant spreads, expert warns
- Infectious disease expert Salim Abdool Karim said hospitals could be under pressure in the next few weeks, although vaccines were still likely to confer good protection
- Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the world needs to resist unjustified and unscientific Covid-19 travel restrictions that mostly hurt developing nations
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, the government’s chief adviser during the initial response to the pandemic, also said that while existing vaccines should be effective at preventing severe disease from the variant, South African hospitals could be under pressure from a flood of admissions within two to three weeks.
“Even if Omicron is not clinically worse, and certainly the anecdotes don’t raise any red flags just yet, we are going to see this [pressure on hospitals] in all likelihood because of the rapidity of transmission,” he told a news conference.
The discovery of the variant in southern Africa has caused global alarm, with countries limiting travel from the region and imposing other restrictions for fear it could spread quickly even in vaccinated populations.
The World Health Organization said on Monday that the variant posed a very high global risk of infection surges, though further research was needed to assess its potential to evade protection against immunity induced by vaccines and previous infections.
Global risk from Omicron coronavirus variant very high, WHO says
Abdool Karim, a professor at South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal and Columbia University in the United States, said vaccines were still likely to confer good protection against Omicron because of T-cell immunity, different from the antibody immunity that often blocks infections.
“Even if there’s some escape from antibodies it’s very hard to escape T-cell immunity,” he said.
Doctors who have treated South African Covid-19 patients say Omicron so far appears to be producing mild symptoms, including a dry cough, fever and night sweats. But public health experts say it is too early to draw firm conclusions.
The government says it is doing everything possible to prepare health facilities to cope with the variant, Health Minister Joe Phaahla told the same news conference.
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What do we know about the new coronavirus variant Omicron?
So far, there has not been a steep increase in hospital admissions or Covid-19 deaths since the variant was first detected in South Africa last week, in samples from earlier in November.
On Sunday, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported 2,858 new cases, down from 3,220 on Saturday but compared to roughly 300 two weeks ago when the country, where around 35 per cent of adults have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, was experiencing a lull after a third wave of infections.
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the world needed to resist unjustified and unscientific Covid-19 travel restrictions that mostly hurt developing nations.
‘Tip of the iceberg’: The Netherlands confirm 13 Omicron cases from SA flights
Global authorities have reacted with alarm to the new Omicron variant, which was detected in South Africa, with various countries reimposing travel curbs.
South Africa said on Saturday it was being punished for its advanced ability to detect new variants early, as bans and restrictions threaten to harm tourism and other sectors.
“We need to resist unjustified and unscientific travel restrictions that are damaging the economies and sectors of the economies that rely on travel,” Ramaphosa said during a speech at the opening of the China-Africa Summit in Dakar.
“There is a world order where a country’s wealth is the difference between sickness and health,” he added.
