South Africa’s daily Covid-19 cases soar 50 per cent in 24 hours amid new Omicron surge
- WHO chief said two Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5, were behind the surge in cases in South Africa
- Sharp rise in South African cases came as 11 countries on continent were experiencing ‘fifth wave’
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New Covid-19 subvariants can reinfect Omicron-recovered patients, early studies find
South Africa’s new Covid-19 cases shot up by more than 50 per cent Thursday from the previous day, official data showed amid a surge of infections driven by two new Omicron sub-variants.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported that 9,757 new Covid-19 cases were identified, a rise from Wednesday’s 6,170 cases.
The numbers showed that 25.9 per cent, or more than one in four people who took tests, posted a positive result.
This is the highest positivity rate in recent months and comes as the winter season sets in. Seven fatalities were recorded in the past 48 hours, the institute said.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said that two Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5, were behind the surge in cases in South Africa.
But he said it was “too soon to know whether these new sub-variants can cause more severe disease than other Omicron sub-variants”.