While some Level 1 lockdown restrictions have been lifted, experts have warned of a Deltacron-driven fifth wave in April/May.
WHILE some Level 1 lockdown restrictions have been lifted, experts have warned of a Deltacron-driven fifth wave in April/May.
In his national address on Tuesday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the country will remain on alert level 1, but has scrapped some restrictions including that of mandatory mask-wearing outdoors.
But the Deltacron variant has been driving up Covid-19 cases worldwide.
The new variant, which is a mixture of the Omicron and Delta, has also appeared in South Africa, and local experts warn of a fifth wave at the end of April.
In a television interview, medical expert Dr Vivek Solanki said that Deltacron is expected to be highly contagious.
“It is expected to be more contagious than Omicron; however, not necessarily more deadly.
“It has been spreading and is mostly in France at the moment, Denmark, Germany, Holland, the US, in Asia, and has now made an appearance in South Africa and will soon spread to the rest of Africa.”
He added: “The fifth wave, we expect it around the end of April/May to take off really seriously.
“However, we should be at the side of caution and not overreact and panic. This is similar to Omicron. It’s like the flu, chances are a lot of people will catch it.”
He said most people, around 95 percent would recover, but some might end up in hospital, mostly those who have high comorbid conditions such as high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes and auto-immune disorders.
The government and experts have urged the public to vaccinate and lead healthier lifestyles.
Daily Voice
