A year of Covid-19 in SA: Mkhize admits second wave caught government by surprise
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DURBAN â Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize admits the government was taken by surprise when the second wave hit.
Speaking during a ceremony in KwaZulu-Natal where the country s first Covid-19 case was identified on March 5 last year, Mkhize said scientific models did not show that the second wave of infections would come sooner, or that it would happen as severely as it did.
He said models did not show that there would be a new variant.
The variant, dubbed 501Y.V2 late last year fuelled the country s second wave of infections and effectively put a damper on the countryâs vaccine roll-out plans.
New study into Covid variant proves longer immunity for those infected capetalk.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from capetalk.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
People infected with new Covid-19 variant less likely to get reinfected
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DURBAN - Scientists have found that people who have been infected by the new Covid-19 variant, dubbed 501Y.V2, have developed antibodies preventing reinfection.
Speaking during a virtual media briefing, the KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platformâs (Krisp)âs Professor Tulio de Oliveira said people infected by the new variant have immunity against the variant and other lineages.
The briefing was jointly hosted by Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande and Health Minister Dr Zwelini Mkhize.
Genomic research has proved to be a potent tool in the fight against Covid-19. Investigations by South African genomic scientists into the evolutionary characteristics of Sars-CoV-2 resulted in the detection of the new variant.
COVID-19 and the weapon of language || The Southern Times southerntimesafrica.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from southerntimesafrica.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
More travel bans could be expected for South Africa following the government’s decision to pause the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccines, according to experts, but placing more travel restrictions on South Africa will not do countries any good.