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A severe variant of the coronavirus detected in South Africa could explain the rapid spread of a second wave that affects younger people, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
Doctors have remarked that more patients are younger, and do not always have other conditions that amplify the virus’ effect, but are nonetheless suffering from more severe forms of COVID-19.
That “strongly suggests that the current second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant,” Mkhize concluded.
Mkhize issued a statement of Friday night,
below is the full statement.
This evening we convened a public briefing to announce that a variant of the SARS-COV-2 Virus-currently termed
A new SARS-CoV-2 variant has been identified as being widespread across most SA regions by now
However, despite the finding, sufficient evidence that can answer crucial questions is still lacking and research is ongoing
In the meantime, people need to focus on responsible behaviour during the second wave, experts caution
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced the discovery of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease, News24 reported on Friday evening.
While Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) co-chairperson Professor Salim Abdool Karim cautioned that there are early signs that the new variant, named 501.V2, is spreading fast during South Africa s second wave, he added that the severity of the virus in the second wave is still unclear and that research is ongoing. He said in some cases it is spreading faster than the variant responsible for the first wave.
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Provinces with slow first wave COVID-19 infections rates now seeing cases spike On Friday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, along with scientists, announced they ve identified a much more severe variant of COVID-19 here at home. FILE: A professional healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) treats a patient in a tent dedicated to the treatment of possible COVID-19 coronavirus patients, while another cleans the ward at the Tshwane District Hospital in Pretoria on 10 July 2020. Picture: AFP
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JOHANNESBURG - As the second wave of COVID-19 has officially been recorded across the country, provinces that presented slow infection rates are now seeing a rapid spike of cases.
South Africa has severe Covid-19 variant: Health minister
AFP/Johannesburg, South Africa Filed on December 19, 2020 | Last updated on December 19, 2020 at 02.18 am
South African Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize confirms the first case of coronavirus in South Africa at Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, March 5, 2020.
(Reuters)
The mutation is known as the 501.V2 Variant.
A severe variant of the coronavirus has been detected in South Africa which could explain the rapid spread of a second wave that affects younger people, the health minister said Friday.
Known as the 501.V2 Variant, it was identified by South African researchers and details have been sent to the World Health Organization, Zwelini Mkhize said in a statement.