Fifth wave of Covid-19 has arrived in South Africa
April 29, 2022, 9:19 am

Fifth wave of Covid-19 has arrived in South Africa

Shanty town in South Africa (Photo: Pixabay)

The Africanews reported, the South African Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) warned that there is a new wave of covid 19 in the country.

"The fifth wave has arrived. Take care," the genomics research centre headed by virologist Tulio de Oliveira, who became famous for spotting the Beta and Omicron variants, warned on Twitter.

South Africa is officially the continent's most affected country by Covid 19.

The number of new infections in the last 24 hours is still up compared to the last few days, with 5,062 cases, 15 deaths and 83 hospitalizations, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

A new wave of Covid-19 has arrived in South Africa (Photo: Shutterstock)

With a ratio of 6.3 new cases per 100,000 population and a positivity rate of over 10% (16.9%), "based on previous waves, these are thresholds indicating a continued increase," Ridhwaan Suliman, a researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a government research institute, added on Twitter.

The figures recorded in recent days are the highest in nearly three months and significantly higher than a fortnight ago.

Kuwait eases COVID-19 curbs, vaccinations and face masks no longer needed

Health Minister Joe Phaahla had already expressed his "concern" last week.

In early March, the country went 48 hours without a single Covid-19-related death, the first time this had happened since 2020. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in early April that all legal restrictions related to the pandemic had been lifted.

The last wave of the disease resulted in greater transmission of the virus but fewer severe cases.

Beijing on alert after ten COVID-19 cases discovered in school

South Africa, where less than 45% of the adult population is fully vaccinated out of a population of nearly 60 million, has recorded more than 3.7 million cases and some 100,350 deaths in accumulation.

Source: southafrica

Canadian government plans to reopen its embassy in Ukraine soon US Study says a mass marine life extinction could happen if warming continues

Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.