According to Dr Gerrit de Villiers, chief clinical officer of Mediclinic Southern Africa, the models from the epidemiologists suggest that a third wave of Covid-19 infections is inevitable. “If the community adheres to the measures in place, such as wearing masks, social distancing and regular hand hygiene, while also limiting their exposure and following advice issued by the national Department of Health, we can all play our part in reducing infection,” he said.
“Covid-19 pandemic infections trends remain fluid. Current information suggests that the next wave could arrive at the approach of winter, but we believe community behaviour and adherence to protocols could assist in either delaying or reducing its impact. Unfortunately, there is no accurate way of predicting how the virus will impact different communities or how severe it will be,” De Villiers said.
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However, he said Mediclinic believes it has the necessary measures in place to support the community. “With the changing needs throughout the evolution of the pandemic, we have adjusted our approach based on learnings, both locally and internationally.” De Villiers said although it is impossible to predict how quickly the vaccination roll-out will impact levels of infection, Mediclinic believes the vaccination roll-out plays an important part in limiting risk for individuals, their families and the community as a whole. But, said he, the current number of vaccinations available through the Sisonke trial will not provide herd immunity as it will not cover a large enough portion of the population.
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“As we have been doing since the start of the pandemic, Mediclinic continues to adhere to all measures implemented during the initial phase of the pandemic. As with the second wave, our teams were able to adjust and adapt to best meet the needs of our community.
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We are also in a process of documenting and sharing lessons learned in the organisation through the two waves,” he said. sharing lessons learned in the organisation through the two waves,” he said.
