Strong likelihood of second spike in Covid-19 infections – expert

A medical research expert warns that the is a strong likelihood of a second spike in coronavirus infections. “Unfortunately, no one can predict when. It could be in a month or even next year,” Professor Jeffrey Mphahlele, the vice-president for research at the South African Medical Research Council said yesterday.

Mphahlele said the only way forward was by monitoring the situation. “I cannot answer how we are going to deal with the second spike. The second spike might be mild or even bigger than the first wave.”

Professor Alex van den Heeven from the Wits School of Governance said the conditions for the second wave of coronavirus cases didn’t appear to be in place.

“What we see in Europe is not only because they have gone into winter, but it was also the start of the academic year as students returned to universities and started socialising, causing a superspread.”

He said what happened in Cape Town showed how one sick person at a party made everyone else sick.

“In Cape Town, the department has started dismantling the field hospitals and said there was the capacity for normal hospital treatment. This should have been the case in Gauteng, too,” Van den Heeven said.

Senior lecturer for the department of global health and epidemiologist at Stellenbosch University Dr Jo Barnes said the field hospitals lack various support systems that were essential in treating patients.

“They are more like Covid-19 treating centres.”

Barnes said the reinfection rate so far was very rare with only a handful of patients. Senior lecturer for the department of global health and epidemiologist at Stellenbosch University Dr Jo Barnes said the field hospitals lack various support systems that were essential in treating patients.

“They are more like Covid-19 treating centres.” Barnes said the reinfection rate so far was very rare with only a handful of patients.

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