A SIGNIFICANT rise in Covid-19 infections in KwaZulu-Natal has seen the province officially enter the fourth wave.
At a press briefing on Sunday, Premier Sihle Zikalala said the number of daily cases has been rising at an alarming rate.
“Clearly a new wave of infections is fast rising and the Omicron variant is the driver behind this new wave of infections. Three weeks ago, the province had a positivity rate of 0.7% but, as of Sunday, the positivity rate has jumped to 12.7%. The incidence risk per 100 000 population has also increased from three to 18 cases per 100 000 population in the past seven days. All of these developments indicate that we have now entered the fourth wave. The districts showing high infection rates for the past seven days are eThekwini, Umgungundlovu and Amajuba,” he said.
Read also: ‘Myths and misinformation’ fuelling Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy, says Zikalala
Zikalala added the rate of hospitalisations has also increased, including patients who require ICU and ventilation.
“We can confirm that the vast majority of those patients who require treatment in ICU and ventilation are those who have not been vaccinated. Further analysis of our trends shows that while there is no significant increase in the number of deaths, people above the age of 60 have registered more deaths. There has been a notable increase in the infection rate among those who are aged between 30 and 50,” he said.
He added that the three leading co-morbidities are still hypertension, diabetes and tuberculosis.
* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
