The prospect is worrying.
A few days after the announcement of the discovery, on its territory, of a new variant of Covid-19 called Omicron, South Africa fears an exponential increase in contamination in the coming days.
"I expect that we will surpass 10,000 cases per day by the end of the week, we will see the pressure on hospitals in the next two or three weeks," the South African epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim, at a Ministry of Health online press conference.
For now, many uncertainties still hang over the dangerousness and transmissibility of the variant with multiple mutations.
But scientists are already worried that it is extremely contagious and eludes parts of the immune system.
Increase in hospitalizations in November
South Africa has already seen in recent weeks a rapid increase in contamination: some 2,800 new cases were recorded on Sunday, against only 500 the previous week and 275 previously.
Hospital admissions have more than doubled in the past month in Gauteng, the most populous province comprising Pretoria and Johannesburg.
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Almost three quarters of recently reported cases are due to the Omicron variant.
The proportion of positive tests increased from 2% to 9% in less than a week, even if these figures remain far behind the official figures of several European countries in particular.
"Even though Omicron is not clinically more dangerous and the first signals are not yet alarming, we will most likely see an increase in cases due to the speed of transmission," warned Salim Abdool Karim.
Scientists believe, however, that the vaccines will remain effective against severe forms requiring hospitalization, he added.
“There is no need to panic.
We have already been there, ”hammered the Minister of Health, Joe Phaahla, recalling that the country has already faced the Beta and Delta variants.
"In the coming days or weeks, our scientists will have the answers."
The “regrettable” and “sad” travel bans
The announcement last Thursday by scientists who detected the new variant in the southern African country caused a wave of panic, many countries on the continent, such as Angola, Mauritius, Rwanda and the Seychelles, but also from the rest of the world such as France, the United States, Canada or the Philippines, deciding in a few hours to ban travelers from southern Africa on their territory.
VIDEO.
Omicron variant: South Africa's isolation from the rest of the world is "unjustified", denounces a minister
These chain reactions have sparked anger and outrage in South Africa.
"It is completely unfortunate, unfortunate, and I would even say sad that African countries have imposed travel restrictions," Foreign Ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said on Monday at a conference. online press organized by the Ministry of Health.
“What I don't understand is that some of the African countries that do this are experiencing the difficulties for the continent when European countries make such a decision,” he explained.
For his part, the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, demanded the “immediate and urgent lifting” of these restrictions, deeming them devoid of “scientific justification”.
"Closing the borders will not prevent Omicron from spreading," added Salim Abdool Karim.
This new form of Covid-19 presents "a very high risk" at the global level, warned the WHO.
The variant has already been detected in at least eleven other countries.
