While around the world various countries are announcing restrictions and measures against the spread of the coronavirus omicron variant, in South Africa, from which it has apparently erupted into the rest of the world, the peak of the outbreak seems to be over.
Morbidity data in the state have dropped in the past week from 27,000 cases per day to less than 15,000 new cases recorded across the state yesterday.
The focus of the eruption in Gauteng province, the most populous province in the country, shows an even sharper and more consistent decline in the new cases.
While the daily morbidity data can be very inaccurate due to the difference in the amount of tests performed daily, experts in the local health system claim that the decrease in infection is also felt in other indices.
Others are no longer afraid to state that in their opinion the wave of morbidity of the omicron is already on its way out.
"The decline in new cases across the country, coupled with the sharp decline in infection we see here in Gauteng, which has been the focus of the country's wave for weeks, indicates that the peak of this outbreak is behind us," said Martha Nunes, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases. A.P.
"It was a short wave and what's important is that in terms of serious illness and death it was not very serious," says Nunes.
"It is not uncommon, in the field of epidemiology, to see a sharp rise and then a sharp drop in the spread of a virus or bacterium. We assume that is what happened here," the expert added.
80% fewer hospitalizations than the Delta
The drastic decline in infection comes alongside a large study published by a leading research institute in South Africa, but has yet to be peer-reviewed, suggesting that the omicron variant significantly reduces morbidity from previous strains of the corona virus.
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According to the study, the omicron causes in 70 to 80 percent fewer cases of hospitalization than the Delta variant.
According to the researchers, this is also evidence that the omicron does not show significant resistance to the vaccine or antibodies developed by recovery, when it comes to serious illness or death.
Corona vaccination campaign in South Africa, Photo: AFP
Dr Vassilla Jessat, a public health expert at the National Institute for Combating Infectious Diseases in South Africa, told the Wall Street Journal that the study only confirms the findings of local health authorities in the country. In the intensive care units.
Mortality was also significantly lower in this wave, "Jessat said.
However, experts around the world are in no hurry to discard the data seen in South Africa on dealing with the variant in other countries.
The population in South Africa is almost a decade younger than the western countries and the mild climate of the summer months in the southern hemisphere also seem to be helping to lower the morbidity level.
However, data like low hospitalization rate and vulnerability of the vaccine antibody variant can be a good sign for other countries in the world as well.
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