Health minister Joe Phaahla has told the media that while there was no indication of a spike in infections or hospitalisations after the detection of the XBB.1.5 variant, the country should not become complacent.
South Africans breathed a sigh of relief this week after the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) resolved there was no need to impose restrictions after Stellenbosch University detected the country’s first case of the sub-variant, nicknamed “Kraken” after an enormous, mythical sea monster.
The minister said it was “all hands on deck” to ensure that South Africa did not find itself in the position of China, where the new variant is wreaking havoc.
“At this stage, our assessment has been that we don’t have any indication that there is in our country, at the present moment, an immediate threat of a major spike. But it’s not that we are complacent, we continue to monitor the infections on a daily basis even though we don’t report publicly,” said Phaahla.
The BA.5.2 and BF.7 Omicron sub-variants are dominant in China at 97%, while the XBB.1.5 sub-variant has been detected more in the US, where its prevalence is at about 6.8% and rising.
Phaahla said the government was collaborating with experts and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
He said that when the latest strain was detected on January 7 the NCCC, chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa, was immediately brought up to speed on developments.
It resolved this week that tracing, testing, surveillance and vaccination should be ramped up. These were for now the best ways of saving lives and livelihoods, the minister said.
Should infections and hospitalisations increase, health institutions countrywide had adequate capacity.