NCCC to meet on Tuesday to discuss new Covid subvariant
President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed the national coronavirus command council (NCCC) will be meeting on Tuesday morning following the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant.
Researchers at Stellenbosch University detected the country’s first case of the XBB.1.5 coronavirus subvariant, also known as the ‘kraken’, which has caused some anxiety among South Africans.
However, Ramaphosa says there is no need to panic.
“There is no need for people to get concerned. Some people have even said are we going to have restrictions, lockdowns, and all that. It’s far from that. We just need to be informed about what is happening with this variant and we will be able to impart the information to the rest of the country.”
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South Africa has recorded over four million Covid infections since the start of the pandemic, with more than 100 000 deaths and over three million recoveries.
Last week, leading scientist and director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation Tulio de Oliveira tweeted that there had been no increase in cases, hospitalisations or deaths linked to the discovery.
At present, no increase in cases, hospitalisation or deaths. NGS-SA increasing genomics surveillance in South Africa. Our labs also support dozens of other African countries as part of Africa CDC PGI program.
— Tulio de Oliveira (@Tuliodna) January 6, 2023
The president says government is keeping a close eye on global developments as infections in China have been on the increase, prompting travel restrictions by some countries like the United States.
“At that meeting we will receive a report from the Department of Health, as well as from the scientists, to tell us what this is about and what is unfolding in our country. We are watching the situation globally to see precisely what is happening in relation to COVID. We’d have decided we need to be agile; we need to be proactive and look at this rather quickly and there will be some announcement tomorrow,” added the president.
The health department has confirmed it will provide an update on the country's COVID-19 situation on Tuesday and has, in the meantime, urged citizens to vaccinate, get booster shots, and adhere to non-pharmaceutical interventions to curb the spread of the disease.
