NICD Says Gauteng Is the 1st Province to Achieve 4th Wave Peak, Comparison with Previous Waves

• The National Institute for Communicable Diseases has reported that Gauteng is the first province to reach its fourth wave peak
• According to the Minister of Health, Joe Phaala, the fourth wave has more recorded infections than any of the previous three waves
• The Northern Cape is the only of South Africa's nine provinces which have not yet entered their fourth wave

JOHANNESBURG - The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported that Gauteng is the first province in South Africa to reach its peak for the fourth wave of Covid-19.

Joe Phaahla, the Minister of Health, said that South Africa has recorded more Covid-19 infections during the current fourth wave than in any of the previous three waves.

The NICD also said that the province is now reporting fewer daily infections than before, which further supports their claim that the peak has been reached, News24 reports.

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Comparison between the different waves of Covid-19 in SA

According to TimesLIVE, for every 100 000 South Africans, 37 currently have Covid-19. This is higher than previous waves, as the first wave had 21 per 100 000 and the second and third had 32 and 33 respectively.

Phaala said that every province except the Northern Cape is in the fourth wave. Most of the country's current Covid-19 infections were reported in Gauteng.

“In terms of hospitalisation, due to the low levels at the end of the third wave, we are now seeing a significant rise in hospital admissions," Phaala said.

South Africa reacts to NICD report

@SliKhoza believes:

"Other provinces will peak cause most people have gone away for the holidays."

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@Mark81607413 asked:

"So the numbers are declining without lockdowns nor restrictions?"

@RNaidoo suggested:

"Maybe because it's mild flu symptoms, which a lot of people experienced and didn't worry that much about it."

@CritiqueAfrika said:

"South Africans will not become the beast of burden upon which US pharmaceutical companies build their greedy and blood dripping wealth in the 21st century. We don't need their vaccine."

@Margare17963371 shared:

"Most of the residents in Gauteng have made their way on holiday to other provinces. So what is gonna happen? Figures would decrease. I don't know which statistician working on these figures."

Medical aids will stop paying for supplements prescribed for Covid-19 treatment

Yesterday, Briefly News reported that fighting off mild Covid-19 symptoms might become a little more expensive because of some changes that have been implemented by the Department of Health.

Most doctors would ordinarily prescribe vitamins such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Zinc for the treatment of Covid19. The cost of these medications was always covered by medical aid schemes in the country more so when a doctor prescribes them.

These supplements were also backed by the World Health Organization. However, in September, the Department of Health changed the rules and published a review in which it stated the benefit of prescribing zinc amongst other supplements for the treatment of Covid19 was questionable and therefore did not recommend prescribing them for the treatment of the coronavirus.

Source: Briefly News