Unvaccinated Covid19 Patients Make Up the Bulk of Hospitalisations
- Health Minister Joe Phaahla has revealed that the majority of Covid19 patients being admitted to the hospital are unvaccinated
- Those who have been vaccinated experience less severe symtoms and require less care
- Phaahla urged South Africans to get the vaccine; over 30 million vaccines have already been administered
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JOHANNESBURG - Health Minister Joe Phaahla has revealed that the majority of patients who are hospitalised with Covid19 are unvaccinated.
He urged South Africans to get the jab; over 30 million vaccines have been administered.
Source: Getty Images
The vaccine offers protection from serious symptoms that normally result in hospitalisation and can in some cases lead to death according to EWN.
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The latest number of infections shows an impressive recovery rate of 96% with 221 new deaths and 2 782 new cases of the virus.
3 473 120 people have successfully recovered after contracting the virus and the number of active cases stands at 3 618 853.
Reuters has reported that a South African study has revealed that the Omicron variant presents less severe symptoms in people even if they are unvaccinated.
This follows the international trend of Omicron patients experiencing less severe illness with fewer deaths and hospitalisations being reported.
Covid19: South Africa faces 5th wave of pandemic as winter nears
Earlier, Briefly News reported that Health Minister Joe Phaahla warned South Africa that winter will not only bring colder weather but also yeat another wave of Covid19.
Phaahla held a press briefing on Friday to reveal the government's latest response to the pandemic.
The minister reported that South Africa had reached the end of the fourth wave of Covid-19, however, he warned that a fifth wave was likely to hit the country in winter.
Refusing Covid19 treatment could lead to involuntary isolation up to 48 hours
In similar news, from 1 February, a new set of Covid19 regulations under the current Adjusted Alert Level 1 were implemented.
Under the new rules, the time for self-isolation for people who contract Covid19 and are showing symptoms of the virus was reduced from 10 days to seven days.
The South African government also stated that people who do not show any symptoms are no longer required to isolate and will be allowed to move around freely despite their Covid status.
Cabinet's decision to make these changes is based on increased immunity against Covid-19. It is estimated that at least 60% of South Africans have built up immunity to the coronavirus, with a possibility that immunity could be as high as 80%.
Source: Briefly News
