By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of Health says the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases identified in South Africa is 1 691 491.
This is an increase of 5451 new cases identified in the last 24 hours.
A further 97 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported which brings the total to 56 929 deaths, said the department.
The department added that the recoveries now stand at 1 574 223, representing a recovery rate of 93,2%.
Vaccination Rollout
The daily report is attached.https://t.co/CvcsNVMnFs
The updated list of sites that are reporting vaccinations to the EVDS can be found at the following link:https://t.co/KQDnKqQd88 pic.twitter.com/tTj1r57qjb— Department of Health (@HealthZA) June 5, 2021
Meanwhile variants of SARS-CoV-2 result from mutations to the virus’s genetic code and are not created at random by authorities, contrary to suggestions made on social media.
The theory was put forward in a Facebook picture captioned: “Let’s play spin the variant wheel” next to a woman spinning a wheel of countries. This refers to location-related terms that are commonly used to label variants, such as the “Indian variant”, “South African variant” or “UK/Kent variant”.
However, the Facebook user goes on to mock people he says are “gullible” if they believe variants of the novel coronavirus exist. He adds later in the comments: “We will next have the japanese [sic] sushi variety spread by eating fish.”
Others leaving comments beneath the post had similar thoughts. “A variant for a non existent [sic] virus never isolated and no matter how many people you try and tell they think you are stark raving bonkers,” writes one. Another said: “They like to introduce a soupçon of bigotry and racism into the choice of variant name, so I reckon it’s time for the Nigerian variant.”
But this is misleading. All viruses naturally mutate over time, and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, is no exception. Changes in the genetic code of the virus are mostly so small that they have little impact, but sometimes the mutations can have concerning consequences: for instance, they are more transmissible.
Location-related terms used to refer to these variants come from the name of the country where the mutation was first discovered. It is not a random selection process carried out by authorities.
A list on the UK government website details which variants are still under investigation and those deemed of concern. It also provides numerous names for the mutations (including information of geographical origin), explaining there is no internationally-agreed naming system.
To combat confusion and the negative effects of associating nations with emerging variants, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised labelling should follow the Greek alphabet. Therefore, the commonly known UK, South Africa, Brazil and India variants are now labelled Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, respectively.
Verdict:
False. SARS-CoV-2 variants are the product of genetic mutations and are labelled using the Greek alphabet under a new system devised by the World Health Organisation.