Government express concern over detected cases of COVID-19 at Ports of Entry as SA records 1586148 cases.

By Lehlohonolo Lehana.

Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said in a statement that the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases identified in South Africa is 1 586 148.

Mkhize said the number of tests conducted to date is 10 739 813. Of these 24 040 tests were conducted since the last report.

He also said a further 59 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported: Eastern Cape 7, Free State 3, Gauteng 21, Kwa-Zulu Natal 4, Limpopo 20, Mpumalanga 0, North West 0, Northern Cape 1 and Western Cape 3 which brings the total to 54 511 deaths.

The minister added that the cumulative recoveries now stand at 1 509 656, representing a recovery rate of 95%.

Vaccination Rollout
The number of Health Care Workers Vaccinated under the Sisonke Protocol to date is 339 655.

Meanwhile Mkhize has expressed a great concern South Africans have expressed over possible recent importation of variants of concern (VOC’s).

Mkhize confirmed that the B.1.617 variant, circulating widely in India, has not been detected, however the genomics teams are working on some samples and we need to allow the time it takes to sequence before we get an answer.

The minister wish to remind South Africans that the variant B.1.351 (or 501Y.V2) remains the most dominant in South Africa and indeed we have had confirmation that one of the samples taken from a traveler from India is the 501Y.V2.

“We remain mindful of the advise from the World Health Organisation that all variants are managed the same- prevention by adhering to NPI’s, early detection, contact tracing and testing and quarantine or isolation.”

These all form part of the regulations that govern the management of COVID-19 and it has been through adherence to these regulations that we have detected and contained COVID-19 cases at ports of entry, said Mkhize.

“This increase in detection of cases at the ports of entry is of deep concern to us as government and we have been attending to this as a matter of urgency. We have consulted the Ministerial Advisory Committee as well as the genomics team to guide us on the management of travelers at ports of entry during these challenging times,” added the minister.

The government will be determining the next steps to follow and announcements will be made on the state of variants of concern in our context and what measures will be implemented to mitigate against the importation of COVID-19 in general.

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