The Department of Health said it was still investigating the severity of the newly discovered omicron variant of Covid that could be transmitted.
The department said it was alerted to the new XBB.1.5 variant on Saturday and is gathering more information about its transmission and severity.
NOW Read: Highly contagious Covid variant XBB.1.5 found in SA
‘Don’t Panic’
In an interview with Newzroom Africa on Monday, Department of Health vaccination team leader Dr Lesley Bamford said there was no need to panic, as the matter was being closely monitored.
“As indicated, a new sub-variant case has been discovered in South Africa. We are still waiting for all the details to be officially announced.
“There is evidence from around the world that sub-variants may be more transmissible but currently, there is no evidence that disease caused by this sub-variant is more severe than disease caused by other sub-variants,” said Bamford.
Covid-19 is still there
He stressed that there is a perception that Covid-19 has already happened, which is not true.
South Africans should start wearing face masks again and continue to be vaccinated, the department said.
Symptoms
The symptoms of the Covid XBB.1.5 variant are similar to the previous omicron variant and are similar to cold symptoms such as runny nose, sore throat, cough and congestion. People infected with the new variant are more likely to develop a fever.
Cases of corona virus
The world recorded more than two million coronavirus cases per day on average between January 1 and 7, with the figure doubling in 10 days, according to an AFP tally.
An average of 2,106,118 new daily infections were reported in seven days, shortly after the threshold of one million cases was passed in the week of December 23-29, 2021.
The number of new global cases has risen by 270 percent since the highly contagious Omicron variant was discovered in South Africa in late November.
But Covid-related deaths are at their lowest level since October 2020, with an average of 6,237 per day recorded in the period between January 1 and 7.
Safety measures
The department said South Africans should take precautions such as:
- Vaccination
- Take booster shots
- Avoid crowded places
- Keep a distance between you and others
- Wear a face mask
- Wash your hands frequently
Also read: Covid-19 deaths now exceed 5.4 million worldwide