- The number of people who tested positive for Covid-19 increased from 11.2% last week to 12.8% this week.
- The public has been encouraged to get vaccinated.
- Hospital admissions related to Covid-19 have been reduced by 40%.
While the number of Covid-19 cases is not alarming, the public has been warned that the disease still exists.
The weekly testing summary from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) indicated that new Covid-19 cases had increased slightly compared to last week.
The percentage of positive tests is 12.8%, compared to 11.2% last week.
The percentage of positive tests was highest in the 75-79 age group at 21.9%, the NICD said.
The percentage of positive results was highest in the Northern Cape (15%), North West (14.9%), Gauteng (14.5%), Western Cape (13.6%), KwaZulu-Natal (12.3%) ), Free State and Limpopo (11.4%). . All other provinces registered positivity rates below 10%.
In terms of Covid-19 related hospital admissions, there was a 40% decrease in the number of new admissions to 286 from 377 last week.
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“Delays in the reporting of admissions and deaths may affect the numbers reported in the most recent week,” the NICD stated.
KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of admissions last week at 33.9%. It is followed by Gauteng with 28.7% and the Western Cape with 17.8%. North West had the lowest number of admissions at 1.7%.
“The highest weekly incidence risk of admissions for Covid-19 reported in week 45 of 2022 was in the age group 65 years and older (2.7 admissions per 100,000 people), and the weekly incidence risk lowest was in the age group 20 to 34 years (0.2 admissions per 100,000 people) An increased incidence risk of covid-19 admissions has been observed in children under 5 years of age from week 40 “, revealed the NICD.
Dr. Aslam Dasoo, convener of the Progressive Health Forum, said that covid-19 was still around, but at low levels.
daso added:
The reason this is so is that 95% of the population has already been exposed, especially to the omicron variant. For those who are not vaccinated, the message is clear: you are susceptible to becoming infected. If you have risk factors, such as comorbidities, you can still become seriously ill and die from omicron.
He said that even if people were vaccinated against covid-19, they still needed to avoid infection.
“The chance of contracting prolonged covid is quite high. It’s quite debilitating and can last for months. You have to make a decision about how you want to protect yourself.”
Dasoo said it was crucial that people adhere to health protocols such as social distancing and wearing masks.
“This also applies to other respiratory illnesses such as the flu. You should avoid being around people who appear to be sick and who cough a lot. If you happen to have a fever, you should consider yourself infected, either with Covid or flu.”
While Covid-19 is still around, other respiratory illnesses have also been circulating.
Since the influenza season began in February, 1,135 cases have been detected from all surveillance programs, mainly circulating influenza B Victoria and influenza A (H3N2).
According to the NICD, the most cases were reported in the Western Cape, with 347 cases, followed by Gauteng, with 293. The Free State recorded just seven cases, while Limpopo recorded six.
Another respiratory virus that was in circulation this year is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The season started in February and ended in June. 880 RSV cases were detected during the season.
