Tag: SOUTH AFRICA

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OMICRON VARIANT: Countries advised to step up surveillance

The Technical Advisory Group has advised WHO that Omicron variant should be designated as a Variant of Concern, reports Asian Lite News

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified the new Covid variant detected in southern Africa this week as the ‘Variant of Concern’ following the Technical Advisory Group meeting on Friday.

“Based on the evidence presented indicative of a detrimental change in Covid-19 epidemiology, the TAG-VE has advised WHO that this variant should be designated as a Variant of Concern and the WHO has designated B.1.1.529 as a VOC, named Omicron”, said the global health body in a statement.

Omicron

The B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on November 24, 2021. The epidemiological situation in South Africa has been characterized by three distinct peaks in reported cases, the latest of which was predominantly the Delta variant. The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 9, 2021.

The WHO has asked the countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts to better understand circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants and submit complete genome sequences and associated metadata to a publicly available database. The WHO has reminded to take measures to reduce their risk of Covid-19, including proven public health and social measures such as wearing well-fitting masks, hand hygiene, physical distancing, improving ventilation of indoor spaces, avoiding crowded spaces, and getting vaccinated.

The WHO said that this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are of concern.

Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of re-infection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa. Current SARS-CoV-2 PCR diagnostics continue to detect this variant. Several labs have indicated that for one widely used PCR test, one of the three target genes is not detected and this test can therefore be used as marker for this variant, pending sequencing confirmation. Using this approach, this variant has been detected at faster rates than previous surges in infection, suggesting that this variant may have a growth advantage, said the WHO.

The Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) is an independent group of experts that periodically monitors and evaluates the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and assesses if specific mutations and combinations of mutations alter the behaviour of the virus. The TAG-VE was convened on 26 November 2021 to assess the SARS-CoV-2 variant: B.1.1.529.

ALSO READ – Omicron variant: UAE suspends travellers from 7 countries

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Africa News COVID-19 News

South Africa likely to experience fourth wave of Covid-19

South Africa likely to experience fourth wave of Covid-19

South Africa is likely to experience a fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic but the numbers of hospital admissions and deaths will probably not be as high, a senior epidemiologist said…reports Asian Lite News

“The numbers of infections and detected cases may be comparable to earlier waves,” said Harry Moultrie, senior medical epidemiologist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, citing the new scenario model conducted by the South African Covid-19 Modelling Consortium.

South Africa likely to experience fourth wave of Covid-19

However, Moultrie said, the ratios of admissions and deaths to infections are expected to be “substantially lower” than in previous waves, “as a result of the vaccination coverage, particularly among the elderly, and protection from prior exposure”. reports Xinhua news agency

He also urged the public to continue keeping social distancing and avoiding crowded indoor spaces.

The Covid-19 modelling consortium was established to project the spread of the disease to support policy and planning in South Africa over the coming months.

ALSO READ: Africa’s Covid-19 cases near 8.53mn

The daily new infections in the African country continued to decline in the past two months, with the latest seven-day rolling average below 300.

The peak of the third wave saw around 20,000 new cases per day in July.

As of Friday, the country has registered 2,926,914 confirmed cases and 89,515 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

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Africa News News World

S. Africa insurer says paid 12 bn rand due to unrest in July

As a result of the July unrest that caused damage to property in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal provinces, the South African Special Risks Insurance Association (SARISA) has announced that it has paid out over 12.6 billion rand (about $812 million)…reports Asian Lite News

During its briefing to the media, SARISA Managing Director Cedric Masondo announced that the entity has received 14,051 claims valued at 32 billion rand.

The state-owned short-term risk insurer said the settlement of claims from the deadly riots that saw thousands of businesses looted in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces would not be finished until next year, and the company aims to pay out 80 percent of claims by March 2022, Xinhua News Agency reported.

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“We have also increased our staff complement, and our broker network is helping clients with claims formulation supported by our internal underwriting and legal team that have been hard at work with giving guidance and attending to policy interpretation matters,” he said.

In addition, he said SARISA has dealt with fraudulent and inflated claims.

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Africa News News World

South Africa’s economy expected to grow 5.1 per cent in 2021

South Africa’s economy expected to grow 5.1 per cent in 2021

South Africa’s Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana has said the country’s economy is expected to grow 5.1 per cent in 2021, following an economic recovery faster than expected in the first half…reports Asian Lite News

The recovery reflects less stringent Covid-19 restrictions, lower interest rates, support from strong international demand, as well as higher commodity prices, Godongwana told the Parliament in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, when presenting the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Xinhua news agency reported.

In 2020, the country’s economy contracted 6.4 per cent, according to him.

South Africa’s economy expected to grow 5.1 per cent in 2021

Over the next three years, the growth of the local economy is expected to average 1.7 per cent, reflecting some structural weaknesses such as inadequate electricity supply, he said, noting that the strength of the economic recovery will also depend on the rollout of vaccines.

This year’s MTBPS, which sets out the policy framework for the budget presented every February, adjusts the budgets of government departments and makes emergency changes to spending, is about navigating South Africa’s path to economic and social recovery, drawing on the resilience of its people as well as restoring the sustainability of its public finances and the dignity of the people in the face of the pandemic.

Given the economic outlook and the risks associated with it, it is critical that South Africa accelerates economic reforms for long-run growth, in terms of stabilizing energy supply and accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources, improving the efficiency of logistics infrastructure to support export growth, said the Minister.

Other reforms include the speedy resolution of issues blocking the release of high-demand spectrum and making affordable data available to firms and households, boosting tourism and attracting skills, and improving water management.

ALSO READ: Indian rice regains grip in Africa as China weakens

Dawie Roodt, the Chief Economist at Efficient Group, said MTBPS was a “conservative” budget. “The Minister is staying within the fiscal frame and reducing spending.”

Sizwe Pamla, the Spokesperson of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), however, said the statement was “disappointing” and “tepid,” adding that more measures are needed when joblessness is increasing.

“No new allocations were provided to stimulate a stagnant economy, and no new measures were provided to increase badly-needed state revenue or to deal with the ballooning levels of corruption and wasteful expenditure,” Pamla added.

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UK urged to remove S Africa from travel red list

Maynier said this is “a significant barrier to economic recovery, specifically for the tourism sector in the Western Cape”…reports Asian Lite News.

A South African official said that he has written to the British Foreign Secretary to remove the country from the UK’s “red list” of travel for tourism recovery.

In a statement on Monday, David Maynier, Western Cape Province’s Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, said he wrote the letter on World Tourism Day about the matter, which is “deeply disappointing” and seems “manifestly unfair”, reports Xinhua news agency.

Only a British or Irish national, or a person who has residence rights in the UK are allowed to enter Britain if he or she has been in a country or territory on the red list in the last 10 days.

Maynier said this is “a significant barrier to economic recovery, specifically for the tourism sector in the Western Cape”.

Tourism and hospitality sector in Western Cape, a popular tourism destination in South Africa, has been hard-hit in 2020 due to Covid-19, with an estimated loss of over 75,000 jobs, official figures showed.

According to research conducted by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the South African economy could face massive losses of more than $12 million every week if it’s on the UK’s “red list”.

On September 23, Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management of Cape Town, said he has been in constant communication with UK officials about the “red list” and will raise the matter with the UK’s high commissioner.

According to Vos, Cape Town has long been a favourite destination for British travellers.

In 2019, readers of Britain’s Telegraph newspaper voted Cape Town their favourite city in the world for a seventh consecutive year, he said, adding that earlier this month, Travel + Leisure magazine’s global audience rated Cape Town the best city in Africa and the Middle East and the 25th best in the world for travel.

On Monday, South Africa reported 578 new Covid-19 cases, bringing down the average number of new cases over the seven preceding days to 1,912.

The country, which has the highest national tally of Covid-19 in Africa, has reported 2,897,521 confirmed Covid cases in total, with 87,216 deaths.

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