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The Citizen reports that health scientists are starting to voice their concern about a new Covid sub-variant that was first detected in India and has rapidly spread to other parts of the world.
The Omicron variant, referred to as Centaurus or BA.2.75, first emerged in India in May. It has since spread to around 10 countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany, The Netherlands and Australia. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan stressed, however, that it was too early to panic about the new wave of infections. “It’s still too early to know if this sub-variant has properties of additional immune evasion or of being more clinically severe,” she advised. Once it has enough data, the WHO will decide whether Centaurus is a variant of concern. The emergence of the Centaurus sub-variant comes as countries around the world, including SA, have drastically relaxed their Covid restrictions. Prof Shabir Madhi of Wits University warned SA about the emergence of the Centaurus sub-variant, despite no cases having been identified in the country yet. “It might lead to resurgence, even in a country such as South Africa, although we haven’t identified a case yet of this sub-variant virus, but again it is unlikely that we are going to experience a mass number of hospitalisations and deaths now that 90% of people in South Africa got some type of immunity against a virus either from vaccines or infection,” Madhi said.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
- Lees ook, WGO hou nuwe Omikron-subvariant fyn dop, by Maroela Media
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page