Cape Town - A week into the fourth wave, the Department of Health has confirmed they have 65 hospitalizations a day with one death per day, while the World Health Organization (WHO) has said there has been an 83% surge in cases.
Fewer deaths were reported compared with previous waves and 14% of patients required oxygen.
WHO said 3 000 people have died on the African continent during the fourth wave compared with the Delta variant, which saw a higher rate of deaths during the third wave.
It said there were 2 700 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant reported in 59 countries, 11 of which were African countries and accounted for 33% of cases.
WHO said: “This upsurge in new cases coupled with low hospitalisations is particularly marked in South Africa, which has experienced a 66% rise in new cases during the past seven days compared with the previous seven days. While hospitalisations have increased by 67% in the past seven days, the bed occupancy rate for intensive care units remains low at 7.5%, with 14% of the hospitalised patients receiving supplemental oxygen. Though the deaths also remain low, this data should be interpreted with caution as the pattern may change in the coming weeks.”
WHO regional director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti said they were positive that deaths and severe illness would remain low.
“We are cautiously optimistic that deaths and severe illness will remain low in the current wave, but slow vaccine roll-out in Africa means both will be much higher than they should be.
“We’ve known for quite some time now that new variants like Beta, Delta or Omicron could regularly emerge to spark new outbreaks globally, but vaccine-deprived regions like Africa will be especially vulnerable.”
Moeti said countries that reached their target of vaccination would bypass the high rate of deaths.
“In a world where Africa had the doses and support to vaccinate 70% of its population by the end of 2021, a level many wealthy countries have achieved, we probably would be seeing tens of thousands of fewer deaths from Covid-19 next year.
“But we can still save many lives if we can accelerate the pace of vaccination in early 2022.”
WHO confirmed that 53 African countries, including South Africa, had administered a total of 264 million doses of the vaccine.
Premier Alan Winde, MEC for Health Nomafrench Mbombo and Health head of department Dr Keith Cloete said while hospitalisation was low, it was too early to determine what the future held.
They said their data showed an average of 2 000 new diagnoses per day and that positive tests had increased by 38%.
While hospitalisation remained low, they said there was no data yet to show that Omicron caused less severe illness in unvaccinated people without prior infection and that they were still seeing very sick people in their hospital beds.
Winde said he was worried that there were still thousands of people who have not been vaccinated.
“I am, however, concerned that the total number of unvaccinated persons in the province stands at 2 372 770.
“We have now entered the fourth wave, and your chances of getting severe disease are much higher. Please get vaccinated as soon as possible, should you not have already done so, so that you can protect yourself from needing to be hospitalised.
“I know many people will be starting to enjoy the festive season. Please remember the basic steps you need to follow to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Fresher is always better, so enjoy the beautiful outdoor spaces our province has to offer.”
Weekend Argus