South African researchers have also traced the uptick in cases to other areas of Tshwane, including Soshanguve, Atteridgeville, and Mamelodi.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good thing is that the fact that we are able to identify where the so-called hotspots are,\u201d Mlisana said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt, therefore, allows us to zoom into those areas and get a better understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, whether or not South Africa has a good Christmas comes down to us all taking individual responsibility, Mlisana stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have got this information, we\u2019ve got this close monitoring, but the responsibility comes back to us as South African citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Kerrigan-McCarthy.jpg\")
<\/a>Kerrigan McCarthy, specialist pathologist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases<\/p><\/div>\n
She said that wearing face masks has been proven effective, and that avoiding large gatherings, especially indoor gatherings, would also help prevent a surge in new Covid\u201319 cases.<\/p>\n
Kerrigan McCarthy, a specialist pathologist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, told Newzroom Afrika<\/a><\/strong> that studies showed mask-wearing reduces transmission risk to about 7%.<\/p>\n Mlisana and McCarthy both said that the most effective preventative measure South Africa has at its disposal is vaccinations.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, we should be saying, \u2018Everybody, make sure you are vaccinated\u2019,\u201d Mlisana stated.<\/p>\n Even in people who already caught Covid\u201319, vaccinations ensure that you have a much lower chance of getting severe symptoms.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we want a good Christmas, let\u2019s make sure we vaccinate and let\u2019s make sure we were masks. And also, don\u2019t get into crowded areas,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The encouragement for South Africans to follow Covid\u201319 safety protocols and get vaccinated comes as experts warned of signs that a fourth wave of infections may be starting in Gauteng<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Tulio de Oliveira, the KRISP director at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said increases in positivity rate and the reproduction number are signs that South Africa\u2019s Covid\u201319 epidemic is growing again.<\/p>\n According to one estimate<\/a><\/strong>, the reproduction number in Gauteng surged to nearly 2.5 during the past two weeks \u2014 higher than even Gauteng\u2019s disastrous third wave.<\/p>\n The reproduction number is an indication of how fast an infectious disease spreads.<\/p>\n Gauteng\u2019s reproduction number essentially says that every person with Covid\u201319 in the province infect two or three other people.<\/p>\n Another sign that the fourth wave may be starting is that scientists have detected fragments of the coronavirus in Gauteng\u2019s wastewater.<\/p>\n Mlisana said that they are also starting to see higher viral loads in the positive PCR test results.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen something is about to happen, we see a small increase in the viral loads. And we\u2019re beginning to see that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Gauteng reproduction number (Rt<\/sub>) estimate<\/p><\/div>\n Scientists are tracking two new variants that could impact the severity of South Africa\u2019s next wave of Covid\u201319 infections.<\/p>\n Mlisana said there is close monitoring of genetic sequencing to see whether there is a new variant looming.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are now zooming in specifically in Gauteng where the infections are higher,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really don\u2019t want to be faced with a new variant.\u201d<\/p>\n De Olivera said they are looking at an even more transmissible sub-lineage of Delta (AY.4.2) and a variant that could reduce vaccine efficacy (B.1.640).<\/p>\n He said they are \u201calerted but not concerned\u201d about the new variants and assured that the Delta sub-lineage is found at very minimal prevalence in South Africa.<\/p>\n The UK and Europe are worried about AY.4.2. Its prevalence increased about 15% in the UK, and it is estimated to be 10%\u201320% more transmissible than the original Delta variant.<\/p>\n Delta tore through countries like India and South Africa, bringing India\u2019s healthcare system to its knees and South Africa\u2019s to the brink.<\/p>\n Therefore, a more transmissible variant of Delta is a major cause for concern, especially with South Africa hoping to welcome thousands of UK tourists these holidays.<\/p>\n Salim Abdool Karim, former chairman of the government\u2019s ministerial advisory committee on Covid\u201319<\/p><\/div>\n Experts have warned since July that South Africa should expect a fourth wave to hit in early December.<\/p>\n Salim Abdool Karim, former chair of the government\u2019s ministerial advisory committee on Covid\u201319, expected the fourth wave to start on 2 December<\/strong><\/a> and last about 75 days.<\/p>\n Health minister Joe Phaahla has said that the fourth wave is inevitable<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 that the festive season coupled with the movement of people would trigger another wave of infections.<\/p>\n \u201cThis makes it more urgent that more and more people come forward to be vaccinated because we want everybody in our country to be protected from this inevitable fourth wave.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we all vaccinate, we can have a safe and enjoyable festive season,\u201d Phaahla stated.<\/p>\n The uptick in Covid\u201319 infections in Gauteng is concentrated in Pretoria students, and there is still hope that South Africa can avoid the coronavirus disrupting Christmas celebrations once again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":424264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31750],"tags":[65341,70645,35,74504,70421,70403,23245],"class_list":["post-424260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-covid-19-coronavirus","tag-covid-19-vaccinations","tag-headline","tag-kerrigan-mccarthy","tag-koleka-mlisana","tag-national-institute-for-communicable-diseases-nicd","tag-salim-abdool-karim"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424260"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424260"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":424270,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424260\/revisions\/424270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Covid-19-new-cases-provincial-7-day-moving-average-2021-10Nov-22.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Covid-19-Gauteng-reproduction-number-2021-11Nov-23.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Salim-Abdool-Karim.jpg\")
<\/a>
\nNow read: South Africa\u2019s fourth wave of Covid\u201319 will be mild \u2014 unless this happens<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"