Covid-19: There are hopeful signs the virus has peaked, says SAMRC

News24
13 Aug 2020, 03:11 GMT+10

Ramaphosa to lift tobacco, alcohol bans and move to Level 2, say sources

It added the pandemic had different trajectories in the provinces.

The SAMRC's chief specialist scientist, Professor Debbie Bradshaw, said the Western Cape, which was the first province to experience community spread, stood out as having a much slower epidemic.

"It took several weeks to set in and is now taking time to recede. In contrast, the epidemics in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal had much quicker increases," Bradshaw added.

Safety

"We still urge South Africans to continue to wear masks, practice physical distancing, hand-hygiene and avoid crowds and congestion."

Meanwhile, the SAMRC's president and CEO, Glenda Gray, said they had urged doctors to ensure the accurate completion of death certificates especially if it was Covid-19 related.

She added this would be important in understanding the true impact of the pandemic.

"The downward turn of deaths is a positive sign that the virus may have peaked in some parts of the country and is in keeping with the epidemiological models of the pandemic," Gray said.

The report on weekly deaths shows the "number of estimated excess deaths has begun to decrease, consistent with the trend in the number of confirmed Covid-19 deaths. Both are turning down".

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