December 23rd local time, South African Health Minister Zveli Mukez announced that South Africa will re-examine epidemic prevention measures to deal with the ravages of mutant viruses.
Mukez said that the mutant virus is currently spreading exponentially, much faster than the first wave. Therefore, South Africa will identify areas with high incidence of mutant viruses and modify relevant epidemic prevention policies.
The Western Cape Province of South Africa, where Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, is the high incidence area of the second epidemic.
The governor of the province, Alan Wendy, said that there will be a second peak of the epidemic in the next two weeks to one month, and the number of new infections per day may be twice that of the first wave peak.
The Western Cape needs more beds and more medical resources. Alain Wendy said that the South Health Minister Zveli Mukez and a team of related experts began research and data analysis in the Western Cape on the 24th.
The number of COVID-19 infections currently undergoing treatment in the Western Cape is 34,694, 61% higher than the first peak. At the first peak, the highest daily increase in cases was 2,158 (June 29, 2020), but the most recent maximum daily increase was 4,508 (108% higher).
June to July 2020 was the first peak of the epidemic in South Africa, with the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus increasing in the country. Some local medical institutions predict that the second peak of the epidemic will increase in the number of COVID-19 infections.
The United Kingdom said that the newly discovered coronavirus mutant virus in South Africa is not the same as the recent novel coronavirus mutant virus in South Africa.
The recent mutant virus in South Africa is more infectious and two people have been infected by the recent mutant virus in South Africa. So starting from the 23rd, Britain has suspended flights to and from South Africa.
In addition to the United Kingdom, flights to and from South Africa have been suspended in France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Switzerland, El Salvador, Turkey, Israel, the Netherlands and Mauritius.
