SA could be seeing the start of a Covid-19 fifth wave with Gauteng as epicentre

Three months after South Africa officially exited the Covid-19 fourth wave, an increase in cases over the past week has led experts to predict that a fifth wave could soon be on the horizon.

Infectious diseases expert and head of the Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital, Professor Marc Mendelson, said that while the country is seeing a rise of Covid-19 cases the threshold for defining a fifth wave has not been crossed yet.

“It looks like we may be seeing the start of the fifth wave but what we don't know is whether or not this fifth wave will have the same characteristics as we saw in the fourth wave with the Omicron variant,” he said.

On Wednesday, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported 6 372 new Covid-19 cases. The increase represents a 21% positivity rate.