South Africa is struggling to contain a second wave of Covid-19 infections which appears to be driven by a new and more infectious variant of the disease, similar to that in the UK.
Scientists and officials have warned the country’s 56 million people that the new variant, referred to as 501.V2, carries a heavier viral load and appears to be more prevalent among the young.
“It is still very early but at this stage, the preliminary data suggests the virus that is now dominating in the second wave is spreading faster than the first wave,” Prof Salim Abdool Karim, the chairman of the government’s ministerial advisory committee (MAC), said.
South Africa may see “many more cases” in the new wave than it experienced earlier this year, Abdool Karim said.
Prof Ian Sanne, a member of the MAC, said the variant detected in South Africa was not the same as that identified in the UK.
“There are two different viruses but they are different variants of the same strain of the coronavirus,” Sanne told local media.
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