South Africa detects two COVID-19 'variants of concern', urges people 'not to panic'

South Africa’s Health Minister Zweli Mkhize recently informed that several cases of two COVID “variants of concern” have been detected in the country. According to AP, Mkhize said that testing had picked up 11 cases of the variants B.1.1.7 first detected in the UK and four cases of the B.1.617.2 variant, which was first found in India. In a statement, the minister said that the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) confirmed that the “two variants of concern” have been detected in South Africa, in addition to the B.1.351 variant which was already dominating in the country. 

Mkhize informed, “The four cases of B.1.617.2 [Indian variant of coronavirus] have been detected in Gauteng [2] and KwaZulu-Natal [2] and all have a history of a recent arrival from India. All cases have been isolated and managed according to the national COVID-19 case management guidelines and contact tracing has been performed in order to limit the spread of this variant”. 

The minister further said that of the 11 cases of B.1.1.7, eight were detected in the Western Cape - with two having a history of travel from Bahrain, one was detected in KwaZulu-Natal and two in Gauteng. He added that the B.1.1.7 strain was detected in community samples and that this suggested community transmission had already set in. Mkhize’s statement came on the same day the country recorded its highest ever single-day COVID-19 death toll of 4,187 fatalities. 

‘No need to panic’ 

However, he said that there is “no need to panic” as the fundamentals of the public health response - testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine - have not changed. Mkhize said that it is important to emphasise that variants can develop at any time in any country so they do not have to be imported. He added that as the world is still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, surges in one territory are bound to spill over into other territories. 

“These findings are urgently being processed by the government and announcements pertaining to travel regulations will be made after all appropriate consultations have been undertaken by the Cabinet,” he said.

It is worth noting that Africa is the worst hit in terms of infections and fatalities. South Africa’s second wave was driven by its own variant that quickly dominated infections countrywide. So far, COVID-19 has killed 54,687 people in South Africa, along with over 1.59 million confirmed cases, according to John Hopkins University. The country has ordered tens of millions of vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer as it looks to ramp up its slow mass vaccination campaign. 

(With inputs from AP and PTI)