This doesn’t mean the pandemic is over: SA health department’s Covid-19 caution

While coronavirus infections have been on a downward trajectory for months, the department of health says the spread of the virus remains a health threat and concern in SA.  

The department said this as the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the virus as no longer a global health emergency. It first declared the Covid-19 outbreak a global emergency three years ago.  

The organisation’s director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he took the decision to lower international alarm on the virus after analysing data and consulting experts.   

In South Africa, the health department welcomed the announcement but said it remained concerned about the spread of the virus and health risks. 

“It is important to clarify that this doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. The fact is, the pandemic remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality especially in high-risk populations such as the elderly and people living with comorbidities.”

The department said it understood the WHO's decision.

“The number of cases is far lower at the moment than during the height of the pandemic, hence it is no longer viewed as a public health emergency.”  

It encouraged the public to get vaccinated. 

According to the department of health, as of February, there were 102,595 lives lost to the virus. 

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