Scientists have noticed that complacency and super spreader events are some of the key drivers in the second wave gripping Europe, which is once again the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic and they're calling on South Africans to learn from Europe's mistakes.
Several countries have gone into yet another lockdown to stop the spread of the virus like in Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, many of which have fewer coronavirus cases than South Africa at the moment.
One of the country’s top scientists, Professor Shabir Madhi on Friday said they started on Monday by visiting households in the province to determine how widespread the virus is.
With experts sounding the alarm on a possible second spike in coronavirus transmissions, public hospitals are confident they’ll be better prepared.
Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University, Shabir Madhi, said that some sectors of the population could have developed immune cells.
Wits Professor Shabir Madhi, who is in charge of the South African leg of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial, has called for the re-opening of borders and resumption of international flights.
As part of regulatory procedure, further vaccination of participants enrolled in the study has been halted after a volunteer in the UK fell ill.
Wits University has this week started screening participants for its second vaccine efficacy trial.
The institution said 2,000 people between the ages of 18 and 65 would be enrolled for the trial, which was expected to be run at multiple sites in South Africa.
Professor of vaccinology at Wits University Shabir Madhi says pregnant women are prone to the streptococcus bacteria, which is what results in stillbirths and infant deaths.
