The fifth wave of COVID doesn’t look like it will reach the same levels witnessed in December 2021 – Photo: Stock Image / Pixabay
COVID-19 test positivity rate reaches highest level since Feb
The positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in Mzansi has risen to a massive 8.6%, could this be an indicator of a rising infection rate?
The fifth wave of COVID doesn’t look like it will reach the same levels witnessed in December 2021 – Photo: Stock Image / Pixabay
COVID-19 positivity rate of tests in South Africa has risen to its highest level since February. This is an indication that the number of undetected infections may be on the rise, once again.
An 8.6% positivity rate is the highest since 23 February
2,032 tests came back positive in total. 8.6% of said tests were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19. This is according to stats released in a statement by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
A positivity rate of 8.7% was recorded on 23 February of this year. This positivity rate represented the third straight daily increase. It rose from 6.2% the day before. 28 March 2022 recorded a positivity rate of 4.5%, reports TimesLIVE.
COVID-19 DEATHS PASS 100,000 MARK AS THE FIFTH WAVE IS EXPECTED IN MAY
The death toll from COVID-19 related deaths in South Africa has reached over 100,000. This comes just a week after the country relaxed most restrictions that were put in place to reduce the number of infections.
44 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours on Thursday, 31 March, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD). The actual number of COVID-19 related deaths could be triple the aforementioned number.
Studies conducted by the South African Medical Research Council track the number of deaths that are above the historical norm. In late June 2021, the number of fatalities went over the 60,000 mark.
This was as the country battled the third wave of COVID-19 infections that were driven by the Delta variant. President Cyril Ramaphosa once again raised the alert level in South Africa at the time.
TOP SA SCIENTIST TELLS US ALL WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ‘DELTA COMEBACK’
A fifth wave of COVID-19 is anticipated to hit our shores within the next few weeks – and some reports had previously claimed a resurgence of the troublesome Delta variant could fuel a tidal wave of new cases.
However, some of our top virus experts comprehensively disagree. Last week, the Health Department’s Nicholas Crisp rubbished reports that an uptick in Delta cases had been registered within the past week. Read the full story here.
