Travel ban South Africa UK red list

[FILE] UK’s updated entry requirements does nothing to promote travel to South Africa. Image: Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP

Traveller tests positive after arriving from India; NICD says B.1.617 variant isn’t in SA

An individual that arrived from India recently tested positive for COVID-19. The NICD said that the B.1.617 variant has not been detected yet.

Travel ban South Africa UK red list

[FILE] UK’s updated entry requirements does nothing to promote travel to South Africa. Image: Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP

An individual who recently travelled from India to South Africa has tested positive for COVID-19. The individual was treated in isolation at one of the Netcare hospital group’s medical facilities in KwaZulu-Natal, Netcare said on Monday, 3 May.

TRAVELLER FROM INDIA TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

Dr Caroline Maslo, the senior clinical advisor and head of infection control of Netcare’s hospital division, said even though screening for the virus is performed at the country’s border posts it does not fully rule out the possibility of new cases and “potentially new variants” entering South Africa. Maslo added that the case numbers in the hospital group’s facilities remain “extremely low.”

“We can however confirm that one patient who had recently travelled from India was treated in isolation for COVID-19 at a hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. We remain vigilant in maintaining strict safety precautions in our facilities and apply an abundance of caution in treating all patients,” said Maslo.

In response to a query from The South African about whether the individual might have been infected with one of the variants first detected in India, Maslo said: “The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) would be better placed to advise on any new variants detected in South Africa, and how these may differ from the strains that have been in circulation here to date.”

THE B.1.617 VARIANT HAS NOT BEEN DETECTED IN SA, SAYS NICD

In a statement on Monday, the NICD expressed its sympathy for the situation India finds itself in at present – on Monday, the country’s total caseload was nearing the 20 million mark – and reassured the public that the institute is keeping a watchful eye on the developments.

Dr Michelle Groome, the Head of the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response at the NICD, said that the B.1.617 coronavirus variant, which has been partly blamed for the surge in Indian cases, has not been detected in South Africa yet and any suspected cases will be investigated.

“Testing of COVID-19 positive samples from travellers entering South Africa from India and their close contacts will be prioritised,” said Groome. “This will enable us to detect the B.1.617 and any other variants in a timely manner.”

The NICD said the mutation of viruses is a natural occurrence in the lifecycle of any virus, citing the detection of the 501Y.V2 variant of the coronavirus first detected in South Africa in October 2020. The institute added that although viral mutations are unavoidable, it has been proven that sticking to non-pharmaceutical interventions helps to lessen transmission of the disease.

“South Africans are reminded to wear their masks, wash their hands with soap and water or to use hand sanitiser, and to keep a physical distance of at least 1.5 meters from others,” said the NICD’s Acting Executive Director Adrian Puren.

According to News24, which claims to have a source within the COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC), the individual who tested positive after travelling from India to South Africa is undergoing gene sequencing, which could take up to a week, to determine if they picked up one of the variants circulating in India.

READ: ‘Double mutant’ variant detected in India amid spike in COVID-19 cases