Cape Town - The Western Cape’s head of public health Dr Keith Cloete says while Covid-19 cases are continuing to increase, the rate of increase is slowing and is predicted to slow further, but there was no reason for the public to lower their guard against infection.
Dr Cloete was speaking at the regular provincial digital news conference which he presented on Wednesday with Premier Alan Winde. Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo is on leave.
He said the public should continue being vigilant and prevent the spread of the virus through non-pharmaceutical measures such as vaccinating, wearing masks and ensuring good ventilation.
Regarding the Omicron variant, he said that the proportion of cases with severe disease to date had been lower, but that this could be due to predominantly younger people, who are at lower risk of severe disease, getting infected.
“It is important to note there is no clear evidence that Omicron causes less severe disease in unvaccinated people without prior infection.
“We need to await robust evidence, and guard against premature conclusions. To date, vaccines appear to still provide strong protection against severe disease from Omicron and remain our best defence,” he said.
Dr Cloete said the biggest weapon against a big impact of the fourth wave remained vaccination, especially for those aged 50 and over.
Winde said he would strongly encourage those who are 50 years and older, and those who have comorbidities, to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“We want to ensure that you are protected from the fourth wave, where your risk of infection, hospitalisation and even death are so much higher,” he said.
Winde said he was concerned that there had been a slow uptake of vaccines among those aged 18 years and older.
“We will continue in our efforts to lead a targeted vaccine campaign, bringing vaccines to the people and ensuring that nobody is left behind,” Winde said.