Government refrains from imposing coronavirus restrictions
The National Coronavirus Command Council had signed off on a decision to refrain from implementing coronavirus restrictions on locals and travellers from affected countries, such as China and the US.
News24 reports that SA, however, has been advised to ramp up its Covid-19 testing after the first case of a new Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, was detected last week.
The advice, from scientists and the World Health Organisation, comes on the back of climbing Covid-19 cases in China and the US.
In a briefing yesterday, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the department had been monitoring international developments with the virus, amid a 25% increase in global cases in December.
The high levels of immunity in the South African population prompted the decision to refrain from implementing restrictions on Chinese travellers, as well as other countries experiencing a surge in cases, such as the US.
The Health Minister added the outbreak in China was not being driven by the XBB.1.5 subvariant, although it appeared to be driving the increase in cases in the US.
The subvariant was detected in SA on Friday.
Phaahla said the variant of concern that remained dominant in SA was still Omicron (accounting for more than 97% of all cases).
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
