蜜芽传媒

South African health officials say coronavirus cases are surging at an unprecedented rate, with more than 11,000 daily cases now being reported - in contrast to two weeks ago when they were averaging at just over 300 a day.

This gives scientists there a unique opportunity to study whether those who have been previously infected by Covid have any protection - as the country has a high past infection rate.

One of those scientists investigating this question is Prof Cheryl Cohen, head of the Centre for Respiratory Disease and Meningitis at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa.

She says it looks like the Omicron variant has led to a big increase in the number of those who've already had Covid becoming re-infected. But she says preliminary evidence also suggests they may suffer less severe symptoms. She says another question is whether the same will apply for those who've been vaccinated, rather than having some natural immunity.

"With Omicron, in contrast to the previous versions, we are seeing increased rates of reinfection in people who've had Sars-Covid-2 before. So it looks like it's at least two times higher than it has been before. And this goes some way to explain why, even with these high levels of immunity in our communities, we are seeing this rapid increase."

(Photo: A Soweto resident walks in front of an informative graffiti art work. Credit: EPA)

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