Infections dropped by almost 30 percent last week compared to the preceding seven days, according to the presidency, while hospital admissions also declined in eight of the nine provinces.
According
to report, South Africa, where the Omicron variant was detected in November,
said Thursday that the country's latest coronavirus wave had likely passed its
peak without a significant increase in deaths and that restrictions would be
eased.
The highly
contagious Omicron variant, which contains a number of mutations, has fuelled
an end-of-year global pandemic resurgence. But mounting evidence, including in
South Africa, has given rise to hopes it may be less severe than other strains.
"All
indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth
wave," the South African presidency said in a statement that announced the
end of the nightly curfew.
During the
spike, only a marginal increase in Covid-19 deaths was noted, it added.
"While
the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, there has been lower rates of
hospitalisation than in previous waves," the statement said.
"This
means that the country has a spare capacity for admission of patients even for
routine health services."
Omicron
was first identified in South Africa and Botswana in late November. It quickly
became the dominant strain in South Africa, causing an explosion of infections
with a peak of about 26,000 daily cases recorded by mid-December, according to
official statistics.
The
variant is currently present in more than 100 countries, according to the World
Health Organization, and affects vaccinated people as well as those who have
already had coronavirus.
South
Africa has been the hardest hit by coronavirus on the continent, recording more
than 3.4 million cases and 91,000 deaths. But fewer than 13,000 infections had
been recorded in the past 24 hours.
"The
speed with which the Omicron-driven fourth wave rose, peaked and then declined
has been staggering. Peak in four weeks and precipitous decline in another
two," Fareed Abdullah of the South African Medical Research Council posted
on Twitter.
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