Some restrictions were relaxed but South Africans are urged to observe the regulations that are in place, as experts warn of a fifth wave at the end of April/May due to a new variant.
The new variant, known as Deltacron, is a mixture of the Omicron and Delta variants and has appeared in South Africa.
In a television interview, medical expert Dr Vivek Solanki said the Deltacron variant was expected to be highly contagious but not necessarily fatal.
“It is expected to be more contagious than Omicron; however, not necessarily more deadly,” said Solanki.
He said it had been spreading in France, Denmark, Germany, Holland, the US as well as countries in Asia. It would soon spread to the rest of Africa.
“The fifth wave, we expect it around the end of April/May to take off really seriously. However, we should be at the side of caution and not overreact and panic. This is similar to Omicron. It’s like the flu, chances are a lot of people will catch it.
“Most people, around 95/96 (percent), would just recover the symptoms and signs of it. There will be extremely few people that might end up hospitalised, and those are the ones who are more prone to it with high comorbid conditions and high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes and auto-immune disorders,” he said.
Dr Etienne Simon-Loriere, a virologist at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, told The New York Times that the body would often recognise the Deltacron variant as the Omicron variant.
This means your Covid-19 symptoms from Deltacron might resemble the omicron variant.
The top symptoms to watch out for:
– Fatigue
– Runny nose
– Headache
– Sore throat
– Sneezing
– Chills or shivers
– Fever
– Persistent cough
– Hoarse voice or sore throat
– Brain fog
– Dizziness
– Chest pain
– Muscle pains
– Loss of smell
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