Concerns as more children are infected with new Omnicron Covid-19 variant
President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that he will soon convene a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) to review the state of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Writing in his weekly letter to the nation, Ramaphosa says the government is preparing its hospitals for more admissions, as the Omicron variant pushes the country into the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections.
Meanwhile, Health officials are seeing a spike in the number of young children being infected and hospitalised with the new Omicron COVID-19 variant. This is after over 116,000 children aged 10 years and younger have contracted the virus, while close to 300,000 teens have been infected.
With each passing day, scientists are learning more about the coronavirus, its mutations and how it affects the public.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases’ (NICD) Dr Waasila Jassat on Monday said there was a growing concern particularly around how this virus had led to young children needing hospital care.
“Now in this fourth wave, we’re seeing a sharp increase in all age groups but particularly the under 5s. Incidents in those under 5 are now second-highest and second only to those over 60.”
Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale said while vaccines were not yet available to children under 12 years old, it has become even more important for their families and loved ones to get immunised.
