A new variant of the Coronavirus has been detected in South Africa.
Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla convened an urgent media briefing on Thursday to explain the significance of the new variant - named B.1.1 529 - of which 100 cases have been detected in South Africa.
Cases have also been detected in Hong Kong and Botswana.
Speaking on SABC News a short while ago, Professor Tulio De Oliveira, from the KZN Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform, stressed that the variant had not originated in South Africa and that it should have a Greek name soon as announced earlier this year by the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO said this new process of labelling Covid-19 variants will make it easier to say and is designed to not stigmatize countries from where they were originally detected.
Meanwhile, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said the cases are increasing quickly, particularly in Gauteng, North West and Limpopo.
Dr Michelle Groome, Head of the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response at the NICD says that provincial health authorities remain on high alert and are prioritising the sequencing of COVID-19 positive samples.
She stresses that regardless of the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, the importance of non-pharmaceutical interventions remains unchanged and the public are urged to be responsible.
"This means that individuals should get vaccinated, wear masks, practice healthy hand hygiene, maintain social distancing, and gather in well-ventilated spaces.”
