The chairperson of Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s Covid-19 advisory group, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, says South Africa will likely not be able to prevent the exponential spread of Covid-19, once the lockdown comes to an end.

He says although community transmissions are low at this point, the measures introduced to halt the spread of the virus, has only bought the country time to prepare for the “almost inevitable” – a dramatic rise in infections.

Karim, an epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist, delivered a presentation about the spread of the coronavirus in the country last night. He was joined by Mhkize.

He says a decision on a further lockdown extension would be informed by the rate of spread in communities over the next few days. If average daily cases increase by more than 90, then lockdown should be extended. If average daily cases increase by less than 44, then a systematic easing of lockdown could take place.

To see Karim’s FULL presentation click on the link below:

https://sacoronavirus.co.za/2020/04/13/sas-covid-19-epidemic-trends-next-steps/