“The fourth wave is downwards in the majority of provinces and we're hoping that will continue, certainly with the schools reopening and people returning to provinces there may be some clusters,” says Puren.  

“We hope that overall, the trajectory will still be downwards and that will be indicated by the number of new infections versus hospitalisations and deaths. I think that particular picture is promising at this time and that will continue so that we move out of this fourth resurgence.”  

Statistics released by the institute on Sunday show that the positivity rate now stands at 17.6%, a significant decline since the emergence of the Omicron variant last month. 

Puren says it is difficult to predict if there will be a fifth wave soon. 

“We know that the virus continues to evolve. With this particular Omicron variant, however, it has not been as problematic in terms of hospitalisation and deaths. I think we should continue to vaccinate as many people as possible, including specific group ages,” he says.

Jacaranda News