The institute says Covid-19 will continue to mutate as the number of cases increase.

The C.1.2 variant has been detected across the country but it's to be at a very low level at present.

Vaccinologist Penny Moore, South African Research Chairperson of Virus-Host Dynamics at Wits, said: "This is our new normal, unfortunately. This is what's going to happen continuously with SARS-Covid-2 as long as we have high levels of infections.

"Although we are rolling out vaccines in South Africa at a rapid pace, globally there are still a huge number of infections," Moore said. "As infections continue to occur, it gives the virus an opportunity to mutate and any mutation that the virus happens to pick up, that gives it some sort of advantage, whether that is transmissibility or resistance to anti-bodies, that mutation is going to spread.

"As long as we have infections we are expecting to pick up these variants. We really need to get these vaccines out globally. If we can get everybody to take the vaccines that would reduce the spread of SARS-Covid-2 globally and that's the only way to reduce variants."

eNCA