Health spokesperson Foster Mohale says messages being spread on social media - allegedly attributed to the Ministry of Health and calling for citizens to wear a mask due to a new variant - are misleading.

However, he said that the known Covid-19 virus variants are still in circulation, and that people should get vaccinated.

However, he emphasised that the messages circulating about the so-called new variant are false.

“The department would like to dismiss this as fake news by faceless sources whose sole intention is to create unnecessary panic. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a notification in October this year on the Omicron sub lineages BQ.1 and XBB detected around the world as part of ongoing work to track variants by Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE). The department, working with the NICD and other scientists, continues to monitor all Covid-19 lineages, and appeals to South Africans to continue to be vigilant as they embark on festive seasons activities,” he adds.

Mohale further explains that the role of the TAG-VE is to alert the WHO if a variant that can cause a more severe disease or lead to large epidemic waves causing increased burden to the healthcare system is emerging and likely to pose a significant threat.

He adds that currently there is no epidemiological evidence that these sub lineages will be of substantially greater risk compared to other Omicron sub lineages.

OFM News