By Martin Cole-
South Africa has finally lifted a night time curfew on people’s movement with immediate effect after two years of imposition , stating that the country has passed the peak of its fourth coronavirus wave driven by the Omicron variant.
The decision announced by the Presidency on Thursday evening followed meetings of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC), which received updates on the management of the current fourth wave of COVID-19 in South Africa.
The South African government in Pretoria removed the midnight-to-4am curfew based on the trajectory of the pandemic, vaccination levels and available capacity in the health sector, the government said on Thursday.
The Presidency cited several reasons for the decisions, which have been welcomed by the restaurant industry and members of the public who were cautioned on Wednesday by Minister of Police Bheki Cele that they would be arrested if they were out in public after midnight on Friday to celebrate the advent of the New Year
“All indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at a national level,” a statement from a special cabinet meeting held earlier on Thursday said.
“While the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, there has been lower rates of hospitalisation than in previous waves,” the cabinet statement said.
Infections dropped by almost 30 percent last week compared to the preceding seven days, according to the presidency, while hospital admissions also declined in eight of the nine provinces.
Statistics from South Africa’s health department revealed a 29.7% weekly decrease in new cases detected in the week ending 25 December, the government said. Hospital admissions have declined in eight of South Africa’s nine provinces.
The variant is currently present in over 100 countries, according to the World Health Organization, and affects vaccinated people as well as those who have already had coronavirus.
South Africa has been the most affected by coronavirus on the continent, recording more than 3.4 million cases and 91,000 deaths. But fewer than 13,000 infections had been recorded in the past 24 hours.
Mask-wearing remains compulsory in public spaces and public gatherings are limited to 1,000 people indoors and 2,000 outdoors.
The government also ruled that alcohol shops with licenses to operate beyond 11pm may resume to its full license conditions, a welcome boon for traders.
Public gatherings are restricted to no more than 1,000 people indoors, and no more than 2,000 people outdoors. Wearing of masks in public places also remains mandatory, with breaches considered a criminal offence.
It follows fresh assurances from the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said on Linkedin that the world has the tools to end this calamity.
“After two years, we now know this virus well,” he wrote. “We know the proven measures to control transmission: mask use, avoiding crowds, maintaining physical distancing, practicing hand and respiratory hygiene, opening windows for ventilation, testing and contact tracing. We know how to treat the disease it causes and improve the chances of survival for people suffering serious illness. With all these learnings and capacities, the opportunity to turn this pandemic around for good is in our grasp.”
His encouraging words will come as good news for some, but cynics will see it as mere rhetoric. Meanwhile, Israel is one of the few countries so far to introduce a fourth vaccine shot for vulnerable people , in its bid to to beat the omicron variant. The Uk and Germany are already considering following suit with a fourth vaccine or booster roll out in 2022.
Health ministry director general Nachman Ash said: “I did this in light of studies that show the benefit of the vaccine, including the fourth vaccine, to this population, and in light of the fear they are more vulnerable in this outbreak of Omicron.”
Israeli health authorities reported more than 4,000 new cases on Thursday, a high not seen since September. Health minister Nitzan Horowitz said Israel was in “a fifth wave”, with most cases probably related to Omicron.
Then on Thursday, an Israeli El Al flight from Belgium landed in Tel Aviv carrying a shipment of Pfizer’s anti-Covid pill, Paxlovid, which Bennett hailed as an “important addition to the arsenal in the war against the pandemic”.
“Thanks to our rapid action, the drugs have arrived in Israel quickly and will assist us in getting past the peak of the coming Omicron wave,” he said.
Ran Balicer, chairman of Israel’s national expert panel on Covid-19, said the Pfizer drugs could “dramatically reduce risk of severe illness, potentially thus also reducing the overall hospital burden”. He said the medications were critical, “in addition to vaccines and masks”.
In trials, the treatment has been shown to reduce Covid hospitalisations and deaths by 88% among at-risk people. The oral treatments block the virus’ ability to replicate and should withstand variants, experts say.
The European Union’s drug regulator has also allowed member states to use Pfizer’s Covid medications ahead of formal approval as an emergency measure.
Ash approved the booster after Israel’s Sheba Medical Centre launched a clinical trial Monday, giving 150 staff members a fourth jab to test the benefit of a wider national rollout of additional doses.