Cape Town - Health and Wellness MEC Dr Nomafrench Mbombo has called for the public to remain calm and careful in light of the Covid-19 XBB.1.5 subvariant.
“Our department continues to monitor the Covid-19 situation in our province, and we will alert the public if we see a rise in hospitalisations or deaths. Our systems are still in place to monitor the situation. Right now there is no cause for alarm,” Mbombo said on Tuesday.
This follows a National Department of Health briefing earlier which confirmed the detection of the new subvariant of the Omicron variant, and that there would be no immediate changes in protocols and no travel restrictions.
Mbombo said the case was detected by the Centre for Genomic Surveillance at Stellenbosch University as part of the national and international sequencing network.
“While it was detected locally, samples are randomised and there is no clear confirmation that the sample was from the Western Cape,” she said.
“Currently there is no confirmed evidence that XBB.1.5 is more severe or causes more severe disease than other variants.
“The mitigation efforts include increased surveillance and testing, with a renewed focus on the vaccination programme,” Mbombo said.
Covid-19 statistics in the Western Cape show a total number of 349 active cases. Twenty-one people are currently admitted to hospital, with three people in ICU.
One death has been reported in the last seven days.
Cape Times