South Africa Likely In New COVID Wave, Says Health Minister

South Africa's new infections are now several thousand per day, up from a few hundred a few weeks ago.

South Africa has likely entered a new wave of COVID-19 earlier than expected as new infections and hospitalizations have risen rapidly over the past two weeks, the country's health minister said on Friday.

The increase in new cases has been dominated by the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the omicron variant which dominated the country's earlier wave of the virus.

"Whichever way you look at it, it does suggest that we may actually be entering the fifth wave much earlier," Health Minister Joe Phaahla said Friday at a televised press briefing.