'I think we have got quite clear evidence that we have flattened the curve and that the number of cases we are seeing -- and the number of infections probably occurring -- has declined quite substantially.'
Chief COVID-19 adviser professor Salim Abdool Karim said South Africa had performed better than developed countries in slowing transmission although the number of cases has continued to rise.South Africa announced its first coronavirus case on March 5 and went into lockdown on March 27, when infections spiked to 1,170.Q: Was the lockdown effective?The lockdown has had quite an effect.
From an epidemiological point of view we are at a level of low community transmission, so I think it has had its effect because that's what its primary goal was. On the actual timing of the lifting of the lockdown, whenever there is low community transmission it will be okay to do so.The problem is we don't know how many people have this virus asymptomatically. So our next step is going to be to try and get some idea about that, using some new tests that look at antibodies.We needed a bit of time to get better prepared. The key is going to be the extent to which we can protect hospitals.If it turns out that this rise in infections occurs quickly...
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