CAPE TOWN -
Data from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases(NICD) shows that South Africa’s influenza season is late due to the national lockdown.
The lockdown period has been unable to successfully reduce the infection rate in the country, but inadvertently stopped the spread of the Flu which kills thousands of South Africans every year.
According to the NICD the Flu usually starts to see a rise in late April, but there’s been no spike in their data as of May 17.
“These are respiratory infections which are transmitted by respiratory droplets and contact. So with limited social interaction as a result of lockdown this should slow down transmission and therefore the number of cases reported,” NICD’s Sibongile Walaza told Business Insider SA.
Researchers say that the reopening of schools and businesses could fuel the spread, however, the hygiene measures being put in place to stop the spread of Covid-19 could help contain the spread of the Flu.
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