WATCH: NICD expert says there is no need to panic over Covid-19

A member of Indonesian Red Cross sprays disinfectant in the wake of coronavirus outbreak at a school in Jakarta, Indonesia (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

A member of Indonesian Red Cross sprays disinfectant in the wake of coronavirus outbreak at a school in Jakarta, Indonesia (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Published Mar 16, 2020

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Durban - As numbers of Covid-19 continue to rise, Professor Cheryl Cohen, a senior lecturer and co-head of the centre of respiratory disease and meningitis at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, believes that the measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday night were proactive and showed a strong package of interventions. 

In an interview with Jacaranda FM on Monday, Cohen said the virus had a wide spectrum of illnesses and most people will contract a milder or form of Covid-19. 

Cohen further allayed fears adding that many people may experience common cold or flu-like symptoms and not require special interventions. 

"Within SA, the numbers of imported cases continue to increase. We have seen a dramatic increase from the first case over a week ago to now over 60 cases in SA. The vast majority of these are from outside SA. It really shows that the amount of coronavirus cases has led to the President's statement on interventions," she said. 

Cohen said what makes Covid-19 more challenging to deal with, is that it causes a respiratory illness.

"The most common symptoms are  fever, a cough and shortness of breath. In the early stages or in a mild case, it could present like a common cold or flu. You cannot know it is coronavirus without a test," she said. 

She said in the majority of the cases, the patients presented with a fever.

She said for most people, when they are tested they present with cold or flu-like symptoms. 

"Eighty percent of people will have symptoms and recover completely. In a very small proportion of patients will go on to develop a more serious illness and some will die - this is around 1%. These are mainly people with underlying conditions like lung disease or heart disease. In those who get pneumonia where they are struggling to breathe - those are the symptoms where you should seek medical care," she said. 

She said with flu, a proportion of people could be infected but not become ill. This is due to the body's ability to fight off infections. 

Cohen said there was no need to panic. 

%%%twitter https://twitter.com/nicd_sa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nicd_sa, @nhls_sa and private laboratories have conducted a total of 2 405 tests to date. As of 16 March 2020, we confirm an additional 11 new #COVID19 positive cases. This brings the country to a total of 62 confirmed COVID-19 cases. https://t.co/hqhT3w7Nok pic.twitter.com/EDmfMCjkYB

— NICD (@nicd_sa)

Gauteng Province

A 33-year-old male who travelled to Spain

A 68 year-old-female who travelled to Austria

A 30-year-old male who travelled to India

A 39-year-old male who travelled to the United States of America

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A 37-year-old who travelled to the United States of America, Dubai and Mexico

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A 39-year-old male who travelled to Canada

A 15-year-old male who travelled to France

Limpopo Province

A 29-year-old male who travelled to France and the Netherlands

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The Mercury 

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