Omicron fears famine in South Africa

In South Africa, the fear of measures and restrictions is greater than the mutation itself / Photo: EPA

A new Omicron mutation discovered in South Africa has caused worldwide concern. But in South Africa the fear of measures and restrictions is greater than the mutation itself.

Green Market Square in downtown Cape Town has been an indicator of the poor state of the tourism sector since the beginning of the pandemic. Before Covid-19, it was full of tourists and souvenir stalls. Then there was only one stand, and in the meantime it was refilled. Drums, wood carvings, colorful paintings for sale. But traders across Africa are desperate again. "We had a lot of German tourists last week," said a Congolese woman who sells handbags, necklaces and T-shirts. "Now everyone is rushing home prematurely for fear of getting stuck here. The economy is collapsing. "There is no business without customers."

"What will my children eat?"

News of the new Omicron mutation spread quickly. But here, rarely is anyone afraid of the mutation itself, more afraid of the consequences. "I make a living from this business - without it I would not be able to feed my family," said a Malawian man who sells hats. "I am very worried, what will my children and my family eat?"

In a short time, many countries reacted to the newly discovered strain by scientists in the Republic of South Africa (South Africa). The EU, the United States, Israel, Singapore, Mauritius and other countries in a day imposed restrictions on flights from South Africa, after less than 100 people were found to be positive about the new variant.

The Omicron strain has over 30 mutations in the spike protein - twice as many as the Delta strain. "At the moment we have no evidence from patients or laboratory studies that these mutations are causing it," said Wolfgang Priiser, a virologist at Stellenbosch University. "But given that certain mutations are known to us from other variants, we can predict something: there is concern that this virus could bypass the immune system." This means that people who have been infected before can also be infected. And they can be infected and vaccinated. "On top of that, it is much more portable."

Cases in Botswana, Hong Kong, Israel and Belgium

Further tests will be performed in the coming days and weeks to get a clearer picture of the condition. In the meantime, cases of the virus have been confirmed in Botswana, Hong Kong, Israel and Belgium.

Life in South Africa has almost returned to normal in recent weeks. Due to the low rate of infections after a long time, tourists from different countries started coming to the country again. But in the past few days, the number of infected has begun to rise sharply - from 100 cases per day in early November, up to 2500 are registered per day. This is the beginning of the fourth wave in South Africa. President Cyril Ramafosa convened a meeting of the National Coronavirus Council.

Whether the increased number of cases is a consequence of the new variant is still unclear. Praser thinks that is very likely. First of all, in the Gauteng region and in the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria, the numbers are growing rapidly, warns the Minister of Health of South Africa. "If people travel more often in the coming weeks, then it will spread everywhere," said Health Minister Joseph Pala, who was surprised by the urgent measures taken abroad. According to him, they are unjustified and against the recommendations of the World Health Organization.

Discrimination, isolation, naivety

The South African foreign minister criticized such decisions as "hasty". "The world should support South Africa and Africa, not discriminate and isolate them," Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Center for Outbreak Management and Innovation, wrote on Twitter.

Vaccine researcher Shabi Madi says it is naive to believe that restricting travel to several countries can prevent the spread of a new variant of the virus. "The last two years have taught us that this virus can spread across the globe despite restrictions."

That is why the memories of the Beta variant are awakened in South Africa. It was discovered a year ago by South African scientists. And then there were major travel restrictions for the country's citizens, tourism collapsed, and the currency lost much of its value in a short time. Now the same scenario is happening again.

South Africa continued to borrow further due to the pandemic. Government debt, meanwhile, is almost as high as annual GDP, so no major financial injections are expected for the ailing economy.

There will be no help for most of the traders in Greenmarket Square either. Only a few here as migrants are entitled to state aid. "I have barely survived the last two years, and even now I do not understand how to live further," said the Malawian hat seller.

Taken from Deutsche Welle

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