What does the matric Rage super-spreader event mean for KZN? Prof Tulio de Oliveira weighs in
Following an urgent announcement by the Health Department that tickets for the Rage festival in Plettenberg Bay have been halted after a surge in COVID-19 cases were traced back to the Ballito leg, the Breakfast team had some questions about this announcement and called virus hunter and bioinformatician Prof Tulio de Oliveira for his insight.
On Sunday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize called on all those who attended matric rage events across the country to immediately go into a 10-day quarantine period.
An announcement on the SA Coronavirus website read: "We wish to make an urgent announcement to all parents and learners regarding a super-spreader event that has been identified. We confirm that we have now identified a number of COVID-19 confirmed cases arising from these super-spreader events. This, therefore, means that if you attended any of these Rage events, you are now regarded as a contact."
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The list of events are as follows:
Rage Ballito – 27/11 – 04/12
Rage Plettenberg Bay – 27/11-05/12
Rage Johannesburg – 12/12-13/12
Rage Jeffery’s Bay – 26/11-6/12
Speaking to virus hunter and bioinformatician Prif Tulio de Oliveira about this recent revelation, he said that it looks like it will fast track the second wave in KwaZulu-Natal.
He further highlighted that the number of cases has almost doubled in a week in KZN. Although the event organisers said that they went through strict COVID-19 measures to follow protocols, it was not enough.
Prof Tulio de Oliveira urges people to reconsider travel plans and events.
READ: "Stock up on some wine" - Prof Tulio de Oliveira
IMAGE CREDIT: iStock