Phaahla: South Africa entering fifth Covid wave much earlier

A fifth wave was only anticipated in mid-May. 

Phaahla says this is evident in a few telling characteristics contained in a report in the weekly report by epidemiologist Professor Abdool Karim.

"In his analysis, he argues that from a technical definition of more that than five cases on a daily basis per one hundred thousand of the population with that as a criteria. He believes that we have entered the fifth wave."  

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Phaahla gave his department's national update on Friday, saying it's also been argued that a country is officially in the fifth wave if it maintains over 6 000 positive cases in a sustained seven day period. 

"We already above 6 300 and this is just from yesterday's report which reflected tests done on the holiday, so whichever way we look at it, it does suggest that we may actually be entering the fifth wave must earlier."