52 children under two years of age were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Tswane metropolitan area in South Africa
In South Africa (South Africa) dozens of children have been admitted to hospital with coronavirus. This was reported by Vasila Jasat, an employee of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIIZ), reports TASS.
“In recent days, 52 children under two years of age with COVID-19 were hospitalized in the Tswane agglomeration, which includes Pretoria,” said the expert. According to her, at the moment, one death has been recorded in the indicated age group of patients. Jasat noted that children make up about ten percent of all patients in hospitals in Tswana.
NIH representatives do not disclose what strain the children are infected with. However, South African President Cyril Ramaposa said earlier that most of the new infections in the province of Gauteng, which includes Tswane, are due to the omicron strain. For five days, more than ten thousand cases were registered in the region.
On November 11, a new strain of coronavirus under the code B.1.1.529 was detected in South Africa. The first cases of infection were registered on November 24. The strain was named with the Greek letter “omicron”, its danger was recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to doctors from South Africa, when infected with a new variant of COVID-19, the sense of smell and taste does not disappear, only an increase in temperature and a loss of strength are noted. Most patients have a very high pulse rate.