JOHANNESBURG – If the lockdown is ended abruptly, then South Africa runs the risk of undoing the effort and benefit achieved, that’s according to Professor Salim Abdool Karim.

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Karim, who is COVID-19 ministerial advisory committee chairperson, says there is a possibility that the lockdown will continue.

The professor says if the average number of daily cases is 90 or more between 10-16 April, then the lockdown needs to continue.

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He says a systematic plan is needed for the easing of the lockdown.

“We know if we end the lockdown and we end it abruptly, we may run the risk of undoing all of the effort and the benefit we have achieved,” Karim said.

“Because then we would be putting high risk and low risk of undoing all the effort and benefit we have achieved because we will be putting high risk and low-risk people together travelling in the same busses, taxis and trains.

“We have to avoid that situation, we have to plan for a systematic easing of the lockdown, starting with transport hubs then working our way down from the lowest to highest risk.”

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says 2,272 people have tested positive for the coronavirus and 27 people have died.

Karim says South Africa’s COVID-19 curve is different from that of other countries.

He says daily infections stopped increasing exponentially since the lockdown.

Source: ENCA