South Africa’s Omicron wave has completely collapsed and the country has ‘reached the turning point in this pandemic’, a top doctor in Johannesburg claimed today — amid hopes that Britain’s outbreak will be short-lived.

Shabir Madhi of the University of the Witwatersrand was a vaccination expert and stated that the variant had been’very subsiding’ at the epicenter Gauteng.

Omicron had been detected in 550,000 cases since November 23rd, and he estimated that up to half of those affected were Omicron-positive.

Professor Madhi stated that although infections are at an unprecedented high, there has been a complete uncoupling of deaths and hospitalisations.

According to figures, hospitalizations are now only a quarter of what they were during peak times. However, deaths remain at 10x the rate.

‘I think we are in a good place in South Africa and I think we’ve reached the turning point in this pandemic,’ Professor Madhi told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

It comes after another 8,078 cases were recorded in South Africa yesterday, a rise of 12 per cent in a week, after tumbling for 17 days in a row. Officially the number of daily cases reached nearly 27,000 by December 15.

The number of hospital admissions rose 8 percent yesterday, with 309 reports. However, they trend downwards over the past fortnight.

The Omicron wave began to take off and death rates jumped to 139. These numbers are not as high as the 600 per-day at the peak of Delta waves.

Even though only 25% of South Africans were double-jabbed, the shrinking wave still holds true. The British Omicron virus outbreak is expected to follow the same pattern. More than 70% of Omicron cases have been treated with two jabs, while over 50% have received three.

Omicron London in Britain is a hot spot for infections. However, hospital admissions seem to be on the decline. On New Year’s Day there were 347 admissions, which is 7 percentage points less than the previous week. Admissions fell week-on–week for the second straight day.

While daily infections nationally are running at record levels — 218,000 Britons tested positive yesterday — the number of Covid patients in hospital is still a fraction of previous peaks.

An estimated 15,000 Covid Inpatients are currently in Hospital, as compared to almost 40,000 January last year. A third of the current patients are not directly ill with the virus. There are fewer people who require ventilation.

Covid cases rose 12 per cent in South Africa yesterday but have been tumbling for 17 days in a row after appearing to peak at 26,976 on December 15

Covid cases rose 12 per cent in South Africa yesterday but have been tumbling for 17 days in a row after appearing to peak at 26,976 on December 15

Professor Madhi told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Across the country the wave is very much subsiding. 

‘Certainly, what was initially the epicentre Gauteng, the wave has pretty much subsided and what we’ve experienced is an unprecedented number of cases compared to what was experienced in the past. 

Record 218,000 cases of Covid in the UK reached by daily Covid

Official figures from Britain show that yesterday’s Covid cases reached a record 218,000, just minutes before Boris Johnson spoke at a press conference on Downing Street at 5pm.

This week’s new infections number is up 58% compared with last week, but it also includes backlog cases from Northern Ireland and Wales.

Yesterday’s hospitalisations continued their rise with England reporting 1,819 beds on January 1. This is a 42% increase over the week before.  

Statistics don’t distinguish between those admitted to the hospital primarily because of Covid or those admitted with another illness that was confirmed after admission. These so-called “incidental” admissions account for about 1/3 of all Covid patients. Patients who are primarily sick with Covid need to be connected to ventilators less often. 

Despite rising numbers, the Prime Minister didn’t announce any additional curbs during a press conference last evening and encouraged more people for booster jabs.

Ministers take comfort from Omicron’s London hotspot, where hospital admissions seem to have fallen already. London is currently two weeks ahead in terms of its outbreak. On New Year’s Day there were 347 hospital admissions, which is 7 percent less than the previous year. 

‘But we’ve also seen a complete uncoupling of the hospitalisation and death rates. 

According to the study, this year’s hospitalisation rates are about one-third higher than what was recorded during the Delta variant waves. Meanwhile, death rates hover around 10% of those experienced during that wave. 

‘So we’ve seen a complete uncoupling of infections and severe disease.’

He said that Omicron infection rates have fallen after half the people became infected.

Professor Madhi said: This time around it‘a probably been a greater proportion of the population that has been infected. 

“South Africa performs about 14 percent of UK testing. When we receive approximately 25,000 reports per day, you can probably increase that number by around 14. 

“I believe that around 40-50 percent of South Africa’s population may have been infected in the current wave.”

According to him, high levels of immunity in the community from Covid infection earlier prevented additional cases and drove down transmission. 

However Professor Madhi warns that Omicron’s success in South Africa may not translate to the UK, or any other country with low levels of natural immunity. 

Though Omicron is believed to have infected around three quarters of South Africans, only 25% have received at least one Covid jab.

Experts believe that less than half the population in Britain has had Covid. However, 90% of those over 12 have at least had one jab.

He explained that vaccination alone does not protect against serious diseases. This is what I believe.

Professor Madhi claimed that although it’s “certainly unpredictable” as to which variant the next one will be, T-cell protection and vaccination are effective in protecting against infection. 

“So, I believe we are at a good point in South Africa. I also think that we have reached the turning points in this pandemic,” he said. 

This comes just days after the number of daily Covid cases in Britain surpassed 218,000 yesterday.

This week’s new infections number is up 58% compared with last week, but it also includes backlog cases from Northern Ireland and Wales.

Data from South Africa's National Institute For Communicable Diseases (NICD) shows the number of daily confirmed Covid cases since the pandemic began (blue bars) and the cumulative cases (orange line). Some 3.4million cases have been detected across South Africa since the pandemic began, more than half a million of which have been recorded since Omicron was first detected

South Africa’s National Institute For Communicable Diseases, (NICD), shows both the total number of Covid confirmed cases per day (blue bars), and the cumulative cases (orange lines). Since the outbreak, approximately 3.4million Covid cases were reported in South Africa. This is more than half of what Omicron has detected. 

The NICD graph shows the number of infections recorded per province since March 2020. Gauteng (grey line), the epicentre of the Omicron outbreak, recorded the biggest spike in cases in the most recent Omicron wave

The NICD graph shows the number of infections recorded per province since March 2020. Gauteng (grey lines), epicenter of Omicron, saw the highest spike in Omicron cases since the last Omicron wave.

NICD data displays the number of positive Covid tests recorded per age group, showing that 20 to 39-year-olds (green line) and those aged 40 to 59 (light blue line), fuelled the most recent outbreak

NICD data shows the percentage of Covid positive tests per age group. This indicates that people aged 20-39 (green line) or 40-59 (lightblue line), were the ones who fueled the latest outbreak.

Yesterday’s hospitalisations continued their rise with England reporting 1,819 beds on January 1. This is a 42% increase over the week before.  

Boris begs business chiefs to limit Covid isolation to 5 days 

Today, business leaders begged Boris Johnson for help in reducing self-isolation. Around 1.3 million people are currently under house arrest. Rail services and bin collection grind to a halt.

Following his meeting with Cabinet ministers, the PM feels pressured to cut quarantine again to seven days from five.  

The PM is not yet open to the idea of self-isolation being changed, but has expressed concern that it might make things worse.

The country is facing a crisis because of staff absenteeism after an alarming rise in infections to 218,000 per day – nearly 1.3million people were positive for the disease over the week.

Richard Walker, Iceland’s managing director, stated that the absence chart was ‘almost vertical’ and is currently coping well despite the fact it has been able to withstand the worst of the ‘Pingdemic.

It is clear that businesses are under tremendous pressure. Sky News: “This new strain seems to be much more contagious, and that’s having a huge impact,” he said.

“My appeal to government is to prioritize lateral flow testing for key workers such as food retail workers and front-line shop workers. I also urge them to reconsider the burdensome isolation rules.

Triple jabbed patients who have symptoms that are not severe or common, such as a cold or the flu, can be left waiting for seven days.

Matthew Taylor (chief executive at the NHS Confederation) also said he supported the move so long as the science is backed.

Taylor stated that if science shows it possible to return to work sooner, then the NHS leaders will desire this to happen.   

Statistics don’t distinguish between those admitted to the hospital primarily because of Covid or those admitted with another illness that was confirmed after admission. These so-called “incidental” admissions account for about 1/3 of all Covid patients. Patients who are primarily sick with Covid need to be connected to ventilators less often. 

Despite rising numbers, the Prime Minister didn’t announce any additional curbs during a press conference last evening and encouraged more people for booster jabs. 

Ministers take comfort from Omicron’s London hotspot, where hospital admissions seem to have fallen already. London is currently two weeks ahead in terms of its outbreak. On New Year’s Day there were 347 hospital admissions, which is 7 percent less than the previous year.

However, the UK has seen an increase in cases per day to nearly 100,000 over two weeks. This is leaving 1.3 million people isolated at home.

Today, business chiefs begged Johnson to reduce the self-isolation time from seven to five days. Meanwhile, rail services and bin collection halted.

To reduce pressure on the system the testing rules have been relaxed. People with positive results on lateral flow will not need to repeat PCR confirmatory tests.

Travel regulations will be reformed, eliminating the need for pre-arrival testing.

But, the PM is avoiding calls to change self-isolation and expressing concern about making the situation worse.

The country is facing a crisis because of staff absenteeism after an alarming rise in infections to 218,000 per day – nearly 1.3million people were positive for the disease over the week.

Richard Walker, Iceland’s managing director, stated that the absence chart was ‘almost vertical’ and is currently coping well despite the fact it has been able to withstand the worst of the ‘Pingdemic.

It is clear that businesses are under tremendous pressure. Sky News: “This new strain seems to be much more contagious, and that’s having a huge impact,” he said.

“My appeal to government is to prioritize lateral flow testing for key workers such as food retail workers and front-line shop workers. I also urge them to reconsider the burdensome isolation rules.

People who have been triple jabbed are often left waiting seven days, even though the majority of symptoms are not severe.

Matthew Taylor (chief executive at the NHS Confederation) also said he supported the move so long as the science is backed.

Taylor stated that if science shows it possible to return to work sooner, then the NHS leaders will desire this to happen.