Virus Spread Rate Gauge at Record in South Africa Epicenter
- Omicron drives surge in Covid-19 cases in Gauteng province
- More severe cases seen among children during current wave
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The reproductive number, a measure of how fast the coronavirus spreads, has surged to a record in Gauteng, the center of South Africa’s omicron variant outbreak.
The reproductive number rose to 2.33 in Gauteng, Michelle Groome, head of health surveillance for the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said on an online presentation on Friday. That means each infected person on average infects another 2.33. In the Western Cape, which includes the tourism hub of Cape Town, the number has reached 2, Keith Cloete, the provincial head of health, said on Thursday.