While some countries continue to act like the sky’s falling, the place where omicron (moronic) supposedly originated is easing restrictions.
Although omicron appears more transmissible, it’s milder than prior variants.
In fact, omicron is so mild that South Africa doesn’t consider it a public health threat.
South African public health officials appear done overreacting to the flu-like virus and no longer want to trace and quarantine contacts of confirmed cases.
Omicron: such a joke that South Africa is about to dump all contact tracing and quarantines – https://t.co/P7ScSadSGO
— Marc Morano (@ClimateDepot) December 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/RealEddieHobbs/status/1472639894900121601
Happening in South Africa – Omicron is not a threat. https://t.co/wsZsNldexm
— Ryan Gerritsen🇨🇦🇳🇱 (@ryangerritsen) December 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/dharringtonny/status/1472639861865787396
News 24 reported:
The Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on Covid-19 has written to Health Minister Joe Phaahla, recommending that the quarantining of contacts be stopped as it is no longer viable in the current social and economic climate.
Furthermore, the committee said contact tracing was no longer necessary and should also be halted with immediate effect.
The MAC is co-chaired by Professors Koleka Mlisana and Marian Jacobs.
In a memo to Phaahla on Thursday examining contact tracing and quarantining, the committee said several changes to the Covid-19 situation had occurred since 2020, necessitating the re-evaluation of the management of the disease.
More people had developed an immunity to Covid-19, MAC said.
It said:
The proportion of people with immunity to Covid-19 (from infection and/or vaccination) has risen substantially, exceeding 60-80% in several serosurveys [measuring of antibody levels against infectious diseases].
“We have learned more about the manner in which Covid-19 is spread, and also now have to contend with variants of concern whose epidemiology differs from that of the ancestral strains of SARS-CoV-2.
The MAC is starting to use common sense and admit containment of the virus is unattainable, and the invasive measures make zero difference.
The committee also noted that most cases go undetected due to the mildness of the virus, which leads to an inability to trace contacts.
After 22 months, it appears some governments finally realize their authoritarian power-grabs won’t contain the viral spread.
Early treatment and therapeutics for symptomatic patients should be the primary concern.
The report added:
It stands to reason that if the vast majority of cases are not diagnosed, then the vast majority of case contacts are also not diagnosed. This means that quarantining and contact tracing are of negligible public health benefit in the South African setting.
According to the MAC, quarantining has a substantial economic and social burden and impacts significantly on the depleting staffing levels at healthcare facilities, and other front line workers, which could threaten the integrity of these institutions.
It also reduces economic and governmental activities due to high levels of employees who have to leave their work and quarantine for at least 10 days.
“On an individual level, the consequences of prolonged quarantining include loss of income, loss of employment, and loss of schooling time. We propose that quarantining be discontinued with immediate effect for contacts of cases of Covid-19. This applies equally to vaccinated and non-vaccinated contacts. No testing for Covid-19 is required irrespective of the exposure risk, unless the contact becomes symptomatic. We further propose that contact tracing be stopped,” it said.
The revised strategy by South African public officials is a stark contrast to most European countries, Australia, New Zealand, and blue states in America.
Instead of common sense, those locations continue to overreact with brutal authoritarianism.
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