Abstract
The risk of recurring coronavirus disease (COVID-19) resurgences that threaten Africa's health care systems, newly opened communities, schools, and businesses looms as communities abandon precautionary measures, such as mask-wearing, physical distancing, and regular handwashing. In this piece, we unpack the handling of both the first wave and subsequent resurgence in the context of 3 countries that are experiencing such a resurgence at the time of writing (December 2020): Israel, France, and the United Kingdom. While it is difficult to extrapolate on what to expect in South Africa, based on experience in these 3 countries, South Africa's preparedness for a COVID-19 resurgence should place emphasis on the role of expanded testing and isolation capacity, strengthening enforcement of adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions, and protection of high-risk populations.
Highlights
In December 2019, a novel coronavirus was identified after a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown cause were investigated in Wuhan, China
The risk of recurring coronavirus disease (COVID-19) resurgences that threaten Africa’s health care systems, newly opened communities, schools, and businesses looms as communities abandon precautionary measures, such as mask-wearing, physical distancing, and regular handwashing
While it is difficult to extrapolate on what to expect in South Africa, based on experience in these 3 countries, South Africa’s preparedness for a COVID-19 resurgence should place emphasis on the role of expanded testing and isolation capacity, strengthening enforcement of adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions, and protection of high-risk populations
Summary
In December 2019, a novel coronavirus was identified after a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown cause were investigated in Wuhan, China. The risk of a resurgence that threatens Africa’s health care systems, newly opened communities, schools, and businesses looms as people abandon precautionary measures, such as mask-wearing, physical distancing, and regular handwashing. In this piece, we unpack the handling of both the first wave and subsequent resurgence in the context of 3 countries that are experiencing such a resurgence at the time of initial writing (December 2020): Israel, France, and the United Kingdom. In Israel, the first infection of COVID-19 was confirmed on February 21, 2020, since the country had reported 35 085 cases and 295 deaths per million population as of November 13, 2020.4 Israel’s Ministry of Health (MoH) implemented a raft of containment measures coupled with extensive testing during the early phase of the epidemic. 21 February 2020 Israel announced a 14-day home isolation rule for anyone who had been in South Korea or Japan
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