The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said more than 70% of South Africans have been exposed to the coronavirus.
Up to now there were over 3.3 million laboratory confirmed infections in South Africa, which researchers said was far below the number of people who have actually contracted COVID-19.
NICD researchers believe, through laboratory confirmed tests, they are really only diagnosing 1 in 10 to 1 in 15 people with COVID-19.
Doctor Michelle Groome, Head of the NICD’s Public Health Surveillance and Response Division, explained the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases is a small proportion of the true number of infections.
Groome cited research regarding people who were previously infected with the coronavirus.
These medical scientists reiterated that despite the Omicron coronavirus variant’s highly infectious nature, this quality does not lead to a corresponding surge in hospitalisations.