UP TO 80% OF SOUTH AFRICANS HAVE HAD COVID: DISCOVERY

If you put five people in a room today, then chances are very good that four out of the five have had COVID-19 already.

That’s what Emile Stipp, chief actuary at Discovery believes. According to News24, Stipp based his calculations on the country’s case-fatality rate and excess deaths, a measure of the number of fatalities with an historical advantage. They are thought to provide a more accurate picture of the impact of the pandemic than the official toll.

During a presentation in May, Stipp then estimated that 62% of us have had the virus, but that number has jumped significantly since he presented it to Satsa, a tourism body.

With the highest number of infections as well as deaths in Africa, South Africa is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.

While many believe the numbers speak for themselves, there are those who believe our numbers look considerably worse than other countries on the continent because South Africa has the most widespread testing and monitoring of cause of death.

It is believed that the Eastern Cape is the province with the most cases, followed by Gauteng and then the North West.

Image credit: News24