The Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at North West University and a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Vaccines, Professor Jeffery Mpahlele, said the Covid-19 outbreak in China is cause for caution.
However, he said we should not be too concerned.
Nations across the globe are implementing or considering measures to test or restrict travellers from China as the country abandons its zero-Zero policy and prepares to reopen its borders in early January.
This comes as Hong Kong is dropping almost all its Covid-19 restrictions this week following, following a similar move by mainland China.
From Thursday, people arriving in the city- a special administrative region of China- will no longer have to do mandatory PCR tests.
The vaccine pass system will also be scrapped- but compulsory masks in public places will continue.
It is a dramatic move by the city, which once had some of the toughest restrictions in the world.
Also being scrapped from Thursday is the rule that limits the number of people allowed to gather outside to 12.
This was increased from four people in October as part of measures to begin reopening the city.
The US is considering new coronavirus precautions for people travelling from China because there are questions about the transparency of the data China is reporting about the spread of the virus, according to American officials, who asked not to be identified discussing internal thinking.
China is experiencing the world’s largest Covid-19 outbreak, raising concerns among public health officials worldwide. Almost 37 million people have been infected on a single day last week, according to estimates from the government’s top health authority.
Mpahlane noted that the majority of the Chinese population has been vaccinated but not enjoying the added benefits of natural immunisation.
“We now know that actually hybrid immunisation. In other words, immunisation you get from vaccines plus infection is better than either. So, this means what we’re seeing in China is expected but over time they will be in a better position,” said Mpahlane.
Source: BBC News, CNN, Eyewitness News, Bloomberg, image from Twitter: @alfonslopeztena