SA's terrible Covid-19 toll - researchers find nearly 300 000 excess deaths in two years

As Omicron surges in countries all over the world with staggering case counts and rising hospital admissions, in South Africa, where the variant that was first discovered in early November, has not had such a marked impact.

In the US, more than 800 000 cases were reported each day for the past seven days. In the UK, more than 150 000 cases were reported yesterday. In South Africa, just under 6 000 new cases were reported on Thursday.

The country's fourth wave of infections peaked much faster than previous waves, and had been on a declining trajectory for some time.