'We are sitting on a timebomb' - Covid-19 MAC members raise concerns about variant found in India

Two members of the Covid-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) have warned that, if South Africa doesn't immediately implement stricter border controls, infections from other countries, like India, could "spread like a veld fire".

"We do not want to start a third wave, going into winter with a double variant from India, which is causing havoc. If that variant comes here, and it is a mutation and tends to be transmittable very quickly, I think we are really opening a can of worms," a MAC insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told News24 on Tuesday.

The source said South Africa was playing a dangerous game with regard to border control.