More than 50% of South Africans may have had Covid, insurer says

More than half of South Africans are likely to have been infected with Covid-19, the chief executive officer of the country’s biggest health insurer said.

While about 48 000 deaths have been officially attributed to the disease the number of excess deaths in the country over the period of the pandemic is approaching 140 000 and this indicates the high infection rate, said Adrian Gore, chief executive officer of Discovery, in an interview on Johannesburg’s 702 Talk Radio late yesterday.

Almost 5 000 members of Discovery’s health insurance program have died from Covid-19, Gore said in a letter posted on LinkedIn yesterday.