Have parts of South Africa achieved herd immunity?

In Britain this week we have had scientists at Imperial College warning that levels of antibodies in the population are dropping away fast, with only 4.4 per cent of the population showing them in September – far short of the 60 to 70 per cent government scientists believe is required for the epidemic to die away thanks to herd immunity. But it is a different story in South Africa, where two of the country’s leading virologists believe that parts of the country have achieved herd immunity.

Speaking to Sky news, Marvin Hsiao of the University of Cape Town, said he couldn’t explain why infections in South Africa – which was one of the worst-affected countries in the world in the middle of the year – suddenly plummeted at the end of July. It only made sense, he said, when tests revealed much higher levels of antibodies in the population than had been believed.