South Africa braces for fifth COVID surge, another major Chinese city tracks outbreak

With cases rising sharply in the last weeks, South African officials said the increase might signal the start of a fifth surge, and in China, officials are battling the spread of the virus in another large city, Guangzhou, home to 15.3 million people.Meanwhile, in US developments, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detailed a busy June schedule for considering COVID-19 vaccine emergency use applications, including two for young children.South Africa's cases rise as winter approachesAt a briefing today, South Africa's Health Minister Joe Phaahla said as of Apr 25, cases were up 137% compared to the week before, mainly driven by infections in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape provinces.

However, he said hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions remain stable.Phaahla said the next week will reveal a clearer picture about where the country is headed, whether it is the start of a fifth wave or a bump in activity following Easter weekend.

The increase comes at a vulnerable time, as winter approaches and people spend more time indoors, and more than 8,000 people are housed in shelters after recent mass flooding in KwaZulu-Natal.South African scientists said the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which appear to be more transmissible than BA.2, are making up a larger portion of the country's cases, and further efforts are under way to characterize them.In China, cases are rising in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

City officials said an outbreak has been linked to a worker at the city's airport, and intensive contact tracing is under way, according to Reuters.