But neither of these results support the claim that stress levels in South Africa “increased by 56%”. To determine changes to stress levels during the pandemic, another survey of stress levels would need to have been done before the pandemic, and these results then compared with the current survey results. Lack of South African research on pandemic and stressOther research has looked into the mental health impact of the pandemic. There is also a dearth of South African research on the topic. Kaminer told Africa Check she was “not aware of any studies that have compared stress levels in South Africans pre and post pandemic”.