59 more deaths for SA, as 1 149 more get infected with Covid-19

Johannesburg – Fifty-nine more people have died due to Covid-19 complications in South Africa, as 1 149 more people have been infected with the virus in the past 24 hours, the Department of Health said on Wednesday.

The latest deaths take South Africa's Covid-19 death toll due to 87 981 since last year.

This, as the latest 1 149 confirmed infections takes the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections in the country to more than 2.9 million, since the first case was detected in March last year.

National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) spokesperson Sinenhlanhla Jimoh said the majority of new cases emanated from the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng.

The three most populated provinces had the most infections, followed by the Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo, in that order.

INFECTION BREAKDOWN BY PROVINCE

Western Cape - 22%

KwaZulu-Natal - 18%

Gauteng - 14%

Free State - 12%

Eastern Cape - 11%

Northern Cape - 8%

North West - 7%

Mpumalanga - 6%

Limpopo - 1%

“Today the NICD reports 1 149 new Covid-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 908 768. This increase represents a 3.2% positivity rate.

“As per the National Department of Health, a further 59 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 87 981 to date,” said Jimoh.

She said there were 103 people were admitted in hospital due to Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of people hospitalised due to the virus, to 5 874 in public and private medical facilities currently.

The NICD said more than 17.8 million people had been tested since last March, both in the public and private sector, with more than 35 000 testing for the virus in the past 24 hours.

Commenting on the seven-day moving average, Jimoh said the daily number of cases has decreased.

The NICD also urged people in the country to continue getting vaccinated, to wear masks, and to avoid gatherings.

“Keeping a social distance of one metre or more, sanitising your hands, and washing your hands regularly with soap and water, helps to limit your risk of contracting and spreading Covid-19,” she said.

Meanwhile, more than 212 000 vaccines were administered across the country in the past 24 hours, taking total vaccinations to over 18.5 million to date.

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