Later this week will mark the one year anniversary for the country’s first day of lockdown, highlighting how difficult and chaotic the past 12 months have been as we have struggled to cope with the myriad issues surrounding COVID-19 in South Africa.
It remains to be seen how much longer lockdown will be a reality in SA, along with needing to wear masks, socially distance from one another and lead less than normal lives. As painful as this week’s anniversary will be to reflect on, we need to remain vigilant as the fight against the spread of COVID-19 is far from over.
Looking at the latest report from the National Department of Health (NDoH), the number of new daily infections is relatively low at 510 cases, but the same goes for the number of vaccines that have been administered to date, which currently sits at 194 257. If the country wants to return to a state of normalcy, the department will need to ramp up its inoculation efforts significantly.
The other key statistics from the report show that the total number of cases for COVID-19 in South Africa to date is now 1 538 961, with 1 465 204 recoveries also being recorded. The latter sees no change in the recovery rate, which remains at 95 percent.
Unfortunately, 55 new fatalities have also being reported, with the North West accounting for the majority at 25. This sees the death toll to date rise to 52 251.
The full breakdown of COVID-19 in South Africa is as follows:
Provinces | Confirmed Cases | Recoveries | Active cases | Deaths |
Western Cape | 281 361 | 265 081 | 16 280 | 11 430 |
Eastern Cape | 194 903 | 183 374 | 11 529 | 11 347 |
Northern Cape | 35 670 | 32 259 | 2 859 | 794 |
Free State | 82 308 | 76 941 | 5 367 | 3 575 |
KwaZulu-Natal | 333 122 | 317 204 | 15 918 | 10 133 |
North West | 62 970 | 59 245 | 3 725 | 1 413 |
Mpumalanga | 73 929 | 71 709 | 2 220 | 1 334 |
Gauteng | 411 777 | 399 289 | 12 488 | 10 142 |
Limpopo | 62 921 | 60 102 | 2 819 | 2 083 |
Unknown | 0 | |||
TOTAL | 1 538 961 | 1 465 204 | 73 757 | 52 251 |
As always, in order to stay up to date with the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa and abroad, we advise the following materials and platforms:
- Dr Zweli Mkhize on Twitter
- COVID-19 Connect on WhatsApp – add 0600 123 456 as a contact and say “Hi”.
- World Health Organisation
- SA Coronavirus website
- SA Government
- SA Presidency
[Image – Photo by Anton Maksimov juvnsky on Unsplash]