As always, the National Department of Health released a daily report on COVID-19 in South Africa, looking at the key statistics regarding the virus over the past 24 hours. Among the figures sees a distinct drop in cases, with 5 575 being reported.
While this may simply be a symptom of being so early in the week, with more cases identified later on, it does fit with the narrative during the President’s most recent family meeting, where the surging numbers of infections seen during the third wave have lessened. That said, provinces like the Western Cape are now a cause for concern as their numbers appear to be rising.
Another concerning statistic is the number of new fatalities, with 246 being reported as the delta variant of the virus continues to wreck havoc.
Either way, we are far from having COVID-19 in South Africa under control.
Looking at the rest of the report, the total number of infections to date has climbed to 2 461 758, with the death toll now sitting at 72 437.
As for the vaccine rollout, 187 855 have been administered over the past 24 hours, which hopefully picks up as the week progresses. As of 17:00 on 2nd August, the NDoH says 7 769 799 vaccines have been administered so far, with an estimated 3 092 401 South Africans said to be inoculated at this stage.
The full breakdown of COVID-19 in South Africa is as follows:
| Provinces | Confirmed Cases | Recoveries | Active cases | Deaths |
| Western Cape | 404 725 | 353 145 | 36 288 | 15 292 |
| Eastern Cape | 229 198 | 209 682 | 6 696 | 12 820 |
| Northern Cape | 68 065 | 60 755 | 5 549 | 1 761 |
| Free State | 129 791 | 111 552 | 12 492 | 5 747 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 398 347 | 357 667 | 29 019 | 11 661 |
| North West | 128 807 | 101 179 | 24 615 | 3 013 |
| Mpumalanga | 126 323 | 118 046 | 6 565 | 1 712 |
| Gauteng | 864 547 | 823 090 | 24 378 | 17 079 |
| Limpopo | 111 955 | 103 272 | 5 331 | 3 352 |
| Unknown | 0 | |||
| TOTAL | 2 461 758 | 2 238 388 | 150 933 | 72 437 |
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 Mediamodifier on Unsplash]
