We have now passed the midway point of the week and as has been the case in the past, statistics regarding COVID-19 in South Africa are picking up.

There are no peaks in any of the figures, nor any sharp increase to raise concerns as was the case a few months ago, but it looks like we’re still struggling to shake off the last effects of the third wave and delta variant of the virus.

This as 591 new cases have been recorded in the past 24 hours as the total number if infections to date rises to 2 917 846. The National Department of Health’s (NDoH) latest report also confirms that 80 fatalities have been recorded in the past 24 hours as the death toll climbs to 88 754.

Looking at the other other key figures in the report, the NDoH says the recovery rate is now 96.3 percent with 2 809 238 recoveries reported and over 18.25 million tests conducted to date.

As for the vaccine rollout, the past 24 hours has seen 201 666 jabs administered. This can be attributed to the fact that those aged 12 to 17 are now eligible to receive the vaccine.

As of 17:00 on 20th October, a total of 20 794 191 vaccines have been administered across the country, with an estimated 11 190 006 people fully vaccinated at this stage.

It is a promising number, but more needs to be done in the coming weeks if we are to be better prepared before a fourth wave hits, which is still expected come the festive season in late November.

The full outlook for COVID-19 in South Africa follows on below:

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:

• 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 Isaac Quesada on Unsplash]