With all votes counted for the 2021 local government elections, this week people across the country are waiting to find out the results. While the elections has proved a welcome distraction in terms of events we focused on prior to the pandemic, we still need to worry about COVID-19 in South Africa.

This as we are still unclear as to what effect the elections will have on the spread of the virus. Added to this are several predictions that a fourth wave of infections will kick off in late November as the country readies to wind down for the festive season.

For now, numbers are low, according to the latest report from the National Department of Health. To that end 344 cases have been recorded over the past 24 hours, as the total number of infections to date has climbed to 2 922 735.

The department also notes that 23 fatalities have been reported in the past 24 hours as the death toll related to COVID-19 in South Africa now sits at 89 220.

Other key figures in the report show no change in the recovery rate, which continues at 96.3 percent, with 2 815 166 recoveries reported.

As for the vaccine roll out, the past 24 hours has seen 158 787 jabs administered. As of 17:00 on 4th November, a total of 22 799 682 vaccines have been administered, while an estimated 12 620 892 people are fully vaccinated at this stage.

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 Alex Motoc on Unsplash]