As we have seen throughout this week, the numbers regarding COVID-19 in South Africa are continuing to rise. The latest report from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirms that 22 391 new cases have been recorded in the past 24 hours.
Gauteng continues to be the province worst impacted by the Omicron variant of the virus, with the NICD noting that 11 791 cases have been reported. This is followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 2 756, the Western Cape with 2 194 and the North West with 1 308.
The recent spike sees the total number of infections recorded to date climb to 3 093 452, according to the National Department of Health (NDoH). The department also confirms that 22 fatalities have been reported too, as the death toll related to COVID-19 in South Africa now sits at 90 060.
As for other key statistics, the NDoH highlights the declining recovery rate, which is currently 92.8 percent, with more than 19.98 million tests having been conducted to date.
Looking at the vaccine rollout, the past 24 hours has seen 127 315 jabs administered, with a total of 26 917 603 vaccines administered as of 17:00 on 9th December. With numbers only set to intensify in the coming weeks, the vaccination efforts will prove critical, with an estimated 15 258 808 people fully vaccinated at this stage.
With the weekend on the horizon, it remains to be seen what decisions will be taken by the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) on lockdown and regulations, so we will need to be on the lookout for any family meeting announcements by the Presidency.
The full outlook for COVID-19 in South Africa follows on below:
| Provinces | Confirmed Cases | Recoveries | Active cases | Deaths |
| Western Cape | 527 832 | 496 661 | 10 911 | 20 260 |
| Eastern Cape | 296 349 | 278 137 | 2 987 | 15 225 |
| Northern Cape | 94 153 | 90 574 | 1 151 | 2 428 |
| Free State | 169 001 | 157 428 | 4 467 | 7 106 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 529 059 | 501 783 | 12 472 | 14 804 |
| North West | 160 076 | 149 107 | 6 615 | 4 354 |
| Mpumalanga | 159 726 | 151 730 | 5 978 | 2 018 |
| Gauteng | 1 028 854 | 925 849 | 83 248 | 19 757 |
| Limpopo | 128 402 | 119 060 | 5 234 | 4 108 |
| Unknown | 0 | |||
| TOTAL | 3 093 452 | 2 870 329 | 133 063 | 90 060 |
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 Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash]
