This week has been a seesaw in terms of number for COVID-19 in South Africa.
At the beginning of the week, figures regarding the spread of the virus were relatively low, potentially pointing to an exit from the fourth wave, but rose sharply in the following days before decreasing slightly over the past 24 hours.
According to the latest report from the National Department of Health (NDoH), 5 920 cases have been reported in the past 24 hours, which is a decent amount less than the previous day. As a result the total number of infections has risen to 3 546 808.
A more concerning statistic, however, is fatalities with 159 reported over the past 24 hours. This too is less than the previous day, but is still far too high for people to rest easily at night, with the death toll related to COVID-19 in South Africa now sitting at 92 989.
Perhaps the only solace in the latest report, is the rising recovery rate, which is now 94.4 percent with 3 346 936 recoveries captured by the NDoH.
As for the vaccine rollout, the past 24 hours has seen 86 351 jabs administered across the country, with turnout at sites still lower than government likely wants.
Whether that is simply a case of people reluctant to head to sites as a result of the recent festive break remains unclear, but it is a figure which needs to pick up significantly if we are to better handle future waves.
As of 17:00 on 13th January, a total of 28 728 337 vaccines have been administered in SA.
The full outlook for COVID-19 in South Africa follows on below:
| Provinces | Confirmed Cases | Recoveries | Active cases | Deaths |
| Western Cape | 616 632 | 573 724 | 21 813 | 21 095 |
| Eastern Cape | 337 197 | 314 113 | 7 457 | 15 627 |
| Northern Cape | 105 204 | 95 485 | 7 227 | 2 492 |
| Free State | 193 730 | 175 806 | 10 636 | 7 288 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 633 396 | 585 208 | 32 709 | 15 479 |
| North West | 182 455 | 170 304 | 7 685 | 4 466 |
| Mpumalanga | 180 352 | 175 528 | 2 787 | 2 037 |
| Gauteng | 1 152 844 | 1 118 875 | 13 643 | 20 326 |
| Limpopo | 144 998 | 137 893 | 2 926 | 4 179 |
| Unknown | 0 | |||
| TOTAL | 3 546 808 | 3 346 936 | 106 883 | 92 989 |
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 engin akyurt on Unsplash]
