The country has been rocked by stage 4 loadshedding this morning, which caps off what has proved a difficult Easter weekend period for many as we continue search and rescue efforts in KwaZulu-Natal.

It therefore means that COVID-19 in South Africa has taken a back seat to more pressing issues.

That said, there seems to be a slight rise in the number of newly recorded fatalities. This according to the latest report from the National Department of Health (NDoH), which notes that 34 deaths have been recorded, pushing the total to date to 100 181.

The latest figure is far higher than we have seen in recent weeks, but it remains to be seen if it is simply and anomaly or the beginning of a surge.

The NDoH statistics also show that 877 new cases have been recorded over the past 24 hours, as the total number of infections to date has risen to 3 742 107.

Other key figures sees the recovery rate drop slightly to 96.9 percent, while more than 24.19 million tests have been conducted to date.

As for the vaccine rollout, the past 24 hours has only seen 3 490 jabs administered owing top it being the Easter weekend. As of 17:00 on 18th April 2022, a total of 34 366 442 vaccinations have been administered across SA.

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

• 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 John Cameron on Unsplash]