Today is Friday the 13th, hence the header image above which is a nod to the superstitious among us, as well as a reminder to wear masks were indicated as we try to fight the recent rise in cases for COVID-19 in South Africa.

This week has seen daily recorded infections continue to increase, with the latest report from the National Department of Health (NDoH) no different. To that end the NDoH says 8 920 new cases have been recorded over the past 24 hours. While this is 2 000 less than we saw the previous day, it is still far higher than the figure we have seen in recent weeks.

Consequently, the total number of infections recorded to date now sits at 3 871 085.

The department also notes that 21 fatalities have been recorded too, with the death toll related to COVID-19 in South Africa rising to 100 630.

As for other key figures the latest report notes that the recovery rate has dropped slightly to 95.5 percent, while more than 24.80 million tests have been conducted across the country so far.

Looking at the vaccine rollout, which still remains our best defence for the impending fifth wave of infections and newly discovered variant in SA, the past 24 hours has seen 57 760 jabs administered. As of 17:00 on 12th May 2022, a total of 35 370 563 vaccines have been administered locally.

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 Crawford Jolly on Unsplash]