As we begin another week under lockdown, the familiar pattern of the past few months hits home harder than normal as we recently passed the one year mark since the first case of COVID-19 in South Africa was recorded. In the next couple of weeks we will reach the one year mark for when the country went into a hard lockdown, showing that the fight against the spread of COVID-19 is far from over.
Looking at the latest report from the National Department of Health (NDoH), it appears as if the number of new cases is in limbo, neither falling or increasing dramatically. To that end 862 new cases have been recorded over the past 24 hours, as the total number of cases to date now reaches 1 521 068. The department has also recorded 1 440 874 recoveries, as the recovery rate lingers at 94.7 percent.
As for the vaccine rollout, the NDoH confirms that 101 841 healthcare workers have been inoculated, but word on when a sizeable shipment of vaccine will land in the country is still in the offing. Fears over the impact of a third wave of infections still lingers as a result.
The department has also regrettably reported that 31 new fatalities have been recorded as well, with Gauteng accounting for 12 and the Western Cape with 11. The death toll so far is consequently 50 678.
The full breakdown of COVID-19 in South Africa is as follows:
Provinces | Confirmed Cases | Recoveries | Active cases | Deaths |
Western Cape | 278 883 | 261 997 | 16 886 | 11 283 |
Eastern Cape | 194 115 | 182 496 | 11 619 | 11 314 |
Northern Cape | 34 363 | 31 577 | 2 859 | 726 |
Free State | 80 662 | 72 496 | 8 166 | 3 362 |
KwaZulu-Natal | 330 565 | 311 684 | 18 881 | 9 741 |
North West | 61 503 | 57 664 | 3 839 | 1 203 |
Mpumalanga | 71 913 | 69 622 | 2 291 | 1 278 |
Gauteng | 406 729 | 393 726 | 13 003 | 9 854 |
Limpopo | 62 335 | 59 612 | 2 723 | 1 917 |
Unknown | 0 | |||
TOTAL | 1 521 068 | 1 440 874 | 80 194 | 50 678 |
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:
- Dr Zweli Mkhize on Twitter
- 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 Frederic Köberl on Unsplash]