Covid-19 Updates

SA’s Covid-19 cases further increase by 6 334 with death toll now at 2 456

A further 6 334 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in South Africa, bringing the tally even closer to 150 000 total infections, just days after the 100 000th case was reported.

The country recorded its highest daily increase on Saturday, with just above 7 000 new cases reported, and that figure was almost surpassed just 24 hours later.

COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA: LATEST UPDATE
The latest figures come just as South Africa reached 1 567 684 total tests, with fatalities now expected to hit 2 500 over the next 24 hours.

“We are seeing a rapid rise in the cumulative number of positive COVID-19 cases indicating that, as we had expected, we are approaching a surge during the latter winter months of July and August,” the national health department said.

Zweli Mkhize

“It is anticipated that while every province will unfortunately witness an increase in their numbers, areas, where there is high economic activity, will experience an exponential rise – beginning with Gauteng and Western Cape and followed by Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.”

-Department of Health

GAUTENG EMERGES AS THE COUNTRY’S EPICENTRE
Having taken up a targeted testing approach, the country’s heaviest populated province is now emerging as the COVID-19 epicentre.

Gauteng currently has the most active coronavirus cases out of South Africa’s nine provinces, with over 28 000 people still ill from the novel virus.

The country’s peak infection rate is expected to hit in the coming months, and Gauteng is bracing for the worst-case scenario.

“The surge that we’re seeing is an expected surge that we have been talking about. We still have to get to the peak. The numbers show us this is the expected increases we were planning for in terms of modelling,” Health MEC, Bandile Masuku said earlier in the week.

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN
Total cases per province:

cases per province
South Africa’s latest COVID-19 death toll and recoveries:Death toll and recoveries