THE National Institute for Communicable Diseases has warned South Africans to continue to adhere to Covid safety protocols.
On Wednesday, the NICD reported an increase of 2967 new Covid-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 889 298. This increase represents a 7.0% positivity rate.
"Gauteng, Limpopo and North West Provinces have exited the third wave according to the current wave definitions. There are also sustained decreases in Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths in all provinces. These trends are encouraging but we should not let our guard down yet,” said Dr Michelle Groome, head of the Division of Public Health, Surveillance and Response at the NICD.
As per the National Department of Health, a further 124 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 86 500 to date. 17 452 783 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors.
The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal (23%), followed by Western Cape (20%). Eastern Cape accounted for 12%; Free State & Gauteng Province each accounted for 11% respectively; Northern Cape accounted for 8%; North West accounted for 7%; Mpumalanga accounted for 6%; and Limpopo accounted for 2% of today’s new cases.
The total number of cases today (n= 3 961) is lower than yesterday (n= 5 309) and lower than the average number of new cases per day over the 7 preceding days (n= 5 465). The 7-day moving average daily number of cases has decreased.
Groome says that while vaccination coverage is increasing amid stable vaccine supply, we have not yet vaccinated the majority of the adult population.
“Some 30% of the adult population have received at least one vaccine dose and in the coming months we need to prioritise the vaccine rollout, especially to those at risk for severe Covid-19 disease and those with underlying comorbidities. Mask wearing, social distancing and hand hygiene remain the main preventative strategies until our vaccine coverage rates increase,” she said.
IOL