DURBAN - South Africa now has a cumulative number of 1 437 798 Covid cases.
On Thursday, the Health Ministry confirmed that 7 150 new cases had been recorded in the country.
A total of 555 more Covid-19 related deaths have been reported:
Eastern Cape - 150
Free State - 10
Gauteng - 70
KwaZulu-Natal -249
Limpopo - 7
Mpumalanga - 21
Northern Cape - 3
Western Cape -45.
This brings the total to 43 105 deaths.
"Our recoveries now stand at 1 272 197, representing a recovery rate of 88,3%. The cumulative total of tests conducted to date is 8 156 239 with 48 406 new tests conducted since the last report," Health minster, Dr Zweli Mkhize said.
As more countries impose bans to travellers from countries where the new Covid variant has been detected, the World Health Organization has said Africa is reeling from the number of cases and deaths.
The WHO said over 175 000 new Covid-19 cases and more than 6200 deaths were reported in Africa in the last week while infections rose by 50% on the continent between 29 December 2020 and 25 January 2021 when compared with the previous four weeks.
In the past week, there has been a small dip in cases in South Africa, but 22 countries continue to see their case numbers surge. Deaths rose two-fold in the same four-week period, with over 15 000 concentrated in 10 mainly southern and northern African nations.
The 501Y.V2 variant, first identified in South Africa, is predominant and powering record case numbers in South Africa and the sub-region. It has been found in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, the French Indian Ocean region of Mayotte, Zambia and in 24 non-African nations.
LIVE: #COVID19 press briefing on the 2nd COVID-19 wave in Africa & new variants. Dr @MoetiTshidi is joined by Prof Tulio de Oliveira @UKZN & Dr Amadou Sall @institutpasteur. https://t.co/n3SiHMGHl5
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) January 28, 2021
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