The number of new Covid-19-related cases identified in South Africa since the last report has risen from 1 092 to 1 863.
This brings the cumulative number of Covid-19-related cases recorded in the country to 719 714, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement on Wednesday.
A total of 58 more Covid-19-related deaths have been registered: 18 in the Eastern Cape, 2 in Gauteng, 3 in the Free State, 12 in KwaZulu Natal, 7 in Limpopo, 6 in the Northern Cape and 10 in the Western Cape.
This brings the total number of deaths to 19 111. The number of recoveries now stand at 648 654, which translates to a recovery rate of 90%.
Of the 58 deaths reported today, 16 were reported to have occurred in the past 24-48 hours: 1 in the Free State, 2 in the Eastern Cape, 2 in Gauteng, 2 in KwaZulu- Natal, 2 in Limpopo and 7 in the Western Cape.
The cumulative number of tests conducted to date is 4 752 596, with 25 721 new tests conducted since the last report.
South Africans have to “peer manage” each other into wearing face masks in public, says the president of the SA Medical Research Council, Professor Glenda Gray.
Over the past few weeks, social media has witnessed an increase in “mask-shaming” as some users said they were shamed for wearing a mask in public and even in restaurants.
“A mask will help decrease your chances of exposure and if you do have the coronavirus, it will help prevent transmission. We have to keep reminding people that wearing a mask is like brushing your teeth in the morning,” she said on SAfm.
A Covid-19 vaccine could be rolled out in Britain for some people before Christmas but an early 2021 launch is more likely, the woman responsible for procuring possible jabs in Britain said on Wednesday.
"If the first two vaccines, or either of them, show that they are both safe and effective, I think there is a possibility that vaccine roll out will start this side of Christmas, but otherwise I think it's more realistic to expect it to be early next year," Kate Bingham said on BBC television.
The delivery of potential Covid-19 vaccines to European Union countries could begin in earnest in April, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
"The big numbers of supplies are due to start in April," Von der Leyen told a news conference, adding that in the best-case scenario companies could deliver up to 50 million vaccines a month to the EU.
More than 43.72 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1 161 943 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
IOL