DURBAN - THE National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Wednesday said that the current surge in Covid-19 infections seemed to be showing signs of a sustained downward trend.
It also said that the number of hospitalisations and deaths have decreased compared to last week.
Dr Michelle Groome, Head of the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response, said while the latest trends certainly provide some good news, this was not the time complacency highlighting the importance of still wearing a mask and keeping social distance.
Figures, as of Wednesday, showed 7 338 new Covid-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 836 773. This increase represents a 13.3% positivity rate.
The majority of new cases were from KwaZulu-Natal (26%), followed by Western Cape (22%).
Eastern Cape accounted for 17%; Free State accounted for 11%; Gauteng Province accounted for 8%; Northern Cape & North West each accounted for 5% respectively; Mpumalanga accounted for 4%, and Limpopo accounted for 2% of today’s new cases.
“Although the total number of cases today is higher than yesterday (n= 5 372) and higher than the average number of new cases per day over the previous seven days, the number of new cases and positivity rate have decreased nationally compared to last week,” said NICD Acting Executive Director Prof Adrian Puren.
While there have been provincial disparities in the timing and extent of the third resurgence, he adds that all nine provinces are currently exhibiting a drop in daily new cases.
“The provinces of Gauteng and Limpopo have already met the end-of-wave threshold criteria.”
As per the National Department of Health, a further 253 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 84 152 to date.
A total of almost 14 million vaccine doses have been administered, with over 10 million people fully vaccinated as of 7 September 2021 in South Africa. High vaccine coverage is essential to limit the impact of the virus on our lives and livelihoods in the coming months.
“We all have a part to play by getting vaccinated and encouraging our family, friends and colleagues to do the same” appealed, Dr Groome.
Daily News