Gauteng has recorded almost 550 new Covid-19 infections in a 24-hour period – nearly 80% of all new cases in South Africa.

South Africa has recorded 687 new cases and two deaths, bringing the death toll to 89 574 on Wednesday.

"The NICD … reports that 687 new Covid-19 cases have been identified in South Africa, representing a 3.4% positivity rate," the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said in a statement.

Most of the new cases are from Gauteng (79%), followed by North West and KwaZulu-Natal which accounted for 5% each. Mpumalanga and the Western Cape each accounted for 3%; the Northern Cape 2%; and the Eastern Cape, Free State and Limpopo 1% each, NICD spokesperson Sinenhlanhla Jimoh said.

It said that as of Wednesday, South Africa recorded a total of 2 929 862 laboratory-confirmed cases.

Gauteng is the most impacted, with 923 379 cases, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 516 470 cases and the Western Cape with 514 453.

There has been an increase of 13 admissions in the past 24 hours. There are currently 2 705 people admitted to both public and private hospitals. 

South Africa has conducted 19 113 226 tests, of which 20 292 have been carried out in the last 24 hours.

According to the Department of Health, 24 646 053 vaccines have been administered. Of those, 11 083 were administered in the last 24 hours. To date, 13 794 559 adults are fully vaccinated and 347 213 children have received a single dose.