New daily Covid-19 infections have almost doubled within 24 hours, on the back of a new variant being identified in the country.

The country recorded 2 465 new confirmed Covid-19 infections on Thursday, compared to the 1 275 cases on Wednesday.

According to a statement by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), as of Thursday, the country recorded 2 952 500 laboratory-confirmed cases. There have been 114 new Covid-19 deaths, bringing the confirmed death toll to 89 771.

"The NICD… reports that 2 465 new Covid-19 cases have been identified in South Africa, representing a 6.5% positivity rate," the statement said.

According to the Department of Health, 25 123 452 vaccine doses have been administered. Of those, 121 359 were administered in the last 24-hour reporting cycle. To date, 14 076 251 adults are fully vaccinated, and 393 027 children have received one vaccine dose.

Gauteng recorded 934 688 cumulative cases, KwaZulu-Natal 517 949 and the Western Cape 517 642.

The majority of new cases on Thursday were from Gauteng (79%), followed by North West, which accounted for 5%. The Western Cape accounted for 4%; KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo 3% each; Mpumalanga 2%; and the Eastern Cape, Free State and Northern Cape 1% each, said NICD spokesperson Sinenhlanhla Jimoh.

Gauteng recorded 1 950 new cases on Thursday, North West 132 and the Western Cape 98.

There were 98 new hospital admissions in the last 24-hour cycle. As of Thursday, 2 172 people were in hospital for Covid-19.

South Africa conducted 19 318 050 cumulative tests, of which 38 075 were carried out in the last 24-hour cycle.