South Africa breached the 30 000 mark for Covid-19-related deaths on Monday.

The Department of Health reported that, with another 434 deaths reported, 30 011 lives have been lost as a result of illness associated with the virus.

The Western Cape was mourning the death of 157 people, and the Eastern Cape 133 people.

Amid talk of a vaccine that could only be available by April, the toll continues, with two people people reported to have died in the Free State, 36 in Gauteng, 71 in KwaZulu-Natal, seven in Limpopo, 24 in the North West and three in the Northern Cape.

The positivity rate is at 33.7%.

A total of 1 113 349 cases have been recorded, and 911 573 people have recovered. This is a recovery rate of 81.9%, which has slipped again from 82%.

The country is in a Level 3 lockdown, which is expected to be reviewed by 15 January. This means the traditional holiday festivities were mostly put on hold and beaches were closed. It also became compulsory to wear a mask in public as the country deals with a second surge, with the added complication of a new variant.