Three provinces have exited the third wave, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed on Wednesday.

"Gauteng, Limpopo and North West have exited the third wave according to the current wave definitions," the NICD's head of the division of public health, surveillance and response, Dr Michelle Groome, said.

However, Groome warned although these trends were encouraging, the public should not let their guard down.

On Wednesday, South Africa identified 2 967 new Covid-19 infections, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 889 298.

The NICD added there were also sustained decreases in Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths in all provinces.

"As per the national Department of Health, a further 124 Covid-19-related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 86 500 to date."

The majority of new cases today are from KwaZulu-Natal [23%], followed by the Western Cape [20%].

The Eastern Cape accounted for 12%; the Free State and Gauteng each accounted for 11%; the Northern Cape accounted for 8%; the North West accounted for 7%; Mpumalanga accounted for 6%; and Limpopo accounted for 2% of the new cases.

There has been an increase of 142 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours in both the private and public sectors.

Groom said while vaccination coverage was increasing amid a stable vaccine supply, the majority of the adult population have not yet been vaccinated.

"Some 30% of the adult population have received at least one vaccine dose and in the coming months, we need to prioritise the vaccine rollout, especially to those at risk of severe Covid19 and those with underlying comorbidities.

"Mask wearing, social distancing and hand hygiene remain the main preventative strategies until our vaccine coverage rates increase," she added.

To date, 7 452 783 tests have been conducted in both the public and private sectors.

According to the department, the cumulative number of recoveries are now 2 750 213, with a recovery rate of 95.2%.