As of Thursday, 5 131 people are currently hospitalised in public and private facilities in Gauteng.

This as the province recorded 144 582 cases, with 77 397 recoveries and 1 156 deaths.

Of the total confirmed cases in the province, Johannesburg still has the highest number with 62 320, followed by Ekurhuleni with 32 271.

Tshwane has the third highest number of cases with 26 866, followed by the West Rand with 9 486 and Sedibeng with 8 744.

In addition, 895 cases are unallocated.

In the hotspot of the City of Johannesburg, three sub-districts have recorded more than 10 000 cases.

City of Johannesburg Region D - which consists of Doornkop, Soweto, Dobsonville and Protea Glen - still has the highest number of cases (14 285).

The second highest number of recorded cases in Johannesburg is in City of Johannesburg Region F - which consists of the inner city and Johannesburg South - with 11 161.

The two sub-districts are joined by City of Johannesburg Region E with 10 288 cases. This sub-district consists of Alexandra, Wynberg, Sandton, Orange Grove and Houghton.

The spokesperson for Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku, Kwara Kekana, previously told News24 the surge in these particular areas was due to it being densely populated and "physical distancing practices are almost next to impossible".

"People live in overcrowded rooms and conditions in informal settlements. There is also absolute non-adherence to existing control measures that include wearing of masks as well as hand-washing or use of hand sanitisers," Kekana said.

The province has traced 57 707 contacts so far, of which 42 002 have completed the 14-day isolation period with no symptoms detected and were subsequently de-isolated.

The allocation of cases in the province is an ongoing process.