Covid-19: More than 19 000 new infections recorded in South Africa

9th December 2021

 Covid-19: More than 19 000 new infections recorded in South Africa

Photo by: Bloomberg

South Africa recorded 19 842 new confirmed Covid-19 infections on Wednesday.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), as of Wednesday, the country recorded 3 071 064 laboratory-confirmed cases. There have been 36 new Covid-19 deaths, bringing the confirmed death toll to 90 038.

"The NICD… reports that 19 842 new Covid-19 cases have been identified in South Africa, representing a 26.8% positivity rate," the NICD said in a statement.

Gauteng recorded 1 017 063 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, KwaZulu-Natal 526 306 and the Western Cape 525 638.

Most of the new cases were from Gauteng with 59%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape with 10% each. Mpumalanga accounted for 6% of the new cases; North West 5%; Limpopo 4%; the Eastern Cape and Free State 3% each; and the Northern Cape 1%.

Gauteng recorded 11 703 new cases on Wednesday, KwaZulu-Natal 1 989, and the Western Cape 1 899.

There were 374 new hospital admissions in the last 24-hour reporting cycle. As of Wednesday, 4 252 people were in public and private hospitals for Covid-19.

South Africa conducted 19 912 794 cumulative tests, of which 73 911 were carried out in the last 24-hour cycle.

According to the Department of Health, 26 781 642 vaccine doses have been administered. Of those, 133 695 were administered in the last 24-hour cycle. To date, 14 980 211 adults are fully vaccinated, and 680 952 children have received one vaccine dose.