South Africa recorded 9 780 new Covid-19 infections by Tuesday, along with 839 new Covid-19-related deaths – the second-highest daily death toll to date – taking the confirmed fatalities to 38 288.

According to a statement by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, as of Tuesday, the country recorded a total of 1 356 716 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Gauteng remains the most affected province with 27% of the total confirmed cases, which translates to 366 432 cases. KwaZulu-Natal has recorded 287 042 confirmed cases to date, the Western Cape 259 098 cases and the Eastern Cape 187 552 cases.

To date, 7 700 019 tests have been completed, with 46 648 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, Mkhize said.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the most confirmed active cases with 54 028, followed by Gauteng with 36 941 and the Western Cape with 35 288.

Mkhize also reported a further 839 Covid-19-related deaths, of which 263 were recorded in KwaZulu-Natal, 238 in Limpopo, 130 in the Western Cape, 102 in the Eastern Cape, 48 in Gauteng, 25 in North West, 20 in the Free State, 11 in Mpumalanga and two in the Northern Cape, which brings the total to 38 288 deaths.

"The high number reported [on Tuesday] is due to data reconciliation as part of the regular auditing process – this includes the analysis of community data taking into account [among others] post-mortem swabs, backlogged data and unconfirmed outcomes at facilities," Mkhize said.

"We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated these patients.

"Our recoveries now stand at 1 144 857, representing a recovery rate of 84%."