With concerns mounting over two new Covid-19 variants making their way to South Africa, the country has recorded 1 778 new cases.

Gauteng has recorded 428 319 cases so far, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 337 333 cases, and the Western Cape with 288 213.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize reported 11 new deaths in his Covid-19 update on Sunday, which brings the total to 54 735.

"We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased patients. The cumulative recoveries now stand at 1 516 256, representing a recovery rate of 95%," he said.

Over the weekend, Mkhize announced that two more Covid-19 variants had been detected in SA.

He said the Network for Genomic Surveillance in SA (NGS-SA) had confirmed that two variants of concern, other than the already dominant B.1.351 variant, had been detected.

Mkhize confirmed in a statement on Saturday evening that the country had 11 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant discovered in the UK, and four cases of the B.1.617.2 variant found in India.

It's understood that two patients who tested positive in Gauteng recently had travelled from India, and that two others in KwaZulu-Natal had also arrived from the south Asian country. Gauteng has reported two cases of the variant from the UK, eight cases were recorded in the Western Cape, and one has been identified in KwaZulu-Natal.

National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) acting executive director Adrian Puren said it was not surprising that new variants had been discovered in the country.

"We would like to assure the public that the institute is focusing their resources and research efforts towards understanding the variants, and what the potential implications are for South Africa."