As South Africa continues to make headway in its fight against Covid-19, we take a look at what made the news headlines this week.

The Department of Health announced on October 4 that just over 18 million vaccine doses have been administered.

This follows the massive #VoomVaccinationWeekend vaccination drive by the department from October 1 to 3. The department recorded that more than 353 000 vaccinations were administered over the weekend. The number of vaccination doses administered over the weekend was one and a half times the normal daily rate.

The department aims to vaccinate 70% of the country’s adult population (16 million people) by the end of the year.

Vaccination certificates go digital

The health department also announced this week that digital Covid-19 vaccination certificates would soon be available.

According to a statement by department spokesperson Foster Mohale on October 5, users will be able to obtain a QR code showing their vaccination status.

“The department is currently at the testing phase of the system to troubleshoot all possible glitches ahead of the official launch later this week,” said Mohale.

Currently only available to people who are full vaccinated, President Cyril Ramaphosa hopes that these certificates will further open up the travel and events industries in South Africa.

Minister of Health Joe Phaahla added that the government has no intention of making the certificate mandatory to access public spaces.

Read more: Vaccine certificate: Here’s how to get yours

As of October 7, the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases identified in SA was 2 909 757, with 989 new cases reported.

A further 123 deaths have been reported, bringing the total number of fatalities to 88 104.

The total number of Covid-19 vaccines administered now stand at 18 735 127.