Daily Covid-19 update: Highest number of cases since January
South Africa's cumulative Covid-19 caseload now stands at 1 774 312, with 13 246 new cases identified in the past 24 hours.
Health workers take data at a vaccination centre against Covid-19 in Bogota, on 16 June 2021. Photo: AFP/Juan Barreto
As of Wednesday, 16 June, the cumulative number of detected Covid-19 cases is 1 774 312, with 13 246 new cases identified which represents a 21.7% positivity rate.
South Africa’s Covid-19 statistics almost doubled the weekly average for the past seven days when compared to the 8 436 cases recorded on Tuesday.
As per the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), yesterday’s Covid-19 stats had the “highest number of daily cases and positivity rate recorded since January 2021”.
“Let’s remain vigilant in following prevention measures as diligent as possible to help stop the spread”.
Covid-19 in South Africa
There are currently 95 772 active cases in the country, while 136 deaths have been reported which brings the total number of Covid-19-related deaths to 58 223.
Recoveries are now at 1 620 317. A total of 12 331 837 tests have been carried out to date, with 60 995 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.
Lockdown level 3
The sharp rise in new cases prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to extend the curfew and limit alcohol sales in a bid to contain the third wave of infections.
The president acknowledged the challenges surrounding South Africa’s vaccine rollout, citing problems with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and said hospitals in Gauteng are near capacity.
Now read: Level 3 lockdown: Here are the rules that have changed
Covid-19: Global developments
New drug
A repurposed arthritis drug has shown positive results in a clinical trial of patients hospitalized with Covid-19, according to a paper published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tofacitinib, taken orally and sold under the brand name Xeljanz among others, was tested in a trial of 289 patients hospitalized with severe Covid across 15 locations in Brazil.
Germany’s CureVac jab trial
A Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Germany’s CureVac was shown to be just 47% effective in an interim analysis of its late-stage trial, the company said Wednesday.
“CVnCoV demonstrated an interim vaccine efficacy of 47 percent against Covid-19 disease of any severity and did not meet prespecified statistical success criteria,” CureVac said in a statement.
Mandatory vaccinations in Moscow
The mayor of Moscow on Wednesday ordered mandatory vaccinations for residents of the Russian capital working in the service industry, citing a “dramatic” rise in coronavirus infections.
The announcement by Sergei Sobyanin — one of the first compulsory vaccination orders for a major world city — was a stark admission from a senior Russian official that authorities are struggling to bring the pandemic under control.
