Covid-19 update: SA records 566 new cases and 11 deaths

As of Wednesday, South Africa has recorded a total of 2.926,914 positive cases of Covid-19, with 566 new cases identified in the past 24 hours.

This increase represents a 1.6% positivity rate. 

The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (59%), followed by Western Cape (8%). KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo each accounted for 7%; North West accounted for 6%; Eastern Cape and Free State each accounted for 4%; and Mpumalanga and Northern Cape each accounted for 3% of today’s new cases.

As per the National Department of Health, a further 11 Covid-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89,515 to date, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, announced.

18.998,133 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below. 

There has been an increase of 48 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours.

– More than five million dead – 

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,113,287 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT Wednesday. 

The United States has suffered the most Covid-related deaths with 765,913, followed by Brazil with 611,478, India with 464,153, Mexico with 291,241 and Russia with 259,084.

The countries with the most new deaths were the United States with 2,475, followed by Russia with 1,247 and Ukraine with 769.

Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher.

Additional reporting by AFP