Covid-19 update: SA records 3,648 new cases and 173 deaths

As of Friday, South Africa has recorded a total of 2.877,063 positive cases of Covid-19, with 3,648 new cases identified since the last report, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has announced.

This increase represents a 8.3% positivity rate.

“The current surge in Covid-19 infections seems to be showing signs of a sustained downward trend,” said the institute in a statement on Friday.

The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape (21%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (20%). Eastern Cape accounted for 18%; Free State accounted for 11%; Gauteng Province accounted for 10%; Northern Cape accounted for 7%; Mpumalanga & North West each accounted for 6% respectively; and Limpopo accounted for 1% of today’s new cases.

The country has also recorded 173 Covid-19 related deaths, bringing total fatalities to 85,952 to date.

There has been an increase of 199 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours.

17.280,650 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors.

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– Africa shortage threatens world –

World Health Organization officials warn that Africa’s shortfall of 470 million vaccine doses could send “the whole world back to square one.”

They say the continent risks becoming “a breeding ground for vaccine-resistant variants.”

– Six-year-olds get jab –

Cambodia, where 98 percent of the adult population has had at least one vaccine dose, begins giving shots to children as young as six even though the WHO has yet to approve them for kids under 12.

– Orban cries foul on EU funds –

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accuses the European Union of not approving his government’s pandemic recovery spending plan because of its controversial anti-LGBTQ law. 

The European Union denies the claim and says the delay is over fears on corruption and the independence of Hungary’s courts under the populist leader.

– Austria superspreader case –

A lawsuit over a notorious outbreak at an Austrian ski resort last year has begun in Vienna.

Thousands of people from 45 countries claim to have become infected at Ischgl in the Tyrol and blame the authorities for not doing enough to stop the outbreak seeding the spread across Europe.

– US booster D-Day –

US medical experts are debating and voting Friday on whether to give out booster doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to the general population.

– Brazil catching up –

Despite a slow start not helped by far right President Jair Bolsonaro’s Covid scepticism, Brazil’s  vaccination campaign is now one of the fastest and farthest-reaching in the world.

The country with the second highest death toll has now given at least one shot to 67.6 percent of its population — topping the US.

– LatAm kids still at home –

Two out of three children in Latin America and the Caribbean have still not returned to school after months of lockdowns, says the UN, warning of long-term consequences.

– Britons live it large –

UK retail sales fell last month as people returned to restaurants and pubs after months of eating at home because of virus curbs.

– Cricket back at wicket –

Indian Premier League hostilities will resume on Sunday in the United Arab Emirates in front of spectators but without a host of top cricket stars after four months of pandemic suspension.

– Over 4.6 million dead – 

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,667,150 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data. 

The US is the worst-affected country with 670,009 deaths, followed by Brazil with 589,240, India with 444,248, Mexico 270,348 and Peru 198,891.

Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were the US with 3,412, followed by Russia with 791 and Brazil with 643.

Additional reporting by AFP