Covid-19 update: 1,420 new cases in SA while UK’s infection rate hits record high
Meanwhile in Shanghai, parents are separated from their children after positive Covid-19 tests.
A nurse administers a second Covid-19 booster shot to a patient at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Illinois. Photo: AFP/Scott Olson
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) shared the latest Covid-19 update, which brings the total number of confirmed cases in South Africa to 3,722,065.
The proportion of positive new cases is 5.4% (lower than yesterday’s 6.1%). The 7-day average is 5.8% (the same as yesterday’s 5.8% rate).
Covid-19 in South Africa
New cases and deaths
As per the NICD, 1,420 new Covid-19 cases have been identified in South Africa. This increase represents a 5.4% positivity rate.
The cumulative number of detected Covid-19 now stands at 3,722,065, Meanwhile, the National Department of Health (NDoH) reported 4 deaths.
However, only 2 occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours; the department is still clearing the Covid-19 mortality cases backlog.
Hospital admissions and recoveries
There has been an increase of 6 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours, while the total number of recoveries now stands at 3,609,277.
This shows a recovery rate of 97%. South Africa currently has 12,742 active cases.
In total, 23,893,013 tests have been conducted, while the total number of vaccines administered now stands at 33,804,239 after 62,023 were administered during the last 24 hours.
Provincial breakdown
The majority of the new Covid-19 cases came from Gauteng (39%), followed by Western Cape (25%) and KwaZulu-Natal (20%).
Eastern Cape accounted for 5%, followed by Mpumalanga accounted for 4% of all cases, and the North West province with 3%.
Free State accounted for 2%, while Limpopo and Northern Cape each accounted for 1% respectively of today’s cases.
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Global developments
No Covid-19 tests for vaccinated travellers
Brazil loosened its pandemic restrictions for international travellers Saturday, ending its Covid-19 test requirement for vaccinated passengers and scrapping a lengthy health questionnaire.
Travellers will now only be required to present proof of vaccination on arrival in the country, according to new regulations published late Friday in the government gazette, following a recommendation to the same effect from federal health regulator Anvisa last week.
Proof of vaccination is not required for Brazilians or foreigners with residency in Brazil. Unvaccinated travellers will have to present a negative Covid-19 test dated no more than one day before departure.
Shanghai parents fear separation from kids
Nearly all of Shanghai’s 25 million residents were under stay-at-home orders on Saturday, as parents raised fears of being separated from their children in the event of a positive Covid-19 test.
Shanghai, which is the epicentre of China’s most severe Covid outbreak since the first months of the pandemic, has faced weeks of phased lockdowns.
Authorities had vowed not to shut down the whole city, China’s finance hub, but have conceded to rare failures in their attempts to control the outbreak.
UK’s Covid infections hit record high
Rates of Covid infection have hit a record high in the UK, official data showed Friday, just as free government testing ended for millions in England.
Some 4.9 million people in the UK are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week ending March 26, or 600,000 more than the previous week, the latest survey by the Office for National Statistics said.
It said one in 13 people in England are estimated to have had Covid during that week, up from one in 16 the week before.
The rate in Scotland was higher still, at one in 12.
Global reporting by AFP.
