SA records 16 585 new COVID-19 cases

South Africa has recorded 16 585 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 062 896.

“This increase represents a 30.2% positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health, a further 333 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 61 840 to date,” the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Sunday.

A total of 13 450 014 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors.

The Gauteng province accounts for the majority of new cases (57%), followed by the Western Cape (11%), and the KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo (7% each) provinces.

“An increase of 384 hospital admissions have been reported in the past 24 hours,” the institute said.

Meanwhile, South Africa recorded new record high infections for COVID-19 on Friday and Saturday.

Saturday’s report identified 26 485 new cases with the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases at 2 046 311.

This increase represented a 27.3% positivity rate. A further 175 COVID-19 related deaths were reported, bringing total fatalities to 61 507.

On Friday, the NICD reported 24 270 new COVID-19 cases, with the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases at 2 019 826.

This increase represented a 27.4% positivity rate. A further 303 COVID-19 related deaths were reported, bringing total fatalities to 61 332 to date.

Source: South African Government News Agency