South Africa’s COVID-19 infections continue to increase, with Gauteng experiencing a greater surge than the rest of the country.

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has since urged Gauteng citizens to adhere to the non-pharmaceutical interventions, as the country recorded 5 782 new infections.

The department said on Wednesday that the country’s positivity rate now stands at 12.7%.

“We will be monitoring this increase in positivity rate to see if it sustains and meanwhile urge all citizens to remain vigilant and adhere to non-pharmaceutical interventions, even if vaccinated,” the Minister pleaded.

The additional cases have taken the number of detected infections to 1 675 013.

Meanwhile, the country recorded 110 more COVID-19 deaths, which pushes the tally to 56 711.

However, the slightly high daily death toll is due to the mortality audits, which dates back to November 2020.

Of these fatalities, 54 are from Gauteng, 16 from the North West, 11 from Limpopo and Free State, seven from the Northern Cape, four from KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga and three from the Western Cape.

“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the health care workers who treated the deceased patients.”

In addition, the recovery rate sits at 93.5% after 1 565 684 patients recuperated. 

“The cumulative total of tests conducted to date is 11 713 400 with 45 484 new tests recorded since the last report.”

The Minister said there had been 1 117 569 people vaccinated in South Africa.

According to the World Health Organisation, there are now 170 812 850 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 3 557 586 deaths and 1 581 509 628 administered vaccine doses.

Source: South African Government News Agency